IT directorate in the offing

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, March 1: State IT Minister Keshab Mahanta informed the State Assembly today that the government is going to set up a Directorate of IT Department.

The Department of Information Technology in the State has all along been doing without any directorate since its inception on August 27, 2003. The minister said that the move is being taken following a directive from Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal.     

The minister said: “AMTRON was set up under the Department of Industries in 1984. It, however, came under the Department of Information Technology after the floating of the Department in 2003. Following a directive from the Chief Minister a Cabinet Memorandum is being prepared for the setting up of the Directorate of Electronics and Information Technology,” Mahanta said, and added: “The proposal will be pursued after the Cabinet approval.”

The minister further said that this year the Budget allocation for the IT Department is Rs 78 crore, which is 100 per cent enhancement of the allocation for the department the previous year.

The minister also said: “Following a directive from the Chief Minister, another scheme for making internet connectivity available in every household in the State is in pipeline. The department is also trying to make internet connection available in the remote areas in the State, especially in Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts.”