Time For Action: April 2009 Issue

ASIA’S FIRST MONTHLY MAGAZINE ON E-GOVERNMENT

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INTERVIEW

Rajendra Kumar Secretary- Power Government of NCT of Delhi

Time For Action

IS S N 0 97 3 - 1 61 X

VOLUME 5

| ISSUE 4 | APRIL 2009

www .e go v o nl ine . ne t

www.egovonline.net - Asia’s Leading Portal on e-Government

18 ICT Adoption:

Showing the way forward

21 Going Green with Data 28 Mobiles on New Turf

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CONTENTS COVER STORY

www.egovonline.net Volume 5 | Issue 4 | April 2009

NEWS & VIEWS

Time for Action

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Sandeep Budki

38

INTERVIEW

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Powering Initiatives

Karthik Ramarao Director – Technology Sun Microsystems, India

Rajendra Kumar, Secretary-Power, Government of NCT of Delhi Sandeep Budki

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Procuring made Easy T R Padmanabhan, Advisor NIIT Technologies Ltd. Nilakshi Barooah

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Climate Sustainability Strategy

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Arun Seth, Chairman, BT India Tannu Singh

Dewang Neralla Director Atom Technologies, India

FEATURE

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ICT Adoption: Showing the way Forward

21

Going Green with Data

Tannu Singh

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Wired to Unwired

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Mobiles on New Turf

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Green Engineering

Country Category Manager, HP India Sales Ltd.

Nilakshi Barooah

Valmeeka Nathan, VP, Infosys Technologies Ltd.

BJP on Information Highway

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Change of Guard

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Rajat Mehta

Jack Rowley, Director Research &Sustainability, GSM Association

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Nilakshi Barooah

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Deepinder Bedi Executive Director Tulip Telecom, India

Sandeep Budki

Sandeep Budki

CASE STUDY

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Events Watch

A Paradigm Shift

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Executive Movements

January 2009

45

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EDITORIAL

Dr. M P Narayanan EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Dr. Ravi Gupta GROUP DIRECTORS

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Sandeep Budki COPY EDITOR

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Time For Action: ICT Adoption, Green Mobiles, Data Centres If one tries to analyse world’s most used search engine, Google, it would be surprising to know that, one single Google search query consumes 2 to 8 watt-hours of energy. If we average this out to 4.5 watt hours per query, and consider Google is easily handling 400 million queries a day, then we can see 1,800,000,000 (1.8 billion) watt-hours of energy being used daily just for basic search queries. It is almost like Google Complex itself uses the same amount of power as 3,333 California homes.

Now the next question that arises is why are we talking about it? The answer is, to add momentum to the green revolution. ICT seems to be that allencompassing answer which is leading the way towards switching to green.

But even adoption of ICT for going green has its own set of issues. Though it is surely showing the way forward when it comes to cutting down on the consumption of non-renewable sources of energy, but the other side of the coin is that the ICT sector is infact the highest contributor to environmental degradation through emission of green house gases.

Transition to sources of alternate energy seems to be the survival mantra today.

Alternate sources of energy in the sense of renewable sources of energy are being preferred now-a-days not only because they are replenishable and increasingly becomingly affordable but also because they provide for an effective means of environmental conservation. As a matter of fact, ‘Green’ sources of energy also can be termed as a smart way of existence in the current times of recession and global warming, because except for the initial cost of installation, switching to green sources of energy can prove to be quiet cost-effective and environmental friendly step in the long term.

In this issue it is our endeavour to bring forth a whole range of issues around going green, be it the switch to alternate energy covered in the cover article, ‘The Time For Action’, or be it about managing grounds like ‘ICT Adoption: Showing the way forward to green’, ‘Going Green with Data’ and ‘Green Mobile Phones’.

EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE

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April 2009

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COVER STORY FEATURE

Time for Action Renewable energy sources are increasingly being harnessed today to provide people with alternative and eco-friendly energy for their fuel needs

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s people become more conscious about preserving the environment and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, better alternatives are being developed and utilised. This holds true in terms of the energy usage also.

This is the reason behind the growing popularity and need for alternative and renewable energy sources.

Renewable energy means that it can be easily replenished in a short span of time. This is because sources of this type of energy are in abundant supply and are foreseen not to experience any shortage in the future. Much of this renewable energy is used in electricity generation. This is followed by the production of heat and steam for industrial applications, transportation and heating of homes and buildings.

The negative effects of the use of fossil fuels are taking its toll on environment and humans alike. Pollution mainly from the burning of fuels has long been pointed as a major cause of the earth’s deterioration and man’s health problems notably those related to respiratory illnesses. Additionally, world prices of fuel never fails to shock, as a result search for alternative sources of energy is fast gaining momentum.

M. Hamid Ansari, Vice President of India in India energy conference had said, “Energy for development debate is important and should be multifaceted in nature encompassing environment conservation. Successful nations have harnessed energy security.

Government’s energy policy must meet demands at competitive prices and should be economically viable.”

Addressing the same conference , Dr R.K. Pachauri, Director-General TERI and Chairman IPCC said, “We are going through historic changes in the energy sector, hence renewable and alternate

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sour ces of energy should be tapped in a bigger scale. I feel that nuclear energy is an important component of the energy sector. Energy sector needs major investments for R&D and the oil exporting nations will play a quintessential role in supporting the infrastructure and welfare of the local community.”

