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In the late 1970s, the government led by Morarji Desai eased restrictions on capacity expansionforincumbent companies, removed price controls, reduced corporate taxes and promoted thecreation of small scale industries in large numbers. However, the subsequent government policyofFabian socialism hampered the benefits of the economy, leading to high fiscal deficits and aworsening current account. The collapse of the Soviet Union, which was India's major trading

partner, and the Gulf War, which caused a spike in oil prices, resulted in a major balance-of-payments crisis for India, which found itself facing the prospect of defaulting on its loans.[53]India asked for a $1.8 billion bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which inreturn demanded reforms.[54]

In response, Prime MinisterNarasimha Rao, along with his finance ministerManmohan Singh,initiated the economic liberalisation of 1991. The reforms did away with the Licence Raj,reduced tariffs and interest rates and ended many public monopolies, allowing automaticapproval offoreign direct investment in many sectors.[55] Since then, the overall thrust ofliberalisation has remained the same, although no government has tried to take on powerfullobbies such as trade unions and farmers, on contentious issues such as reforming labour laws

and reducing agricultural subsidies.

[56]

By the turn of the 20th century, India had progressedtowards a free-market economy, with a substantial reduction in state control of the economy andincreased financial liberalisation.

[57]This has been accompanied by increases in life expectancy,

literacy rates and food security, although the beneficiaries have largely been urban residents.[58]

While the credit rating of India was hit by its nuclear weapons tests in 1998, it has since beenraised to investment level in 2003 by S&P and Moody's.[59] In 2003, Goldman Sachs predictedthat India's GDP in current prices would overtake France and Italy by 2020, Germany, UK andRussia by 2025 and Japan by 2035, making it the third largest economy of the world, behind theUS and China. India is often seen by most economists as a rising economic superpower and isbelieved to play a major role in the global economy in the 21st century.[60][61]

[edit] Sectors

Until the liberalisation of 1991, India was largely and intentionally isolated from the worldmarkets, to protect its economy and to achieve self-reliance. Foreign trade was subject to importtariffs, export taxes and quantitative restrictions, while foreign direct investment (FDI) wasrestricted by upper-limit equity participation, restrictions on technology transfer, exportobligations and government approvals; these approvals were needed for nearly 60% of new FDIin the industrial sector. The restrictions ensured that FDI averaged only around $200 millionannually between 1985 and 1991; a large percentage of the capital flows consisted of foreign aid,commercial borrowing and deposits ofnon-resident Indians.[99] India's exports were stagnant for

the first 15 years after independence, due to general neglect of trade policy by the government ofthat period. Imports in the same period, due to industrialisation being nascent, consistedpredominantly of machinery, raw materials and consumer goods.[100]

Since liberalisation, the value of India's international trade has increased sharply,[101] with thecontribution of total trade in goods and services to the GDP rising from 16% in 199091 to 43%in 200506.[18] India's major trading partners are the European Union, China, the United Statesand the United Arab Emirates.[102] In 200607, major export commodities included engineering

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goods, petroleum products, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, textiles andgarments, agricultural products, iron ore and other minerals. Major import commodities includedcrude oil and related products, machinery, electronic goods, gold and silver.

[103]In November

2010, exports increased 22.3% year-on-year to 85,063 crore (US$18.88 billion), while importswere up 7.5% at 125,133 crore (US$27.78 billion). Trade deficit for the same month dropped

from 46,865 crore (US$10.4 billion) in 2009 to 40,070 crore (US$8.9 billion) in 2010.

[104]

India is a founding-member ofGeneral Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) since 1947 andits successor, the WTO. While participating actively in its general council meetings, India hasbeen crucial in voicing the concerns of the developing world. For instance, India has continuedits opposition to the inclusion of such matters as labour and environment issues and othernon-tariff barriers to trade into the WTO policies.[105]

[edit] Balance of payments

Cumulative Current Account Balance 19802008 based on IMF data

Since independence, India's balance of payments on its current account has been negative. Sinceeconomic liberalisation in the 1990s, precipitated by a balance of payment crisis, India's exportsrose consistently, covering 80.3% of its imports in 200203, up from 66.2% in 199091.[106]

However, the global economic slump followed by a general deceleration in world trade saw theexports as a percentage of imports drop to 61.4% in 200809.[107] India's growing oil import billis seen as the main driver behind the large current account deficit,[91] which rose to $118.7billion, or 9.7% of GDP, in 200809.[108] Between January and October 2010, India imported$82.1 billion worth of crude oil.

