The government today said it will allocate Rs. 500 crore for its ‘Digital India’ initiative to set up broadband network in villages and promote local manufacturing of hardware and Indian software products.
Under the Digital India initiative, National Rural Internet and Technology Mission, the government will focus on setting up broadband in villages, promote local manufacturing of hardware and Indian software products, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said while presenting the Budget for 2014-15.
“A special focus will be on supporting software products startups. A national rural Internet and technology mission service in villages and training in IT…I have provided a sum of Rs. 500 crore for this purpose,” he informed Parliament.
Also in what could provide more opportunities for the technology firms, the Minister proposed to set up 100 smart cities for which the government will provide Rs. 7,060 crore.
Besides, in a bid to boost the earnings of the small and medium enterprises, Mr Jaitley said manufacturing units will be allowed to sell their products through retail and e-commerce platforms.
Government has also allocated Rs 100 crore for development of Technology Development Fund. Jaitely also announced that e-Visas will be allowed in nine airports, using technology to boost tourism.
‘The proposed Rs. 500 crore allocation to set up broadband network in villages under ‘Digital India’ initiative is a welcome move. This would definitely open up more avenues for the technology startups to reach out to an exponential number of new consumers, says Sumesh Menon, Co-Founder & CEO, U2opia Mobile.
“Resource allocation towards Technology Development Fund and plans to take broadband connectivity pan-India will benefit the sector tremendously,” Koichiro Koide, MD, NEC India.
Reiterating the thought, Jaideep Mehta, VP and General Manager, IDC South Asia says, “The e-governance program to inter-link all ministries and departments is welcomed. India urgently needs to improve the efficiency of government functioning. While the details are yet to be made available, this initiative is likely to yield several hundred crores of revenue to the IT industry.”