With a view to ensuring greater citizen-Government interface and facilitating public access to Government information and e-Services, the Government of one of the Indian states, Orissa is implementing a scheme that would entail the setting up of 1,000 information kiosks in urban and semi-urban locations spread across all the 30 districts of the State.
Mr Asit Tripathy, Commissioner-cum-Secretary in Orissa’s Department of Information Technology (IT), said that the scheme was being implemented through a self employment district sector scheme. The setting up of each kiosk would entail an investment of up to a maximum of Rs 2.5 lakh, loans for which could be arranged. The State Government would provide a subsidy of 25 per cent of the investment subject to a maximum of Rs 25,000. The Orissa Computer Application Centre would provide two weeks, free need-based training to the entrepreneurs.
Mr Tripathy said that,in addition to browsing the State Government’s portal for information, citizens could also transact through the Web from the nearest kiosk. More than 1,300 applications have been received from entrepreneurs in the districts who wish to set up kiosks under the scheme. The kiosks would be set up in the days ahead through the district industry centres. According to him, the State Government has lately taken several initiatives to provide a fillip to IT and IT-enabled services. An IT policy that has been okayed in the last Cabinet meeting of the previous Government has already been gazetted. The Government Order in this regard was expected soon. The IT & ITES units have been declared as public utilities and also freed from the hassles of clearances and routine inspections by regulatory authorities.
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