CMs seek telecom sector deregulation

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, AUG. 28. The two IT-savvy Chief Ministers, Mr. S. M. Krishna and Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, have sought deregulation in the telecom sector including scrapping of the ``monopolistic'' Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL).

They were participating in a Regional Round Table on Information and Communications Technology (ICT), organised by the Asian Development Bank and the Institute of Social and Economic Change, here on Tuesday.

Later, addressing presspersons, they said deregulation was necessary to expand bandwidth, and the States which were seeking such a step would have to contend with issues related to bandwidth. Issues such as reduced taxation for the ICT sector should be taken up and it was essential for government to act as a facilitator rather than as a regulator. When told he could ensure that the NDA Government conceded the request, Mr. Naidu said he would pursue the matter. He was always for ``positive politics,'' he added.

At the inauguration of the round table, the two Chief Ministers explained how knowledge society would have to overcome the problems of poverty.

While Mr. Naidu made a laptop presentation on ``Inventing the future'' emphasising the importance of ICT, Mr. Krishna spoke extempore. He was emphatic that it was important to work out strategic instruments which would provide sustainable development.

Praise for Karnataka: Acknowledging Karnataka's initiatives in the ICT sector, Mr. Naidu said other States were also on track, having realised that by implementing projects in the sector, it was possible to ensure speedy development. IT provided the strategic edge in all spheres of activity and was vital for growth and prosperity. Knowledge society would decide the fate of nations and the paradigm was shifting rapidly. In 1995, the yardstick was the number of PCs per household whereas in 2001 it was the bandwidth per capita that determined the power of nations, he added.

Mr. Krishna said new initiatives would fail if they did not address the main concern of the nation - providing jobs to people. He said that some States such as Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh did not believe that the Government was the repository of all wisdom and they drew heavily from the expertise of the private sector. He hoped that the Union Government would also be liberal and said it was necessary to expand bandwidth for community development.

Cyber crime cell: Mr. Krishna announced the establishment of a cell to deal with cyber crimes and said a police station to deal exclusively with such crimes would be inaugurated in Bangalore within a week.

Mr. Yoshihiro Iwasaki, Director (Programmes Department-West), Asian Development Bank, said the ADB was committed to bridge the digital divide in Asia. Mr. Lakshminarayana of the Ministry of Information and Technology said the Union Government had the ambitious plan of establishing community information centres. In association with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Rs. 5,000-crore project for a Media Lab Asia had been conceived, he added.

The Secretary for Information Technology, Mr. Vivek Kulkarni, said the round table was being attended by delegates from nine countries.

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