[91]

Due to the global late-2000s recession, both Indian exports and imports declined by 29.2% and39.2% respectively in June 2009.

[109]The steep decline was because countries hit hardest by the

global recession, such as United States and members of the European Union, account for morethan 60% of Indian exports.[110] However, since the decline in imports was much sharpercompared to the decline in exports, India's trade deficit reduced to 25,250 crore (US$5.61

billion).[109]

India's reliance on external assistance and concessional debt has decreased since liberalisation ofthe economy, and the debt service ratio decreased to from 35.3% in 199091 to 4.4% in 200809.[111] In India, External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs), or commercial loans from non-resident lenders, are being permitted by the Government for providing an additional source offunds to Indian corporates. The Ministry of Finance monitors and regulates them through ECBpolicy guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India under the Foreign Exchange Management

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Act of 1999.[112] India's foreign exchange reserves have steadily risen from $5.8 billion in March1991 to $283.5 billion in December 2009. [113]

[edit] Foreign direct investment

Share of top five investing countries in FDI inflows. (20002010)

[114]

Rank CountryInflows

(million USD)Inflows (%)

1 Mauritius 50,164 42.00

2 Singapore 11,275 9.00

3 USA 8,914 7.00

4 UK 6,158 5.00

5 Netherlands 4,968 4.00

As the fourth-largest economy in the world in PPP terms, India is a preferred destination forFDI;[115] India has strengths in telecommunication, information technology and other significantareas such as auto components, chemicals, apparels, pharmaceuticals, and jewellery. Despite asurge in foreign investments, rigid FDI policies were a significant hindrance. However, due topositive economic reforms aimed at deregulating the economy and stimulating foreigninvestment, India has positioned itself as one of the front-runners of the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific region.

[115]India has a large pool of skilled managerial and technical expertise. The size

of the middle-class population stands at 300 million and represents a growing consumermarket.[116]

During 200010, the country attracted $178 billion as FDI.[117] The inordinately high investmentfrom Mauritius is due to routing of international funds through the country given significant taxadvantages; double taxation is avoided due to a tax treaty between India and Mauritius, andMauritius is a capital gains tax haven, effectively creating a zero-taxation FDI channel.[118]

India's recently liberalised FDI policy (2005) allows up to a 100% FDI stake in ventures.Industrial policy reforms have substantially reduced industrial licensing requirements, removedrestrictions on expansion and facilitated easy access to foreign technology and foreign directinvestment FDI. The upward moving growth curve of the real-estate sector owes some credit to a

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booming economy and liberalised FDI regime. In March 2005, the government amended therules to allow 100% FDI in the construction sector, including built-up infrastructure andconstruction development projects comprising housing, commercial premises, hospitals,educational institutions, recreational facilities, and city- and regional-level infrastructure.[119]Despite a number of changes in the FDI policy to remove caps in most sectors, there still remains

an unfinished agenda of permitting greater FDI in politically sensitive areas such as insuranceand retailing. The total FDI equity inflow into India in 200809 stood at 122,919 crore(US$27.29 billion), a growth of 25% in rupee terms over the previous period.[120].

[edit] Currency

The RBI headquarters in Mumbai

Main articles: Indian rupee andReserve Bank of India

The Indian rupee is the only legal tenderin India, and is also accepted as legal tender in theneighbouring Nepal and Bhutan, both of which peg their currency to that of the Indian rupee.The rupee is divided into 100 paise. The highest-denomination banknote is the 1,000 rupee note;the lowest-denomination coin in circulation is the 10 paise coin.[121] However, with effect from

30 June 2011, 50 paise will be the minimum coin accepted in the markets as all denominationsbelow it will cease to be legal currency.[122][123] India's monetary system is managed by theReserve Bank of India (RBI), the country's central bank.[124] Established on 1 April 1935 andnationalised in 1949, the RBI serves as the nation's monetary authority, regulator and supervisorof the monetary system, banker to the government, custodian of foreign exchange reserves, andas an issuer of currency. It is governed by a central board of directors, headed by a governor whois appointed by the Government of India.[125]

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The rupee was linked to the British pound from 19271946 and then the U.S. dollartill 1975through a fixed exchange rate. It was devalued in September 1975 and the system of fixed parrate was replaced with a basket of four major international currencies the British pound, theU.S. dollar, the Japanese yen and the Deutsche mark.[126] Since 2003, the rupee has been steadilyappreciating against the U.S. dollar.[127] In 2009, a rising rupee prompted the Government of

India to purchase 200 tons of gold for $6.7 billion from the IMF.

