With increased focus on the use of data for better administration and transparency, Tamil Nadu government’s Information Technology department has hired around 50 data analysts and engineers. They will work with all departments, ensuring the quality of data that is flowing into the Chief Minister’s dashboard, data purity, data standards and open data in the future.
Tamil Nadu Decision Support System (DeTN - CM Dashboard) monitors implementation of schemes and projects and provides insights for policy making. It displays the Key Performance Indicators of various department schemes/programmes in near real time. It offers a comprehensive data analytics capability along with visual representation to aid decision making, says the Information Technology Department’s Policy Note 2022-23 presented in the Assembly on Wednesday by IT minister T Mano Thangaraj.
The IT department has instructed all government departments to share a copy of the data, including transaction data. Tamil Nadu eGovernance Agency will process this data for data-driven decision making. It will also issue mandatory directions related to standards on data copy, corrections, collections, format, meta-data, transfer, use and storage.
Using the data received from the departments, specific questions raised from the Chief Minister’s Office and other departments were answered. The family counts in Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS), Jewel loan waiver scheme beneficiary identification, number of cylinders in LPG vs PDS, comparing Old Age Pension with death date, employee and pension data have been validated. This has saved crores of money to government exchequer, the Policy Note said.
IT will play a role in Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s vision of taking the State's economy to $1 Trillion by 2030. Government will support budding entrepreneurs to adopt future technologies. Several measures are being taken towards making the State the global centre for IT. New investments would be encouraged in the IT sector and new jobs would be created towards ensuring overall growth in the State.
“The IT department is acting as a driver and an agent of change to enhance our capability in use and adoption of technology in Governance and Industry through several initiatives and hopes to catapult Tamil Nadu to a numero uno position in the country in technology dominance,” the Policy Note said.
Special Economic Zones by ELCOT (ELCOSEZs) have enabled local IT firms to integrate with global value chains and have made significant contributions to the overall growth of exports, investment and employment opportunities in the IT/ITeS sector in the State. The IT/ITeS exports from ELCOSEZs during 2021-22 were ₹22,958 crore and generated direct employment for approximately 94,000 individuals.
Multi-sector SEZs
The Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Land Disposal Wing, in November 2021 said that lands reserved for ELCOT for the purpose of IT parks can be used as multi sector SEZs. Now, ELCOT is working to attract companies from all sectors to set up infrastructure at ELCOSEZs, the Policy Note said.
Tamil Nadu Internet and Connectivity Services (Tanics) , a subsidiary of Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation Ltd (Tactv), will take steps to obtain the Internet Service Provider licence this year to provide Internet service to homes, the Policy Note said.