Dr Ashwini Kumar Sharma, MD of NIElIT, talks about e-governance, big projects and achievements
National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology, an autonomous scientific society under the administrative control of Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India, was set up to carry out Human Resource Development and related activities in the area of Information, Electronics & Communications Technology (IECT). They engaged both in formal and non-formal education in the area of IECT besides development of industry oriented quality education and training programmes in the state-of-the-art areas. They have endeavoured to establish standards to be the country’s premier institution for examination and certification in the field of IECT. It is also one of the National Examination Body, which accredits institutes or organisations for conducting courses in IT in the non-formal sector. Excerpts from an interview with its managing director:
Do you think e-learning is slowly revolutionising the Indian education systemIJ
E-learning is the demand of the time. With the shift towards the knowledge society, the change of working conditions and the high-speed evolution of information and communication technologies, people’s knowledge and skills need continuous up-dating. learning, based on collaborative working, creativity, multidisciplinary, addictiveness, intercultural communication and problem solving, has taken on an important role in everyday life. The learning process is becoming pervasive, both for individuals and organisations, in formal education, in the professional context and as part of leisure activities. learning should be accessible to every citizen, independent of age, education, social status and tailored to his/her individual needs.
What are the Research and Development programmesIJ
Information products and services have become increasingly a major component of our lives thus necessitating the need to enhance competencies in every sphere of information technology. In the brave new world a widespread access to information, communications and resources is the only solution to remove the insurmountable barriers to education, democratisation process and overall economic growth. The primary objectives of the research and development programmes supported by NIElIT is thus to facilitate proliferation and absorption of emerging technologies in the IT sector, facilitate capacity building, creating the right infrastructure and making the existing technologies, affordable to the citizens of the country. This is the only way to take lead in the global knowledge economy. NIElIT supports research and development and coordinates the technical activities of the respective scientific societies.
What are the recent MoUs signed with other universitiesIJ
We have signed lots of MoUs in the past but recently we signed with Aurangabad University where we are running B-Tech level course in computer science, electronics and M-Tech level course that is part time course. We also signed with Tripura Central University. Basically we are running multiple courses in their association and now we are planning to go with Indira Gandhi Technical University, Delhi and similar our Chandigarh centre singed with PTU (Punjab technology university) in electronics.
Elaborate on e-governance undertaken by NIElIT that can be helpful for the societyIJ
Over the years, a large number of initiatives have been undertaken by various state governments and central ministries to usher in an era of e-governance. Sustained efforts have been made at multiple levels to improve the delivery of public services and simplify the process of accessing them.
E-governance in India has steadily evolved from computerisation of government departments to initiatives that encapsulate the finer points of governance, such as citizen centricity, service orientation and transparency. lessons from previous e-governance initiatives have played an important role in shaping the progressive e-governance strategy of the country.
Due cognisance has been taken of the notion that to speed up e-governance implementation across the various arms of government at national, state, and local levels, a programme approach needs to be adopted, guided by common vision and strategy.
This approach has the potential of enabling huge savings in costs through sharing of core and support infrastructure, enabling interoperability through standards, and of presenting a seamless view of government to citizens.
NIElIT takes a holistic view of e-governance initiatives across the country, integrating them into a collective vision, a shared cause. Around this idea, a massive countrywide infrastructure reaching down to the remotest of villages is evolving, and large-scale digitisation of records is taking place to enable easy, reliable access over the internet. The ultimate objective is to bring public services closer home to citizens.