In order to safeguard the nation’s servers and computer systems, the Government on Saturday said that it would soon start the National Cyber Co-ordination Centre (NCCC).
“We are investing ₹800 crore for this project and soon we will have an inter-ministerial discussions, before sending the proposal to the Cabinet,” Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology, told reporters here.
It is expected to send the proposal to the Cabinet in the next 15 days.
The Department of Telecom has also planned to establish an e-Governance Security Centre at a cost of ₹270 crore for ensuring the security of all e-Governance initiatives, Prasad said.
On the manufacturing of electronics in the country, he said that the Government is inviting global companies to invest in India and for that, he himself is going to attend some roadshows in Germany this week.
He will also attend a ground-breaking ceremony in Madhya Pradesh, which could be one of the first clusters for electronic manufacturing in India.
Speaking on a press conference, marking the first 100 days in the ministry, Prasad said the development of IT to next level and electronic manufacturing are Narendra Modi Government’s one of the major priorities.
Asked about the telecom sector on new guidelines for spectrum trading and sharing, he said the guidelines would be in place by the end of this year.
In July, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had recommended allowing sharing of all categories of radio-waves held by operators including those allocated at the old price of ₹1,658 crore or assigned without auction, a move that could help companies significantly reduce cost of providing mobile services.
On the spectrum auction, Prasad said, “I have asked the department to expedite by the end year end... at the most by the end of this financial year.”
On the current situation of flood-hit Kashmir, he said the state will get a free telecom service for a week on BSNL network, and the mobile networks have been ‘substantially or partially’ restored in the valley.
“Of the total 12,306 base transceiver stations or mobile towers in Jammu and Kashmir, 6,811 were submerged, from which the Government has restored around 1,208 towers,” he said adding that his ministry had also requested the private telecom operators to do the same and they have allowed 60 minutes of talk-time everyday.
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