[128]

[edit] Income and consumption

Main article: Income in India

See also: Poverty in India

A map showing the percentage of population living under the government poverty line from 1973-74 to

1999-2000.

World map showing the Gini coefficient, a measure ofincome inequality. India has a Gini coefficient of

0.368.

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India's gross national income per capita in 2008 was $1040.[129] Indian official estimates of theextent ofpoverty have been subject to debate, with concerns being raised about the methodologyfor the determination of the poverty line.

[130][131]As of 2005, according to World Bank statistics,

75.6% of the population lived on less than $2 a day (PPP), while 41.6% of the population wasliving below the new international poverty line of $1.25 (PPP) per day.[132][133][134] However, data

released in 2009 by the Government of India estimated that 37% of the population lived belowthe poverty line.[4]

Housing is modest. According to The Times of India, a majority of Indians had a per capita spaceequivalent to or less than a 100 square feet (9.3 m2) room for their basic living needs, and one-third of urban Indians lived in "homes too cramped to exceed even the minimum requirements ofa prison cell in the US."[135] The average is 103 sq ft (9.6 m2) per person in rural areas and117 sq ft (10.9 m2) per person in urban areas.[135]

Around half of Indian children are malnourished. The proportion of underweight children isnearly double that of Sub-Saharan Africa.[136][137] However, India has not had any majorfamines

since Independence.

[138]

A 2007 report by the state-run National Commission for Enterprises inthe Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) found that 65% of Indians, or 750 million people, lived on lessthan 20 (US$0.44) per day,[139] with most working in "informal labour sector with no job orsocial security, living in abject poverty."[140]

Since the early 1950s, successive governments have implemented various schemes to alleviatepoverty, under central planning, that have met with partial success. All these programmes haverelied upon the strategies of the Food for workprogramme and National Rural EmploymentProgramme of the 1980s, which attempted to use the unemployed to generate productive assetsand build rural infrastructure.[141] In August 2005, the Parliament of India, in response to theperceived failure of economic growth to gene rate employment for the rural poor, passed the

Rural Employment Guarantee Billinto law, guaranteeing 100 days of minimum wageemployment to every rural household in all the districts of India.[142] The question of whethereconomic reforms have reduced poverty has fuelled debates without generating clear-cut answersand has also increased political pressure against further economic reforms, especially thoseinvolving the downsizing of labour and cutting agricultural subsidies.[143] Recent statistics in2010 point out that the number of high income households has crossed lower incomehouseholds.

[144]

[edit] Employment

See also: Labour in India andIndian labour law

Indias labor regulations among the most restrictive and complex in the world haveconstrained the growth of the formal manufacturing sector where these laws have their widestapplication. Better designed labor regulations can attract more labor- intensive investment andcreate jobs for Indias unemployed millions and those trapped in poor quality jobs. Given thecountrys momentum of growth, the window of opportunity must not be lost for improving thejob prospects for the 80 million new entrants who are expected to join the work force over thenext decade.

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World Bank: India Country Overview 2008.[145]

Agricultural and allied sectors accounted for about 52.1% of the total workforce in 200910.[77]While agriculture has faced stagnation in growth, services have seen a steady growth. Of thetotal workforce, 7% is in the organised sector, two-thirds of which are in the public sector.[146]

The NSSO survey estimated that in 200405, 8.3% of the population was unemployed, anincrease of 2.2% over 1993 levels, with unemployment uniformly higher in urban areas andamong women.[147][148] Growth of labour stagnated at around 2% for the decade between 19942005, about the same as that for the preceding decade.