A major advantage of renewable energy is its low impact on the environment especially since it does not emit hazardous greenhouse gases.

As such, they are cleaner and safer to use. While renewable energy were a bit

expensive to use in the past, they are considered to be more affordable now.

Some drawbacks, though, include their remote location, high cost of building power lines and less constant availability especially those that are dependent on the weather condition such as solar and wind energy. Renewable energy sources are increasingly being harnessed today to provide people with alternative and eco-friendly energy for their fuel needs.

As the prices of crude oil and natural gas, the production and use of these fuels continue to grow and are expected to go on for many more years. This may www.egovonline.net

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still be coupled, though, with the use of non-renewable fuels.

TELECOM TRENDS

Reducing emissions and costs remains a high priority on the 2009 telecoms agenda. According to a new report from Ovum, the global advisory and consulting firm, going green now ranks high on the agenda for many telecoms operators and rightly so.”Apart from the feel-good factor that comes with knowing you are doing your bit to save the planet, there are a number of other benefits to be gained from implementing green initiatives throughout the telecoms business. Reducing costs and improving brand perception are only an example”, says Sally Banks, Senior Analyst with Telco Operations at Ovum.

Although identifying, implementing and monitoring green policies within the telecoms industry will cost money to establish, the benefits far outweigh these initial costs in terms of both financial savings and revenue generating opportunities, as well as helping to prevent climate change.

“Operators across the world have introduced an array of green policies”, explains Sally Banks. Using renewable energy sources to power networks and mobile base stations and natural resources from sustainable sources are just a couple of examples but there is still more that operators can do. Recycling materials from phones, networks and offices, improving the battery life of mobile phones to reduce the need to charge them so frequently, cutting energy usage and using more energy efficient technologies, are also high on the list of green priorities. Telecom operators have also started using fresh air cooling systems for data centres rather than high-energy air-conditioning systems and switching from diesel/petrol to LPG on fleet vehicles to reduce emissions.

“Introducing environmentally-friendly initiatives is only part of the challenge of implementing a green strategy.

However, in order for it to succeed, telecoms operators need to ensure the full co-operation of its employees, establish credible key performance indicators that can measure progress and, importantly, send consistent marketing messages pertaining to its green credentials”, continues Sally Banks.

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Estimates suggest that telecoms can achieve a 1-2% reduction in global carbon emissions by implementing green initiatives within their operations.

However, the telecommunications industry is expected to enable other businesses to reduce emissions by up to five times this amount, highlighting that telecom has a major role to play in enabling a green economy.

Erratic power supply in rural areas is pushing more and more Indian telcos to alternative energy to power their towers. Sometime back Idea Cellular announced that it was looking at biodiesel to power some of its rural cellular base stations. The fad apparently is catching on. Ericsson has already set up 4 towers running on fish and vegetable oils, for Idea Cellular in the power-strapped Maharashtra circle.

Reliance Communications is tapping wind and solar power. While it has already installed windmills on its towers at Kunustara and Murugathal near Durgapur in West Bengal, it is in talks with Pune-based solar cell manufacturer Machinocraft on the solar power front.

On a rough estimate, a wind power turbine or a solar panel mounted on towers will generate around 1,8002,000 watts during peak sunshine hours or high-windy days. Of this, the repeater sites consume up to 500 watt each, while the remaining is stored in batteries and used to power the network at night or low windy times.

SUCCESS STORIES

On December 31, 2002, the Indian Railways conducted a successful trial run of an express passenger train on the Delhi-Amritsar route using five per cent of “biodiesel’’ as fuel. The fuel is extracted from the seeds of the `Jatropha’ plant which is well-adapted to semi-arid or arid conditions and demands low soil-fertility and moisture. In Warangal, Andhra Pradesh, the Azamshahi Textile Mills, set up by the Nizam of Hyderabad in 1940, generated all the power needs of the factory using non-edible oils until its recent closure; and it had surplus power left over for the city’s needs.

Since Dr Srinivasa’s rediscovery of the potential of he Honge tree, Dandeli Ferroalloys of Dandeli, Karnataka, converted all five of their diesel engines to run entirely from Honge oil. Powered

by Honge fuel, Kagganhalli’s villagers have now been able to pump enough water to turn their dry and desolate village into one that can produce watermelons, mulberry bushes, sugar cane and grains.

Several new power alternatives have also emerged in the arena of transportation. Thanks to pressure from the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and subsequent Supreme Court rulings, Delhi’s buses and three-wheelers have now switched to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).

Seoul has also begun a switchover to CNG. Other Indian metros, and cities www.egovonline.net

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in Indonesia, Iran are considering similar moves. Cairo and Dhaka are also drawing up CNG plans so as to reduce intolerable levels of urban air pollution and reduce consumption of petrol or diesel.

ADVANTAGE INDIA

Close on the heels of the Kyoto protocol recommending a phased changeover to bio-diesel through blending, the Government of India has taken a number of initiatives to promote biofuels. The Agriculture Ministry has drawn up large scale plans to plant Jatropha across the country. India currently has nearly 250,000 acres under Jatropha cultivation. Indian Oil

Corporation, the country’s leading oil PSU has drawn elaborate plans to venture into the bio-diesel segment.

