Bihar govt to come up with new IT policy

Bihar government is soon coming up with new information technology (IT) policy to make IT sector in the state more lucrative for investors, Santosh Kumar Mall, Principal secretary (IT) said at the ongoing Digital India Week, 2022

“We are in the process of developing a new IT policy that will soon be implemented. It will likely be the most rewarding for investors, who stand to gain substantially in the IIT sector of Bihar. As our ultimate objective is to develop Bihar as the next IT hub and IT investment destination in the east, we are working to make this a reality,” Mall said at a press meet at Gandhi Nagar.

State IT department is participating in the Digital India week, celebrating Digital India’s seven years, organised by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) from July 4 to 6.

Mall said IT department has set up a stall showing the numerous eGovernance initiatives launched and completed by Bihar government, resulting in the state’s digital transformation.

“The IT department’s stall is visually exhibiting the traditional structure and look and feel of ancient ‘Nalanda University’, the then centre of excellence in all fields. Bihar’s objective of good governance through eGovernance and the combination of historic architecture with contemporary technology have contributed to the state’s digital transformation,” the principal secretary said.

Deliberating on few key IT applications of the government, Mall said: “eOffice, which has increased productivity and transparency by Anywhere Anytime working, and eVidhan Application, which will enable paperless proceedings at VidhanParishad, are some of the key initiatives that have already been implemented to keep the government system afloat even in the event of a pandemic. The HIT COVID APP, BAAF, Service Plus, MSDG, Smart Polling Booth, BSDC 2.0, DBT, and eProcurement are also important developments (Eproc 2.0).”

He added: “The IT department has prioritised incubators and research centres. IT department has also financed C-DAC to initiate research and development in the domains of Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Cyber Security and Cyber Forensics, and Internet of Things (IoT). IIT, Patna also received funding from the IT department for incubator support. Bihar, a state driven by agriculture, will soon open an AgriCoE to increase agricultural output through the innovative application of technology.”