Along with initiatives around work from home and innovative use of telecom spectrum, incentives worth ₹48,000 crore for the electronics manufacturing sector will play a big role in reviving the economy reeling from the Covid-19 virus outbreak, said Union Minister for Electronics and IT and Communications Ravi Shankar Prasad.
In an interview with ET’s Surabhi Agarwal and Anandita Singh Mankotia, Prasad said that while social media companies have played a commendable role in dealing with the crisis, they need to behave responsibly in tackling misinformation. Excerpts:
The PM has asked every ministry for 10 ideas that will help revive the economy after the Covid-19 crisis. What will be your submissions?
We are working on it. One is surely electronics manufacturing; secondly, some great initiatives can be taken on working from home which can lead to more innovation. We can also revisit the spectrum issue. Spectrum can be used to drive a lot of innovation.
You just announced a Rs 48,000 crore push for electronics manufacturing. How will the government go about wooing the big companies?
We are in touch with them and all are very excited. They are waiting for the present situation to ease. Already, we have notified everything.
This is going to be a different world after the Covid-19 crisis. India has to push economic activity in a big way. So, this policy will ensure that it becomes a robust centre of electronics manufacturing.
How is the government dealing with the issue of videos spreading misinformation about Covid-19 going viral on platforms such as TikTok and WhatsApp?
I appreciate the co-operation of social media platforms, but they must behave responsibly during these times of challenge and stress. I have taken up the matter in a very tough manner with these companies. My simple statement to them was that they have to do the monitoring themselves and encryption can’t be (used) as an excuse.
What has been holding back the IT intermediary guidelines, which will address some of these issues?
It is under process. We are looking at finalising them after a final consultation.
The IT industry is seeking several incentives to tide over the current crisis. Are you considering their demands?
We will take all appropriate initiatives that India’s robust identity as a good IT services provider and the Digital India initiative require. The IT ministry did a big job by permitting work from home by relaxing norms swiftly; today 85-90% of people are working from home.
I have also instructed the department to come up with a policy framework so that work from home becomes a mass movement in India. There is great potential to permit innovation, reduce load on the system and the establishment, taking a cue from the current success of work from home.
What are the ways in which we are leveraging telecom networks during this time?
We are enabling geo-fencing through mobile phones. It is a mobile-based system to monitor the breach of geo-fencing by Covid-19 infected patients. The moment an infected person breaks his or her quarantine, the system shows an alert, health authorities are informed and the police track the patient.
Aarogya Setu is for smartphone users. What about feature phone users?
Today, we launched an Interactive Voice Response Service (IVRS) with the Government of Tamil Nadu. IVRS is for people who don’t have smartphones. Aarogya Setu and IVRS are taking care of privacy and will be extended to other states as well. The Aarogya Setu app has been downloaded by 2.7 crore people and we are making all efforts to ensure that it is widely used.
Has the quality of telecom services deteriorated?
Our telecom infrastructure is performing to its maximum. Out of 21 lakh Base Transceiver Stations in the country, only 355 today have malfunctioned. BSNL has also surprisingly performed well and I appreciate the good work that the postal department is doing to help the needy and the poor.
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