Bharat Petroleum alone has undertaken Jatropha plantation in 1,000 acres of land. Hindustan Petroleum plans to plant 10 lakh Jatropha saplings, install transesterification units and tissue culture-related research and development. The Planning Commission of India has also initiated the draft policy for bio-fuels envisaging 5% blending by 2012 and 10% by 2017.

Major institutions like the Indian Institute of Planning, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Indian Institute of Science, and the Indian Institute of Technology are working diligently on

Important announcements in 2009 •

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West Bengal government plans to raise the minimum take off limit from renewables for its distribution company to 10 % from its current amount of 4.8 %. This is in response to the expected US$1 billion worth investments in renewable energy sector projects by 2012.

Moser Baer Photovoltaic, a subsidiary of Moser Baer India has won a contract from the Roads and Buildings department of Gujarat to set up roof-top solar photovoltaic installations. The solar photovoltaic system with 135-kilowatt-peak installed capacity will run a 40-kilowatt load for 10 hours each day and charge a battery bank of 6,000 ampere hours.

Mumbai-based company, Refex Energy Ltd, has announced its intention to invest INR 1000 crore (US$205 million) for setting up a 50 MW solar power plant in Gujarat.

Moser Baer announced that its photovoltaic subsidiary is ready for production of thin film photovoltaic modules at its manufacturing plant in Greater Noida. The 40MW capacity line is the largest thin film solar line in India.

Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd (BHEL) is entering into an understanding with Kerala Electrical and Allied Engineering Co Ltd (KEL) for setting up a joint venture (JV) to manufacture wind power generators. The proposed JV expects to generate a turnover of US$12.3 million by next year.

Infrastructures Kerala (Inkel) has announced plans to launch four hydroelectric projects with a total capacity of 53 MW. Of the four projects, two are at Bhoothathankettu with a capacity of 16 MW each, one at Keezharkuthu with 15 MW, and a 6-MW project at Chittoor. The aggregate investment for the four projects is US$51.3 million.

The Punjab government has drafted a plan to generate power from agriculture waste by setting up co-generation power plants at all the stateowned cooperative sugar mills. The concept aims to involve the private sector on a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis at its nine sugar mills. The private sector companies will purchase agriculture waste through cooperative societies in the state to generate power through the biomass project.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is considering a proposal to set up a company for generating power from renewable sources. The company would be 100% owned by the government. The proposed firm will tap solar, geothermal, wind, biofuel and biomass sources for power generation. This will be the first PSU generating power from renewable sources.

the research and development aspects of bio-diesel.

A study by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, six million CFL’s used every year in India would eliminate the need of 3700 MW of electricity and save around $6 million In India, there are 300 million general lighting service points, and if 10% of these are converted to CFL, 4,000 million KW per annum of electricity would be saved, reducing the country’s electricity bills by INR 1320 crore. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group is prioritising investments in Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency domains of Indian businesses. Three lakh Electric Vehicles on the Indian roads by 2020 (2,3 & 4 wheelers) could result in a reduction of over 16 lakh metric tons of CO, NOx & HC by 2020, savings of over US$ 1billion in foreign exchange.

GEOTHERMAL

Studies carried out by the geological survey of India have observed existence of about 340 hot springs in the hot country. These are distributed in seven geothermal provinces. Geothermal energy is at present contributes about 10,000 MW over the world and India’s small resources can augment the above percentage. An experimental geothermal power plant of 5-MW capacity has been set up at Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh. A cold storage plant has also been set up in the area to utilise geothermal energy at 90°C for preserving vegetable and fruits. Glitnir Bank is continuing to spread the world about geothermal, announcing a joint venture with LNJ Bhilwara Group.

The venture is being set up with initial capital of $10 million for its exploration phase.

HYDRO ENERGY

India has been generating hydropower for more than a century. India ranks fifth in the world in terms of exploitable hydro potential. According to CEA estimates, India’s exploitable hydroelectric potential is estimated to be 150,000 MW, whereas the installed capacity in the country has so far been 34,653.77 MW, which is about 23 % of the potential. According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the potential of Indian small hydro power projects (up to 25 MW) www.egovonline.net

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is estimated at 15,000 MW, whereas the country has so far set up SHP projects with a cumulative installed capacity of 1,976 MW only. The government envisages a capacity addition of 1,400 MW during the 11th Five-Year Plan period (20072012). Apart from this, projects aggregating to a 394 MW capacity are under implementation. The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) arranges lowinterest loans for hydel power stations with capacities up to 25 MW. A package of incentives and subsidies, including fiscal concessions, are available for SHP projects. Many states have announced preferential tariff structures for SHP projects. The Government of India is encouraging the development of small hydro projects through public and private sector participation in various States.

Due to the wide distribution of small hydro power stations, India has a wellfunctioning network of manufacturers and dealers with established international connections and partnerships.

meters collector area. Against this, the achievement till 31 March 2007 stands at 1.90 million sq. meters only. The Ministry proposes an addition of 9.50 million sq. meters during the 11th FiveYear Plan period (2007-2012).

