Jharkhand

New state, new commitments

When Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar as a new state two years ago, critics were skeptical about the fortunes of India’s 28th state. But the indomitable spirit of the people of the state and a proactive state administration have helped it to jump on to the fast-track of industrial development and growth, proving the skeptics wrong, says Joy Roy Choudhury

XLRI Jamshedpur, Jharkhand

Jharkhand houses more than 40 percent of the country’s mineral resources, a pre-requisite for development and growth of sunrise industries. Besides, the state also has a pool of qualified and trained personnel, the key to success for any knowledge-based industry. Above all, the Jharkhand government has been instrumental in creating a conducive atmosphere for maximising industrial investment by improving the law and order situation and infrastructure in the state. These factors have contributed significantly to the rapid growth in the state within a short span of time.

At the very outset, the state government has identified its priorities; to transform the face of the state by leveraging technology. Keeping this in mind, the state government released a vision statement and an exhaustive industrial and IT policy to pursue this objective.

Vision

The vision of the state is not only to IT-enrich Jharkhand but also to contribute to India’s growing reservoir of IT-talent for global industry and markets and to create a fully connected state through integrated networking.

The authority

The Department of Science and Technology and IT, is spearheading the state’s rise to prominence in the information age. This department is the nodal agency for development of science and technology projects with a focus on information technology and electronics. It acts as a facilitator, and sources know-how from across the country and abroad. This department is already active in creating a state-based IT-enabled force of knowledge-workers and integrated infrastructure and services to match the state’s current and future needs.

The IT policy

The Jharkhand policy on IT, part of the state’s industrial policy, was laid down to serve the need for a policy guideline for administrators and investors. It recognises the impressive growth of the IT sector in the country, and has resolved to make Jharkhand an IT powerhouse and a front-runner in the information revolution. The government considers IT as an agent of transformation in every facet of human life, which will bring about a knowledge-based society.

Infrastructure

Power
The creation of the new state and the need for quick development in order to bring it to the level of advanced states throws up a unique challenge to the authorities. The goal is to improve the power system so that industries will get uninterrupted power with constant voltage and frequency at an affordable cost. The state government has promised to undertake power sector reforms to accomplish these goals. The objective is also to simplify procedures with respect to tariffs and other aspects. The government is also trying to generate power from non-conventional sources.

Telecommunication and connectivity
The state has a good telecommunications network. All the district headquarters of the state are connected to the main network by reliable media and have STD facilities. The Ranchi Internet node has been upgraded to ‘A’ category. Local Dialing Facility (LDF) to access Internet is available at all district headquarters. Optic Fibre Cable (OFC) media connectivity is available in all district headquarters and connects 212 blocks of the state.

A separate telecommunication circle for Jhar-khand has started functioning, which would take care of the requirements of this sector. Jharkhand has 337 telephone exchanges having total switching capacity of 3.52 lakh lines out of which there are 2.75 lakh working telephone connections. At present 6 Internet nodes are operational in the Jharkhand Telecom Circle.

The state government proposes to link rural areas through wireless in local loop (WiLL), to connect all telephone exchanges through OFC, to link rural areas with business centres and make availabile BSNL’s mobile services in the state.

The info infrastructure edge

The aim of the state government is to accelerate the drive for setting up world-class info-infrastructure with an extensive spread of fibre optic, satcom and wireless networks for seamlessly interconnecting the local informatics infrastructure (LII), national informatics infrastructure (NII) and the global informatics infrastructure (GII) to ensure a fast onset of the Internet, extranets and intranets.

STPI unit in Ranchi

The government of India has approved the setting up of a Software Technology Park (STP) in Ranchi. The STP unit would be set up by the Centre in association with the Department of Science & Technology and IT, Government of Jharkhand.

Johaar Hi-Tech Cyberpuram

Perhaps the most ambitious project of the country in recent times would be the ‘super multimedia corridor’ to be set up at the steel city of Bokaro called ‘Johaar Hi-Tech Cyberpuram’. Land to the tune of 5,000 acres has already been sanctioned for this project.

The Department of Science & Technology and IT is setting up the necessary infrastructure for the project like water and power connectivity, basic telephone services, broadband services, OFC connectivity, etc. The project will feature attractions like a multimedia university for 1,000 students, facilities for global entertainment enterprises, facilities/infrastructure for investors/manufacturers, advanced medicine and electro-medical enterprise, R&D centres, smart schools, financial institutions and residential units. Bokaro has been chosen for this project because of its proximity to four other major cities of the state, Dhanbad, Ranchi, Hasaribagh and Jamshedpur. It is also well connected with other parts of the country by national and state highways. The multimedia corridor is likely to employ 1.5 lakh people. The state is in talks with several national and international players like SingTel, SAP Germany and Ramoji Rao Studio for the multimedia and electronics park.

GIS (Geographical Information System)

GIS has transformed the face of Jharkhand. GIS is extensively used in computerising all data by mapping using satellite images of lands, towns and villages. Industrial and town planning projects are already underway using GIS. In addition to 18 departments of the state government, mining and transportation will also use GIS extensively to speed up operations. GIS will also be used in management of wastelands in the state. GIS is also being used for forest extent mapping, the type of forest and density mapping, including bio-diversity conservation. Villagers will get information on the village level soil type, ground water information and an irrigation canal information system.

Special Economic Zone

The special economic zone (SEZ) is to be set up along the Jamshedpur-Ranchi highway It would also have a state-of-the-art IT park, biotech park, hotels, recreation and housing facilities. Private investors would be provided land, power, water and communication facilities at concessional rates. A host of tax concessions applicable on units set up at SEZs under different Central and state government schemes would be offered to private investors.

Waste land management

The Department of Science & Technology and IT, government of Jharkhand has put special emphasis on wasteland management in the state. Wasteland consists of 28 percent of the land area in the state and the government wants proper utilisation of these barren lands. GIS would be extensively used in computerising all data by mapping them using satellite images of these wastelands. The results after preparation would be examined and used in formulating policies for proper utilisation of these wastelands.

On the right path

Whether the state is heading in the right direction or not can be gauged from the fact that several private entrepreneurs have evinced keen interest in the ongoing IT projects of the state. Some of them have shown interest in getting associated with these projects. The effort the state administration is putting in to prepare IT infrastructure in the state should pay rich dividends in the next couple of years.