[142]Avenues for employment generation

have been identified in the IT and travel and tourism sectors, which have been experiencing highannual growth rates of above 9%.[149]

Unemployment in India is characterised by chronic (disguised) unemployment. Governmentschemes that target eradication of both poverty and unemployment (which in recent decades hassent millions of poor and unskilled people into urban areas in search of livelihoods) attempt tosolve the problem, by providing financial assistance for setting up businesses, skill honing,

setting up public sector enterprises, reservations in governments, etc. The decline in organisedemployment due to the decreased role of the public sector after liberalisation has furtherunderlined the need for focusing on better education and has also put political pressure on furtherreforms.[150][151] India's labour regulations are heavy even by developing country standards andanalysts have urged the government to abolish or modify them in order to make the environmentmore conducive for employment generation.[152][153] The 11th five-year plan has also identifiedthe need for a congenial environment to be created for employment generation, by reducing thenumber of permissions and other bureaucratic clearences required.[154] Further, inequalities andinadequacies in the education system have been identified as an obstacle preventing the benefitsof increased employment opportunities from reaching all sectors of society.[155]

Child labourin India is a complex problem that is basically rooted in poverty, coupled with afailure of governmental policy, which has focused on subsidising higher rather than elementaryeducation, as a result benefiting the privileged rather than the poorer sections of society.[156] TheIndian government is implementing the world's largest child labour elimination program, withprimary education targeted for ~250 million. Numerous non-governmental and voluntaryorganisations are also involved. Special investigation cells have been set up in states to enforceexisting laws banning the employment of children under 14 in hazardous industries. Theallocation of the Government of India for the eradication of child labour was $21 million in2007.[157] Public campaigns, provision of meals in school and other incentives have provensuccessful in increasing attendance rates in schools in some states.[158]

In 200910, remittances from Indian migrants overseas stood at 250,000 crore (US$55.5billion), the highest in the world, but their share in FDI remained low at around 1%.[159] Indiaranked 133th on the Ease of Doing Business Index 2010, behind countries such as China (89th),Pakistan (85th), and Nigeria (125th).[160]

[edit] Economic trends and issues

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Shown here is a residential area in Mumbai.

In the revised 2007 figures, based on increased and sustaining growth, more inflows into foreigndirect investment, Goldman Sachs predicts that "from 2007 to 2020, Indias GDP per capita inUS$ terms will quadruple", and that the Indian economy will surpass the United States (in US$)by 2043.[12] In spite of the high growth rate, the report stated that India would continue to remaina low-income country for decades to come but could be a "motor for the world economy" if it

fulfills its growth potential.

[12]

[edit] Agriculture

An Indian farmer

Main article: Agriculture in India

Slow agricultural growth is a concern for policymakers as some two-thirds of Indias peopledepend on rural employment for a living. Current agricultural practices are neither economicallynor environmentally sustainable and India's yields for many agricultural commodities are low.Poorly maintained irrigation systems and almost universal lack of good extension services are

among the factors responsible. Farmers' access to markets is hampered by poor roads,rudimentary market infrastructure, and excessive regulation.

World Bank: "India Country Overview 2008"[145]

India's population is growing faster than its ability to produce rice and wheat.[161] The lowproductivity in India is a result of several factors. According to the World Bank, India's largeagricultural subsidies are hampering productivity-enhancing investment. While overregulation of

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agriculture has increased costs, price risks and uncertainty, governmental intervention in labour,land, and credit markets are hurting the market. Infrastructure and services are inadequate.[162]Further, the average size of land holdings is very small, with 70% of holdings being less than onehectare in size.[163] The partial failure of land reforms in many states, exacerbated by poorlymaintained or non-existent land records, has resulted in sharecropping with cultivators lacking

ownership rights, and consequently low productivity of labour.

[164]

Adoption of modernagricultural practices and use oftechnology is inadequate, hampered by ignorance of suchpractices, high costs, illiteracy, slow progress in implementing land reforms, inadequate orinefficient finance and marketing services for farm produce and impracticality in the case ofsmall land holdings. The allocation of water is inefficient, unsustainable and inequitable. Theirrigation infrastructure is deteriorating.[162] Irrigation facilities are inadequate, as revealed by thefact that only 39% of the total cultivable land was irrigated as of 2010,[80] resulting in farmersstill being dependent on rainfall, specifically the monsoon season, which is often inconsistentand unevenly distributed across the country.[165]

India has made huge progress in terms of increasing primary education attendance rate and

expanding literacy to approximately two thirds of the population.

[174]

The right to education atelementary level has been made one of the fundamental rights under the eighty-sixthAmendment of 2002, and legislation has been enacted to further the objective of providing freeeducation to all children.[175] However, the literacy rate of 65% is still lower than the worldwideaverage and the country suffers from a high dropout rate.[176] Further, there exist severedisparities in literacy rates and educational opportunities between males and females, urban andrural areas, and among different social groups.[177]

[edit] Infrastructure

Shown here is the Chennai Port.