WIND ENERGY

SOLAR ENERGY

India is on course to emerge as a solar energy hub. The techno-commercial potential of photovoltaics in India is enormous. With GDP growing in excess of 8% (till sometime back), the energy ‘gap’ between supply and demand will only widen. Solar PV is a renewable energy resource capable of bridging this ‘gap’. Most parts of India have 300 - 330 sunny days in a year, which is equivalent to over 5000 trillion kWh per year - more than India’s total energy consumption per year. Average solar incidence stands at a robust 4 - 7 kWh/sq.meter/day. About 66 MW of aggregate capacity is installed for various applications comprising 1 million industrial PV systems - 80% of which is solar lanterns, home/street lighting systems and solar water pumps, etc. The estimated potential envisaged by the ministry for the solar PV programme, i.e. solar street/home lighting systems, solar lanterns is 20 MW/sq. kilometre.

The potential of the solar thermal sector in India also remains untapped.

According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), the estimated potential of solar water heating systems is 140 million sq.

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India is endowed with a large, viable and economically exploitable wind power potential. According to the MNRE, India’s potential is conservatively estimated at 45,195 MW. The use of wind power in India ranks fourth by

Most parts of India have 300 - 330 sunny days in a year, which is equivalent to over 5000 trillion kWh per year - more than India’s total energy consumption per year” worldwide comparison with an installed capacity of 7,092 MW. In fact, the Indian government envisages a capacity addition of 10,500 MW during the 11th Five – Year Plan period (2007-2012).

India is placed at the third position in the world in terms of new construction and this corresponds to an overall increase of over 40% in new wind power

stations. India’s largest private power company, TATA Power is setting up a 100 MW wind energy project in India.

National Thermal Power Corporation plans to install wind energy capacity of 250 MW. Hindustan Petrochemicals Company Limited and Oil and Natural Gas Commission are foraying into the wind energy segment with wind farms of 100 - 150 MW at various sites along India’s coastline. A programme entitled “Small Wind Energy and Hybrid Systems” is developed every year for the small wind-power station segment i.e. those with a capacity up to 30 KW and wind-powered water pumps produced in India. During 2006-07 (validated up to 30 September 2006), indigenously produced wind turbines valued at US$ 250 million have been exported to Australia, Brazil, China, USA and to European countries. The export of wind turbines and components together is likely to touch about US$ 500 million during the financial year. A vast range of attractive incentives including fiscal concessions are offered to wind power projects by the MNRE, Government of India.

Now is it the time to take action, otherwise our future generation will be deprived for clean and safe environment.

As the saying goes “ prevention is better than the cure”, let us all work towards a better tomorrow by adopting alternate sources of energy which will make this world a better place to live in.

Sandeep Budki sandeep@egovonline.net

www.egovonline.net

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INTERVIEW

www.delhigovt.nic.in

Powering Initiatives Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Management Centre was established by Delhi Transco Limited (DTL). Why was it established?

The Energy Conservation Act 2001 was enacted on 29th September 2001 to provide efficient use of energy and its conservation. As per Section 15(d) of the Act, state government may designate any agency as a designated body to coordinate, regulate and enforce provisions of this Act within the state. Subsequently, Delhi Transco Limited was nominated as a Nodal Agency on 08-04-05 under EC Act 2001 and vide notification dated 28-07-06 issued

by Principal Secretary (Power) in the name of Lt. Governor, NCT of Delhi. Further, the DTL Board, vide its resolution no. 26.2.17 passed on 23-06-06 approved the creation of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Management Centre. The EE&REM function was to perform role of “SDA” under EC Act 2001 on the behalf of DTL and to promote the use of renewable energy.

Presently, the EE&REM centre has been transferred to Urban Department, Delhi Government.

Rajendra Kumar Secretary-Power Government of NCT of Delhi

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The awareness campaign made for the utilisation of alternate sources of energy and its benefit through various methods such as Bhagidari Meeting with Resident Welfare Authorities (RWAs), advertisement in daily newspapers and publicity on FM radio channels.”

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What are the initiatives taken by Department of Power for creating awareness for utilising the alternate sources of energy by common people and different government departments?

The Department of Power has taken various initiatives for energy conservations. The use of Compact Fluorescent Lamps and Electronic chokes has been made mandatory in government buildings / government aided institutions/ Boards / Corporations.

The government has also made the use of Solar Water Heaters mandatory in hotels, motels, institutes, hostels, residential colonies etc. The awareness campaign made for the utilisation of alternate sources of energy and its benefit through various methods such as Bhagidari Meeting with Resident Welfare Authorities (RWAs), advertisement in daily newspapers, publicity on FM radio channels, digital display on the hoardings, various exhibitions of national and international levels. Moreover booklets and posters on ‘Akshay Urja’ in 1500 schools in Delhi and creation of Energy Conservation Clubs having 1200 students and 75 schools as members is also being done.

In many states street lights are powered through solar energy.

What is happening on this front in Delhi?

The work of street lighting which is to be powered through solar energy is under consideration.

What are the incentives given to non commercial institutions for using alternative sources of energy?

An incentive of INR 6000/- per unit of 100 litres subject to maximum of INR 60000/- shall be given to the non-Commercial institutions like hostels, religious establishments, charitable institutions, and group housing societies for installation of Solar Water Heater.

Sandeep Budki sandeep@egovonline.net

www.egovonline.net

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INTERVIEW

www.niit-tech.com

Procuring made Easy

T R Padmanabhan Advisor NIIT Technologies

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During the new fiscal year 2009-10, we will address the business needs of many more government organisations in the areas of e-Procurement and e-Governance.”

