IT, BT and S&T: A mix of old and new

The IT-BT and S&T space has a mix of new policies and continuation of older ones.
A total Wi-Fi Bengaluru has been discussed for at least two to three years, and this budget continues with that promise stating it would make the City completely Wi-Fi in 2016.

Only, action on the ground will indicate whether this promise will be fulfilled, while the dreams of a complete Wi-Fi Bengaluru thrives among the younger generation. Now, select areas in Bengaluru like MG Road have been given Wi-Fi facility on a pilot basis.

Startups in general will be looking for support - funds and policy-backing. The announcement of a new macro policy for startups has been repeated, while the setting up of an Hack-Celerator is also an extension of an earlier announcement. The startup announcements are not pathbreaking, but a mild push to the startup ecosystem in the state and capital Bengaluru if implemented.

The State will implement the K(GIS) system at a cost of Rs 150 crore, apart from fostering a new biotech policy and Bio-Venture Fund. Aadhaar centres will come up in all taluk and gram panchayats. This gives Aadhaar programme a well-needed boost at a time when doubts have been raised over the relevance of the programme.

The North Karnataka region has always suffered from lack of facilities for its development. This time, an IT park in Bagalkot and an Indian Institute of Information Technology at Hubballi-Dharwad have been planned. A study chair in Bhaskaracharya’s name will be set up at Vijayapura Women’s University. Planetariums across the State, including in Bagalkot, will be set up. A helpline will come up in Bagalkot for redressal of public grievances through Keonics. The initiatives taken together may assuage the sense of discrimination that North Karnataka has always felt in relation to South. Overall IT, BT and ST will get Rs 202-crore budget.

The e-governance space gets a boost with three plans. The government has planned a security operational centre to protect state data centres, to promote Kannada software in government work through the Kannada unicode and to set up a big data/analytics platform to improve government functioning. This sector will get Rs 51 crore.

A senior government official who did not want to be named said: “The budget has met certain expectations, while some things have been left behind. The grants could have been higher in some cases. But there has been an inclination to carry on with previous announcements which means we will see implementation of certain policies in the coming year. Whatever has been proposed earlier are being taken up. Overall, it looks a good budget.”