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Shown here is the Mumbai Pune expressway in Maharashtra.

India has built numerous new airports in recent years. Shown here is the new Terminal 1D at the Indira

Gandhi International Airport in Delhi.

See also: Transport in India, Indian Road Network, Ports in India, Electricity sector in India, States of India

by installed power capacity, Water supply and sanitation in India, andCommunications in India

In the past, development of infrastructure was completely in the hands of the public sector andwas plagued by slow progress, poor quality and inefficiency.[178] India's low spending on power,construction, transportation, telecommunications and real estate, at $31 billion or 6% of GDP in2002 had prevented India from sustaining higher growth rates. This has prompted thegovernment to partially open up infrastructure to the private sector allowing foreigninvestment,[141][179] and most public infrastructure, barring railways, is today constructed and

maintained by private contractors, in exchange for tax and other concessions from thegovernment.[180]

Some 600 million Indians have no electricity at all.[181] While 80% of Indian villages have atleast an electricity line, just 44% of rural households have access to electricity. Some half of theelectricity is stolen, compared with 3% in China. The stolen electricity amounts to 1.5% ofGDP.[182][183] Transmission and distribution losses amount to around 20%, as a result of aninefficient distribution system, handled mostly by cash-strapped state-run enterprises.[184] Almostall of the electricity in India is produced by the public sector. Power outages are common, andmany buy their own power generators to ensure electricity supply.[181] As of 200607 theelectricity production was at 652.2 billion kWh, with an installed capacity of 128400 MW.[185] In

2007, electricity demand exceeded supply by 15%.[181] However, reforms brought about by theElectricity Act of 2003 caused far-reaching policy changes, including mandating the separationof generation, transmission and distribution aspects of electricity, abolishing licencingrequirements in generation and opening up the sector to private players, thereby paving the wayfor creating a competitive market-based electricity sector.

[186]Substantial improvements in water

supply infrastructure, both in urban and rural areas, have taken place over the past decade, withthe proportion of the population having access to safe drinking water rising from 66% in 1991 to92% in 2001 in rural areas, and from 82% to 98% in urban areas. however, quality and

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availability of water supply remains a major problem even in urban India, with most citiesgetting water for only a few hours during the day.[187]

India has the world's third largestroad network,[188] covering about 3.3 million kilometers andcarrying 65% of freight and 80% of passenger traffic.[189] Container traffic is growing at 15% a

year.

[190]

India has a national teledensity rate of 67.67% with 806.1 million telephonesubscribers, two-thirds of them in urban areas,[191] but Internet use is rarethere were only 10.29million broadband lines in India in September 2010. However, this is growing and is expected toboom following the expansion of3G and wimax services.

[192]

[edit] Economic disparities

Main articles: Economic disparities in India andPoverty in India

Lagging states need to bring more jobs to their people by creating an attractive investmentdestination. Reforming cumbersome regulatory procedures, improving rural connectivity,establishing law and order, creating a stable platform for natural resource investment that

balances business interests with social concerns, and providing rural finance are important.

World Bank: India Country Overview 2008[145]

Slums next to high-rise commercial buildings in Kochi. Hundreds of people, mostly comprising migrant

labourers who come to the city seeking job prospects, reside in such shabby areas.[193]

A critical problem facing India's economy is the sharp and growing regional variations amongIndia's different states and territories in terms of poverty, availability of infrastructure and socio-economic development.[194] Six low-income states Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya

Pradesh, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh are home to more than one third of India's population.

[195]

Severe disparities exist among states in terms of income, literacy rates, life expectancy and livingconditions.

[196]

The five-year plans, especially in the pre-liberalisation era, attempted to reduce regionaldisparities by encouraging industrial development in the interior regions and distributingindustries across states, but the results have not been very encouraging since these measures infact increased inefficiency and hampered effective industrial growth.[197] After liberalisation, the

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more advanced states have been better placed to benefit from them, with well developedinfrastructure and an educated and skilled workforce, which attract the manufacturing andservice sectors. The governments of backward regions are trying to reduce disparities by offeringtax holidays and cheap land, and focusing more on sectors like tourism which, although beinggeographically and historically determined, can become a source of growth and develops faster

than other sectors.

[198

We live in the age of the Information Technology (IT) revolution. The universal acceptance of the power of IT to

transform and accelerate the development process, especially in developing economies is indisputable. The rapid

advance of Communication technologies, especially the Internet, has enabled governments all over the world to

reach out to their most remote constituencies to improve the lives of their most underprivileged citizens.