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Do you think Software as a Service technology can boost e-Governance? What are NIIT Technologies’ activities on this front?

Yes, Software as a Service (SaaS) can be the catalyst for change towards better governance from a technology enablement standpoint. It holds great promise in terms of integrating business processes across widely spread out organisation structures and hierarchies.

Fundamentally, SaaS is a method of delivering Information Technology Applications to users in a ‘multi-tenancy’ environment where one instance of the application software is used by multiple customers.

SaaS-based solutions can be deployed rapidly and eliminate the need to invest in infrastructure and ongoing software maintenance costs that traditional applications require. Applications once deployed are continually maintained by the service provider including upgrades and enhancements. The cost of application sustenance is not passed on to the clients who get to leverage the ‘current’ version of the applications on a perennial basis. Customers use the application to perform their normal business transactions - and pay as per usage.

One of the important aspects of e-Governance is to ensure transparency and compliance to laid down policies. e-Procurement provides such transparency and compliance and the SaaS mode of delivery enables easy leverage of the solution for the government departments.

Our premise for our SaaS offering is that it should make a potential customer see value and reap the desired business benefits – be it cost optimization, process efficiencies, productivity improvements, faster time to market or a combination of all of these. NIIT Technologies focuses on the processes of Procurement, Sales & Distribution, Financials and HR Management & Payroll.

Tell us about the Procure-Easy platform of NIIT Technologies. What is the USP vis-à-vis your competitors?

Procure-Easy is an integrated, highly secure, configurable e-Procurement platform that addresses the needs of both the government and industry segments.

While most products in the market offer e-Tendering, Procure-Easy offers end-to-end procurement functions - right from demand aggregation, to sourcing, ordering, invoicing and payments. It is a complete procurement platform that allows supplier collaboration, negotiation and closure in a secure Internet environment. www.egovonline.net

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NIIT Technologies’ e-Auction platform also allows for both forward and reverse auctions with a number of unique features such as ‘auto-extend’, proxy bids and multiple item auctions. The demand aggregation platform allows extended organisations such as retailers, collect requirements and then manage procurement in a centralised manner enabling benefits of scale in negotiation. Procure-Easy allows placement of annual/semi-annual rate contracts once any negotiation is completed. It is an umbrella application that sits over standard back-office Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application(s) and seamlessly integrates with the organisations’ existing application platform(s).

Security is one of the prime requirements of e-Commerce, whether it is for sales or for purchase. The IT Act of 2003 lays down the framework for ensuring security of all transactions.

Identity of the person who is performing the transaction is ensured through digital signatures. Our products incorporate such digital signatures for all transactions. No unauthorised person should have access to the transaction and this is ensured at multiple levels through secure login user ID and password coupled with a digital signature, secure transmission using the https: protocol and encryption of all confidential stored data using ‘public’ and ‘private’ keys.

In the current volatile market As a part of the What has been your experience scenario, are you betting big on e-Governance initiative, the government vertical? with the Singapore Government Since its launch last year, Procurefor developing a unified all state governments Easy has been piloted at many e-Procurement platform for organisations. them? and Public Sector Units (PSUs) government NIIT Technologies supported Given its robustness, ease of the Defense Technology deployment, feature richness and have been mandated establishments by developing user friendliness, Procure-Easy has to implement and maintaining an integrated found many takers. The potential e-Procurement portal over a in the government sector is huge e-Procurement initiatives” period of 8 years thus enabling all but the long decision cycles slow government buying through this down the sales process. That portal. With strong functionalities said, we have been shortlisted for and features that make it very providing e-Procurement services easy to use while being secure and easily customizable, this to various defense and public sector undertakings after a product forms the core of NIIT Technologies ‘Procure-Easy’ thorough technical evaluation of Procure-Easy. application. NIIT Technologies has further enhanced the We are currently empanelled as a premier service provider package to suit Indian Government procurement policies along with the large enterprise application firms at one of and procedures and added features such as ‘auctions’ that India’s largest PSUs. Across the engagements, we are focused help in negotiations. on improving the efficiencies of the sourcing process while the product enables increased accountability and transparency.

Which are the government departments where you have What do you think about the trend of negative bidding in delivered e-Government services?

In India, e-Procurement is one of our major offerings in the acquiring government tenders? government space. In the past, we have executed large e- I do believe government tenders should follow a weighted Government projects at key units of the Indian Defense and price system for comparison with points awarded for all Paramilitary establishments. We also delivered integrated IT areas such as experience, technical solution, and maturity. solutions to municipal corporations and to the postal services Cheapest is not always the best. establishment. One of the critical aspects of e-Governance is transparency and compliance especially with regard to What are your plans for the year 2009 with reference to procurement. As a part of the e-Governance initiative, all e-Governance? state governments and Public Sector Units (PSUs) have been During the new fiscal year 2009-10, we will address the mandated to implement e-Procurement initiatives. We are business needs of many more government organisations in also working with a number of state governments and PSUs the areas of e-Procurement and e-Governance. We will also look to expand our portfolio of SaaS-based offerings into who are at various stages of implementing such solutions. other markets outside of India where we also do work for the What are the measures NIIT Technologies is undertaking government sector. with reference to cyber security in terms of e-Commerce Nilakshi Barooah activities? nilakshi@egovonline.net

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April 2009

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FEATURE FEATURE

ICT Adoption: Showing the Way Forward to Green Through enabling other sectors to reduce their emissions, the ICT industry could reduce global emissions by as much as 15 per cent by 2020-a volume of Carbon dioxide emission (CO2e) five times its own footprint in 2020

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very decade is benchmarked by an important event or happening. Maybe this present decade can be epitomized for the historic event of rising of Barack Obama to one of the most powerful posts of the present era, i.e. to the presidency of United States of America. Now this is the obvious part of the story.

