Thiruvananthapuram: Free digital devices for the economically weaker to access e-governance services would be one of the highlights of the state government’s IT policy to be announced soon. Making Kerala a knowledge-centric digital society by 2020, developing a smart office network enabling staff to work from anywhere and setting up a centre of excellence in Malayalam computing, are some of the other elements of the policy which is in the final stages of vetting, sources said.
The government plans separate supplementary policies on the primary sectors like startups, innovation, free and open source software and cyber security. Ease of doing business and incentives to startups would also be key components of the policy. They said the government was of the view that the benefits of the digital revolution should reach the grassroots. Hence the idea of providing a digital device like a low-priced tablet to the marginalised free of cost.
Disabled-friendly digital initiatives may also find a place in the policy. To achieve the 2020 target of making Kerala a digital society, the policy will envisage steps for scaling up digital services not only in governance but also in areas affecting the daily life as well as in commercial sectors. Promoting Internet of Things, a green protocol for e-waste, giving priority to Free and Open Source Software and digital tendering process are likely to be other components of the policy.
