DAYANIDHI MARAN TAKES OVER AS MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

NEW DELHI - Dayanidhi Maran assumed charge as Minister of Communications and Information Technology here today. He was received by ri K.K. Jaswal, Secretary, Department of Information Technology, ri Vijay Bhuan, Secretary, Department of Posts, ri S. Lakminarayanan, Additional Secretary, Department of Information Technology, ri J.S. Sarma, Additional Secretary, Department of Telecommunications and other senior officials of the Ministry.

Speaking to the media persons after taking charge, ri Maran said that he would like to revamp the Telecom Policy so as to take full advantage of the latest technological developments with a view to take country’s communication sector forward and provide world class facilities to the citizens. Emphasising the need to increase the tele-density levels, the Minister said that we need to go beyond the current tele-density level of 7 in the country and all efforts would be made to provide further fillip to the growth of the telecom sector. In doing so, ri Maran said he would like to see that the ‘Digital Divide’ is minimised. He stated that efforts would be made to connect about 50,000 villages which do not have telephone facilities preferably during the current year. He further stated that atleast big villages must also have access to internet facilities and to the benefits of Tele-agriculture, Tele-health and Tele-education.

ri Maran observed that the spread of internet in India has not been commensurate with the growth of telecom sector. He said that he would like to see a paradigm ift in the telecom sector. Apart from focussing on access and quality, issue of convergence of data, voice and image would be studied at an appropriate time, ri Maran added.The Minister said that he would be studying the recent recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on broadband and internet. About the manufacturing of telecom equipment within India, ri Maran said this sector needs to be encouraged so as to promote the indigenous manufacturing of the telecom equipment.

Listing out the 10-point agenda in the area of Information Technology, ri Maran stated that his endeavour would be to expeditiously implement the National e-governance plan, connect all Internet Service Providers in India to National internet exchange and develop next generation mobile wireless technologies. On the issue of security and digital signature, ri Maran said that necessary steps ould be taken to promote the use of digital signatures in financial sector, judiciary and education. On the question of outsourcing of skilled manpower, the Minister stated that efforts would be made to make India the world’s hub for outsourcing skilled manpower in the IT sector. Towards this end, our National R&D institutions would be given encouragement to invest in R&D and bring about world class technologies.

T. R. BAALU TAKES OVER AS MINISTER FOR ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS AND IPPING

. T. R. Baalu took over as the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways and ipping, here today. . Baalu belongs to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Party and represents Chennai (South) Constituency in the 14th Lok Sabha.

Born on June 15, 1941 at Thalikottai in Thiruvarur District of Tamil Nadu, . Baalu is a Science Graduate with a Diploma in Civil Engineering. He has been a Member of DMK since 1957 and was elected as Member of Rajya Sabha in 1986. He was elected to the 11th Lok Sabha in 1996, re-elected to the 12th Lok Sabha in 1998 and re-elected to the 13th Lok Sabha in 1999. This would be his fourth term in Lok Sabha.

In his long political career spanning almost five decades, . Baalu was arrested and imprisoned more than 15 times for participating in agitations, picketing and demonstrations for public and social cause. In 1976, he was imprisoned under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) for about a year. He has been a Member of various Committees of Parliament like Public Accounts Committee, Committee on Rules (Rajya Sabha), Committee on Railways, and Consultative Committee on Home Affairs. He held the Charge of Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Non-Conventional Energy Resources during 1996-98. He was Union Minister for Environment and Forests in the previous Government.

Replying to queries from media persons soon after taking charge, the Minister said, “Good road infrastructure is vital for the nation’s development and progress. Therefore, it would be the new Govt.’s priority to complete the ongoing highway development programme on time. All efforts would be made to remove the bottlenecks that may have slowed the progress of National Highways Development Project in recent months”. When asked about the likely completion date of Golden Quadrilateral, the Minister said, “Only after holding detailed discussions with National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials, I would be in a position to arrive at a likely date of completion. But let me tell you that we will go all out to ensure development of National Highways in an efficient, responsive and transparent manner”.

In reply to another query, the Minister said it would be his priority to create an enabling environment for a modern and globally competitive Indian ipping and Ports sector and the necessary policy decisions in this regard will be taken after interaction with the public and private sector. “Fast track development of Inland Waterways, Coastal ipping and Ports would be my focus in ipping sector. The long pending Sethu Samundram Project would also be taken up on priority”, the Minister added. (KM Bureau Delhi)