The latent or the hidden part of the story lies in telling the tale as to how did he rise to this position?

Maybe because he was thinking man with a sound agenda whose fundamental issues struck a chord with the not so foolish democratic A m e r i c a n Citizenry. If looked at very closely, Obama’s agenda pre as well as post his appointment emphasised greatly on ICT application as well as Green IT application. Very recently according to a news article in a reputed print media Obama has stratergised a $825billion stimulus plan which has called for $37 billion spending in three hitech areas: $20 billion to computerise medical records, $11 billion to create smarter electrical grids and $6 billion to expand high-speed Internet access to 18 }

rural and undeserved communities.

And this is not the case only with U.S. but also Europe as well as India, are fast catching up with this movement towards prioritizing ICT adoption and Green IT innovations. Can these prioritised steps in the current times of

recession be seen as a step towards addressing the needs of connectivity and communication alone? No there is a horizon beyond.

And that horizon is that of addressing the issue of reduction of CO2 emission through ICT applications and innovation.

Global eSustainability Initiative’s (GeSI) recent Smart 2020 report indicates that “Through enabling other sectors to reduce their emissions, the ICT industry could reduce global emissions by as much as 15 per cent by 2020 – a volume of CO2e five times its own footprint in 2020.” Commenting on the global scenario and efforts towards ICT adoption for cutting CO2 emission Arun Seth, Chairman, BT India says that, “Developing global standards for reducing the energy requirements www.egovonline.net

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SMART 2020 Enabling the low carbon economy in the information age’ a report by the Climate Group on behalf of the Global eSustainability Initiative (GeSI) lists out the primary steps that the ICT sector needs to take in order to enable GHG (Green House Gas) emission reductions: • Standardise: ICT can provide information in standard forms on energy consumption and emissions, across sectors • Monitor: ICT can incorporate monitoring information into the design and control for energy use • Account: ICT can provide the capabilities and platforms to improve accountability of energy and carbon • Rethink: ICT can offer innovations that capture energy efficiency opportunities across buildings / homes, transport, power, manufacturing and other infrastructure and provide alternatives to current ways of operating, learning, living, working and travelling Transform: ICT can apply smart and integrated approaches to energy management of systems • and processes, including benefits from both automation and behaviour change and develop alternatives to high carbon activities, across all sectors of the economy.

of networks and equipment will help make ICT an even more powerful tool for businesses to use in managing their greenhouse gas emissions and meeting their climate change targets.”

IMPORTANCE OF ADDRESSING CO2 EMISSION PROBLEM

An Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that for Asia by 2050 due to the Green house Gas emissions: coastal areas, especially heavily populated megadelta regions in South, East and South-East Asia, will be at greatest risk due to increased flooding from the sea and, in some megadeltas, flooding from the rivers; climate change is projected to compound the pressures on natural resources and the environment associated with rapid urbanisation, industrialisation and economic development; endemic morbidity and mortality due to diarrhoeal disease primarily associated with floods and droughts are expected to rise in East, South and South-East Asia due to projected changes in the hydrological cycle. Carbon emissions have already increased global temperatures by more than 0.5°C and with no action to cut greenhouse gases, we will warm the planet another 2-3°C within 50 years. This will transform the physical geography of the planet and the way we live, with floods, disease, storms and water shortages becoming more frequent.

Turning to the economics, the effects of climate change could cost the world between 5% and 20% of GDP, prompting the worst recession since ov

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the 1920s. With no action, each tonne of carbon dioxide we emit will cause at least $85 (£45) of damage.

HOW CAN ICT HELP?

Corporate India is increasingly motivated towards reducing CO2 emission through ICT adoption. For example BT India targeting towards reducing its global carbon emissions intensity by 80% by 2020, has taken to a multi-faceted approach to reducing the impact of their operation, empowering customers to reduce the impacts from their end by offering innovative products and services, influencing suppliers to provide more energy efficient products and services and encouraging their employees to reduce their carbon footprint at home and at work.

Arun Seth of BT India further adds that, “We are also developing innovative products and services to help our customers reduce their climate change impact. We launched our Sustainability Practice in 2007 to help our large corporate and public sector customers make better use of ICT to become more sustainable. The first service launched as part of the practice is the BT Carbon Impact Assessment, which calculates organisations’ CO2 emissions and recommends ways to reduce them.”

Better utilisation and management of ICT devices at workplaces can also go a long way in reducing the CO2 emission.

First step towards this can be through the adoption of more efficient components like micro-processors which are used within electronic equipment, require energy both to operate and for cooling fans. So advances in chip design (such

as ‘multi-core’ processors) can save 30-60% of the energy used by the processor if software is written to take advantage of this capacity. Secondly at the workplaces there is an important need of better power management.

