Telecom and IT Minister Kapil Sibal on Monday asked his ministry officials
to lay a road map by 2014 for creation of a "Google" type of
comprehensive website that will enable citizens to access service of all
government departments with a click of a mouse.
"My dream will only
come true when we will provide people of India with that (Google) kind
of platform and I hope before 2014 a blueprint of that kind of platform
is laid on the table for me to sign on so that future is cast in stone.
This is my dream and vision," Sibal said while inaugurating National
Data Centre (NDC) spread over 60,000 square feet area New Delhi.
He
said he always has a question in his mind that why is India not having a
Google-like platform instead of the existing system where people have
to access the website of each ministry for information.
The Minister said there should be one common platform for providing all kind of services that can be provided through Internet.
Meanwhile,
officials from Department of Electronics and Information Technology
said they are working on another project to create a new data centre
spread over 2 lakh square feet to address future requirement after space
in the NDC, launched on Monday, is exhausted.
The Minister on the
occasion launched Dial.Gov web portal which citizens can use to access
information regarding his/her eligibility for benefits from various
government-run schemes.
At present, the Dial.Gov can provide
information on scholarship schemes of Ministry of Human Resource and
Development, Social Justice and Empowerment, Tribal Affairs, Minority
Affairs, Science and Technology and some schemes from state governments.
Sibal also asked various departments under his ministry to collaborate and set up a common facility.
"Why
should be there so many data centres. There is no need to set up
separate data centre when you have only one purpose," Sibal said.
The
Minister said that departments should create campaign to make people
aware of the kind of information and data government is hosting on its
data centres.
He said National Informatics Centre which has worked
to create NDC should have a new unit that should collaborate with
private sector, specially small and medium scale businesses, to create
software.