governments. The degree of usage of ICT by (and hence the impact of ICT on) the three stakeholders is linked to their degrees of readiness (or capability) to use and benefit from ICT. There is a general macroeconomic and regulatory environment for ICT in which the stakeholders play out their respective roles.
The e-Readiness Index developed by DIT/NCAER is composed of variables that fall into three broad categories: ‘Environment’, ‘Readiness’ and ‘Usage’ as shown in above figure.
Gujarat As a Aspiring Leader (e-Readiness Assessment 2005):
As per the e-Readiness Assessment 2005, Gujarat has been positioned in the category of Aspiring Leader. In the individual categories of Environment, Readiness and Usage, the status of Gujarat is as mentioned below:
In the category of Environment, sub-index has been computed on the basis of three indicators: Market Environment, Political & Regulatory Environment and Infrastructure Environment. Competitive market environment, education and access to communication facilities significantly affect the environmental readiness of the States. Competition among players in the ICT sector gives the consumers better quality products at affordable prices. Education makes people capable of harnessing the advances in technology and access to communication facilities aid in enhancing the e-Readiness of the States.
As per the e-Readiness Assessment 2005, Gujarat has been positioned as Level 2 (L2) state for the Environment category. (There are six levels. Levels L1 through L6 show the States that fall in the category of 'Leaders' to 'Least Achievers').
The readiness of a State in this context measures the capability of the principal agents of an economy (Individual, Business and Government) to leverage the potential of ICT. The Readiness Sub-Index is composed of sub-indicators representing Individual Readiness, Business Readiness and Government Readiness. As per e-Readiness Assessment 2005, Gujarat has been positioned as Level 4 state in the category of Readiness.
Usage aims at measuring the degree of utilization of ICT by Individuals, Business and the Government. Individual usage is measured by the average monthly expenditure by an Individual on internet access, mobile phones, telephone etc. The Business usage is measured by the companies using the VSAT, ISDN lines while the usage by Government is measured by the status of accessibility of information and services by the citizen, no. of eGovernance projects undertaken and the proportion of the policies taken for ICT usage.
As per the e-Readiness Assessment 2005, Gujarat has been positioned as Level 2 (L2) state for the ICT Usage category.
Based on the above three categories, Gujarat has been assessed as Aspiring Leaders as per the e-Readiness Assessment 2005 as mentioned in above figure.
Major initiatives taken by Govt. of Gujarat towards more e-Ready state are as mentioned below:
- New IT Policy 2006-2011 announced on 1st November 2006.
- All departments have prepared their IT Action Plan, which has a one-year focus and a five-year perspective.
- Two to three percent of the State Government budget is committed to IT related activities.
- To oversee implementation of IT strategies in the departments, each department has Chief Information Officer (CIO) who reports directly to Secretary of the department. Information Officer (CIO) who reports directly to Secretary of the department.
- To ensure smooth implementation of e-Governance projects, technical persons have been deputed as System Managers in key Government departments.
- All departments are in process of creating shareable databases of rules and other related information. This includes information such as budget, recruitment/service rules, plan achievements for various schemes etc.
- Integrated Workflow and Document Management System (IWDMS) is implemented across the Government Secretariat, which ensures standardization of application and database.
- Government has implemented CCC (Competency in Computer Concepts) and CCC Plus courses for Government employees and compulsory DOEACC “CCC” level cert