Almost all computers now have a low power mode which they can enter automatically after a period of user inactivity. In such modes they will consume very little power but can often be woken up within seconds.

Thirdly in place of desktops at the workplace, use of laptop computers is more advisable. For laptop computers can sometimes use as little as a third of the energy of a desktop. Similarly, flat screen monitors are much more efficient than old-fashioned cathode ray tubes. Fourthly, use of thin clients is supposed to be greatly energy efficient.

Thin clients are terminals that do not do processing themselves, but allow the user to connect to central servers and display the output. Lastly it is always advisable to employ multi-functional devices over several separate devices especially at workplaces. For example printers which now often include scanning, copying and fax functions also, are more efficient than running several separate devices. This way the number of printers per person can also be reduced, and printers can be set to enforce double-sided printing to save paper and use of the printer.

Faisal Paul, Head ESS - Marketing & Growth Initiatives, HP, manufacturing software products and working intently towards towards this better utilisation and management of ICT devices says that, “As your employee base grows, HP solutions can help increase the efficiency of your broader business workplace environment while reducing the overall environmental impact. HP provides energy saving devices, such as our energy efficient business PCs, workstations, and Thin Clients, and enables you to conduct better crosscompany collaboration or support your virtual workforce through HP’s Halo telepresence and videoconferencing solutions that eliminate unneeded carbon emissions.” Further, HP itself pledges to reduce emissions from its operations and the use of its products by six million tons below 2005 levels by 2010. In addition, HP is committed to reduce energy consumption by 15% 19

in their operations from 2005 levels, while achieving a 25% reduction in the energy used by our products and operations combined below 2005 levels by 2010.

WHAT IS THE WAY FORWARD?

Steps like e-Commerce, e-Government could have a significant impact on reducing Green House Gas (GHG) emissions through the dematerialisation of public service delivery - particularly in countries where government constitutes a large share of the overall economy.

For example, many paper-based services can be moved into the digital environment and situations where faceto-face interaction has been previously required (e.g. to prove identity) can be done virtually.

Again coming especially to the scenario of workplaces some of the important ways to cut down on CO2 emission are through the use of Industry Smart motors and through Dematerialisation or virtulisation (reduce production of DVDs, paper etc.)

Motor systems, devices that convert electricity into mechanical power, lie at the heart of global industrial activity.

In the global context industrial activity is one of the largest contributors to global emissions, responsible for 23% of total emissions in 2002. It uses nearly half of all global electrical power generated, industrial motor systems using the majority (65%) and in another ten to eleven years, motor systems will be responsible for 7% of global carbon emissions. Now these motors are inefficient as they operate at full capacity, regardless of load. This same motor can be converted into a “smart” motor when it can be controlled to adjust its power usage to a required output, usually through a variable speed drives (VSD) and intelligent motor controller (IMC), a piece of hardware controlling the VSD. There is a lack of information about energy consumption in motor systems. ICT’s main role in the short term, therefore, will be to monitor energy use and provide data to businesses so they can make energy and cost savings by changing manufacturing systems. Simulation software is also required to help improve plant and manufacturing process design. Wireless networks that allow inter-machine and system communication, would improve 20 }

efficiency across an entire factory. The opportunities for industry in adopting ICT-driven improvements to reduce their climate impact are clear - perhaps nowhere more so than in countries where business is booming.

Dematerialisation or Virtualisation can be applied to a range of current everyday practices and ultimately reduce the number of material objects that need to be produced. Online billing, video conferencing, audio conferencing, flexi-work, online billing, web-based tax returns, replacing paper and CDs, all reduce the emissions associated with their manufacture and distribution.

Online media, e-Commerce, e-Paper, telecommuting replacing face-to-face meetings - could play a substantial role in reducing emissions. Teleconferencing and videoconferencing could replace between 5 and 20% of global business travel. Advanced videoconferencing

Steps like e-Commerce, e-Government could have a significant impact on reducing Green House Gas (GHG) emissions through the dematerialisation of public service delivery particularly in countries where government constitutes a large share of the overall economy” applications in the early stage of adoption could have a very significant impact in highly distributed service industry environments in both the private and public sectors.

Dematerialisation could also reduce emissions indirectly by influencing employees’ behaviour, building greater awareness of climate change and creating a low carbon culture throughout businesses.

Dematerialisation at the very least provides alternatives, allowing individuals to control their

carbon footprint in a very direct way.

First adopters could enable the cultural shifts necessary for ICT-enabled energy efficiency to take hold in the broader economy. The opportunity for dematerialisation to reduce carbon emissions could be substantial at around 500 MtCO2e in the coming ten years - but its effectiveness depends on behavioural changes, which makes it hard to assess how quickly its true potential will be realised. In addition, future social change facilitated by nearubiquitous connectivity (mobile or broadband) would also enable great GHG emissions reductions.

ATTITUDNAL BARRIER TO ICT ADOPTION

Working towards addressing the roadblock of attitudinal problem Arun Seth from BT says that, “Under the banner ‘I want to make a difference’, a global employee engagement programme is encouraging BT people to make small changes that, together, will make a big difference and save energy 75,000 tonnes of CO2 over the next three years. BT people can make a difference individually or as members of carbon clubs.