NIC, under the Department of Information Technology of the Government of India, is a premier Science and

Technology organization, at the forefront of the active promotion and implementation of Information and

Communication Technology (ICT) solutions in the government. NIC has spearheaded the e-Governance drive in the

country for the last three decades building a strong foundation for better and more transparent governance and

assisting the governments endeavor to reach the unreached.

Background

The mid-1970s, in India, were watershed years, heralding a revolutionary transformation in governance. In the year

1975, the Government of India envisioned that the strategic use of Information Technology (IT) in government would

lead to more transparent and efficacious governance which could give a fillip to all-round development. In 1976, in the

wake of this recognition of the potency of IT, the Government visualized a project of enduring importance viz. the

"National Informatics Centre (NIC)". Subsequently, with the financial assistance of the United Nations Development

Program (UNDP) amounting to US $4.4 million, NIC was set up.

Achievements

y NIC has leveraged ICT to provide a robust communication backbone and effective support for e-Governance

to the Central Government, State Governments, UT Administrations, Districts and other Government bodies.

It offers a wide range of ICT services. This includes NICNET, a Nationwide Communication Network with

gateway nodes at about 53 departments of the Government of India, 35 State/UT Secretariats and 603

District collectorates to service ICT applications. NICNET has played a pivotal role in decentralized planning,

improvement in Government services, wider transparency of national and local Governments and improving

their accountability to the people. NIC assists in implementing ICT projects, in close collaboration with

Central and State Governments and endeavors to ensure that state-of the-art technology is available to its

users in all areas of ICT.

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The milestones in NICs ICT based endeavors, over the years, have worked to fulfill the expectations with which it was

established, as may be seen below.

Milestones

y Central Government Informatics Development Programme a strategic decision to overcome Digital Divide in

Central Government Departments during the Fifth Plan Period (i.e. 1972-77);

y NICNET - A first of its kind in developing countries, using state-of-the-art VSAT technology. Gateway for

Internet/Intranet Access and Resources Sharing in Central Government Ministries and Departments during

1980s and 1990s;

y IT in Social Applications and Public Administration;

y State Government Informatics Development Programme a strategic decision to overcome Digital Divide in

Central and State Governments/UT Administrations, during the Seventh Plan Period (i.e. 1985-1990);

y DISNIC A NICNET based District Government Informatics Programme a strategic decision in 1985 to

overcome the Digital Divide in the District Administrations;

y Reaching out into India during 1985-90, even before the arrival of Internet Technology, to all the districts of

the country, which is a land of diversity and different types of terrain, various Agro-climatic conditions,

different levels of socio-economic conditions, and varied levels of regional development etc.

y Video-Conferencing operations first commenced in the early 90s and now connect 490 locations

y National Informatics Centre Services Inc. (NICSI) was set up in 1995, as a section 25 Company under

National Informatics Centre. NICSI is preferred by government departments for outsourcing the entire range

of IT solutions and services.

y India Image Portal is a gateway to the Indian government information with a mission to extend

comprehensive WWW services to Government Ministries and Departments Under this project, over 5000

Government of India websites are being hosted.

y A significant outcome of India Image Portal, which came about in the early years of the millennium, is the

GOI Directory, a first of its kind comprehensive directory providing information about websites of the Indian

government at all levels.

y Also, in late 2005, all the services and websites in India Image Portal were brought under one interface to

provide single- window access to citizens. This is the National Portal accessible at http://india.gov.in .

y Integrated Network Operations Centre (I-NOC) was established in 2002 for round the clock monitoring of all

the WAN links across the country.

y NIC Data Centre, established in 2002, hosts over 5000 websites & portals. Data Centres which have been

established at State capitals for their local storage needs, have storage capacity from 2-10 Tera Bytes.

y NIC has been licensed to function as Certifying Authority (CA) in the G2G domain and CA services

commenced in 2002.

y NIC set up the Right to Information Portal in order to provide support to the Government for speedy and

effective implementation of the Right to Information Act 2005.

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y Over the years NIC has extended the satellite based Wide Area Network to more than 3000 nodes and well

over 60,000 nodes of Local Area Networks in all the Central Government offices and State Government

Secretariats.

As a major step in ushering in e-Governance, NIC implements the following minimum agenda as announced by the

Central Government:

y Internet/Intranet Infrastructure (PCs, Office Productivity Tools, Portals on Business of Allocation and Office

Procedures)

y IT empowerment of officers/officials through Training

y IT enabled Services including G2G, G2B, G2C, G2E portals

y IT Plans for Sectoral Development

y Business Process Re-engineering

NIC provides a rich and varied range of ICT services delineated below.

Profile of Current Services:

y Digital Archiving and Management

y Digital Library

y E-Commerce

y E-Governance

y Geographical Information System

y IT Training for Government Employeesy Network Services (Internet, Intranet)

y Video Conferencing

y Web Services

y General Informatics Services

y Medical Informatics

y Bibliographic Services

y Intellectual Property and Know-How Informatics Services

y Setting up of Data Centres

y Building Gigabit Backboney IT Consultancy Services

y Turnkey IT Solutions

Thus, NIC, a small program started by the external stimulus of an UNDP project, in the early 1970s, became fully

functional in 1977 and since then has grown with tremendous momentum to become one of India's major S&T;

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organizations promoting informatics led development. This has helped to usher in the required transformation in

government to ably meet the challenges of the new millennium

National Informatics Centre (NIC) is a premiere S & T institution of the Government of India, established in 1976, for

providing e-Government / e- Governance Solutions adopting best practices, integrated services and global solutions

in Government Sector.

In 1975, the Government of India strategically decided to take effective steps for the development of information

systems and utilization of information resources and also for introducing computer based decision support system

(informatics-led development) in government ministries and departments to facilitate planning and programme

implementation to further the growth of economic and social development. Following this, the Central Government

nucleated a high priority plan project "National Informatics Centre (NIC)" in 1976, and later on with the financial

assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to the tune of US$4.1 million.

NIC is a Premier Information Technology Organisation in India providing State_of_Art Solutions for Information Management and

Decision Support in Government and Corporate Sector. A number of Services are being provided by NIC to all the GovernmentMinistries/Departments/States/Districts.

NIC is providing network backbone and e-Governance support to Central Government, State Governments, UT Administrations,Districts and other Government bodies. It offers a wide range of ICT services including Nationwide Communication Network fordecentralised planning, improvement in Government services and wider transparency of national and local Governments.

NIC assists in implementing Information Technology Projects, in close collaboration with Central and State Governments, in the

areas of (a) Centrally sponsored schemes and Central sector schemes, (b) State sector and State sponsored projects, and (c)

District Administration sponsored projects. NIC endeavours to ensure that the latest technology in all areas of IT is available to its

users. It is one of the total solution providers to the Government and is actively involved in most of the IT enabled applications and

has changed the mindset of the working community in the Government to make use of the latest state of the art technology in their

day to day activities to provide better services to the citizens. NIC has conceptualised, developed and implemented a very

large number of projects for various Central and State Government Ministries, Departments and Organisations. Many

of these projects have been made into a product to be customized across the country. We present here some of the

most noteworthy products to offer the viewers/citizens a glimpse of the multifaceted, diverse activities of NIC,

touching upon all NIC has conceptualised, developed and implemented a very large number of projects for various

Central and State Government Ministries, Departments and Organisations. Many of these projects have been made

into a product to be customized across the country. We present here some of the most noteworthy products to offer

the viewers/citizens a glimpse of the multifaceted, diverse activities of NIC, touching upon all spheres of e-

governance and thereby influencing the lives of millions of citizens of India.

NIC has conceptualised, developed and implemented a very large number of projects for various Central and State

Government Ministries, Departments and Organisations. Many of these projects are continuing projects being carried

out by various divisions of NIC at New Delhi Headquarters and State/District centres throughout the country. We

present here some of the most noteworthy projects to offer the viewers/citizens a glimpse of the multifaceted, diverse

8/7/2019 In the late 1970s

16/16

activities of NIC, touching upon all spheres of e-governance and thereby influencing the lives of millions of citizens of

India.

Statewise

Central

Listing Projects STATEWISE

y Andhra Pradesh

y Arunachal Pradesh

y Assam

y Bihar

y Chandigarh(UT)

y Chattisgarh

y Dadar and Nagar

y Daman and Diu

y Haryana

y Himachal Pradesh

y Jharkhand

y Karnataka

y Kerala

y Lakshadweepy Madhya Pradesh

y Maharastra

y Meghalaya

y Nagaland

y Punjab

y Rajasthan

y Tamilnadu

y Tripura

y West Bengal