The carbon club initiative is a great way for colleagues to share ideas and undertake projects together, while having fun along the way. So far around 130 clubs have been formed – mostly in the UK, but also in Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the United States.”

So undoubtedly ICT implementation has the potential to play a significant role in reducing CO2 emission, yet it has had limited impact so far, mainly owing to low ICT adoption rates.

Though technological barriers are not generally perceived as a major barrier to adoption, improvements here need to contribute to a more positive attitude towards the technology adoption. Many companies are still unwilling to adopt dematerialisation technology at higher rates because it requires adopting new ways of working with significant cultural shifts. So the challenge is to not only to improve the adoption rate of ICT but also to demonstrate how this ICT implementation has a broader advantage of allowing us to secure for ourselves a cleaner and greener environment.

Tannu Singh tannu@egovonline.net

www.egovonline.net

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FEATURE FEATURE

Going Green with Data Data centres are the chief contributors to the degrading environmental conditions of our times and there is an absolute need for adopting the ‘go green’ philosophy.

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limate change and global warming has posed us with one of the biggest challenges of our time - reducing our ecological footprints. ‘Going Green’ mantra is echoing in every corner and corridor of every enterprise. There are multiple contributors to the degrading environmental conditions of our times and no one in particular can be held entirely guilty for it. One of the chief contributors is definitely - Information and Communication Technology (ICT) which has considerably contributed to the global carbon emissions and data centres tops the list in this respect. Data centres which replaced our paper file racks are the repositories of huge amounts of digital data for any organisation – big or small. Data centres enabled us to become paperless. However, everything ov

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comes with a price. And data centres are no exception. They are considered to be one of the predominant ICT components that is taking a toll on the environment. A lot of ink has already flown in this regard and still we have a long way to go in making our data centres green. The question is therefore to create and manage data centres that would be a lesser burden on our planet-earth.

ENERGY CONSUMPTION

One of the key issues surrounded with green data centres is combating the amount of energy consumed by a data centre. According to a research done by Emerson Network Power, due to increased data centre energy consumption, there has been an increase in the global electricity prices

by 56 percent between 2002 and 2006.

The components that comprises the data centre eco-system are computing, network and distribution. Each of them is of paramount importance. Speaking to egov Pratik Chube, Country General Manager-Product Management and Marketing Emerson Network Power, India said “We propagate the use of low power consuming processors which will have an cascading effect on the supply side thus reducing power consumption and making data centres energy efficient” He further added that, “If one can reduce 1 watt of energy consumption at the compute side, there can be a three fold impact on the supply side”. Therefore, it is important to say that power management involves monitoring of power right from the work flow. This essentially means monitoring 21

DOS AND DON’TS OF MAKING DATA CENTRES GREEN

of power at the entry level to the Power Distribution Units (PDUs).

If one tries to analyse world’s most used search engine, Google, it would be surprising to know that, one single Google search query consumes 2 to 8 watt-hours of energy. If we average this out to 4.5 watt hours per query, and consider Google is easily handling 400 million queries a day, then we can see 1,800,000,000 (1.8 billion) watt-hours of energy being used daily just for basic search queries. It is almost like Google Complex itself uses the same amount of power as 3,333 California homes.

Speaking to egov about energy issues of data centres, Karthik Ramarao, Director- Technology, Systems Practice Sun Microsystems India said, “Data centres typically have large numbers of servers located closely together, emitting large amounts of heat that need to be cooled with special equipment, thus requiring even more energy consumption”. The energy consumed in data centre is roughly categorised into server power supplies, storage and communications, processors, computing, lighting, cooling, UPS and distribution. An ideal green data centres is one which is energy efficient, uses lesser floor space and provides better cooling procedures and makes the optimum usage of the servers. A typical data centre has some inherent needs for power consumption in one way or the other. Therefore, power management becomes an integral part of making data centres green.

• • • • • • •

Identify and report to the operations team about the servers which are no longer in use.

Incorporate blade servers as they use 10 per cent lesser power compared to typical ones.

Incorporate best cooling practices such as hot aisle / cold aisle rack arrangement and sealing floor gaps etc.

Reduction in the number of servers will ensure less usage of energy.

Make suer that each server is used to the optimum.

Do not over-cool your data centres. Keep the cooling at the right temperature required.

Try innovative ways to use the heat generated from a data centre for other activities.

utilising the hardware in an effective way, thus making optimum utilisation of the system resources. Virtualisation tool is spread across servers, storage, networking framework and software stacks, thus providing a robust and

If one can reduce 1 watt of energy consumption at the compute side, there can be a three fold impact on the supply side”.

Pratik Chube Country GM-Product Management and Mkt. Emerson Network Power

comprehensive span of technologies to the customers to adapt to their own requirements.

SCENARIO IN INDIA

VIRTUALISATION

Virtualisation is a technology that allows the operation of several operating systems on one server. It requires lesser usage of the number of servers and allows its optimum utilisation.

Therefore, virtualisation claims to be a true enabler of green IT in general and green data centres in particular!

When we posed this question to various stakeholders they agreed with us. Rajat Mehta, Country Category Manager – remote client colutions personal systems group, HP India Sales commented, “True, one of the primary goals of almost all forms of virtualisation is making the most efficient use of available system resources”. Therefore it would not be wrong to say that virtualisation aims at consolidating and 22

In India, a typical large data centre requires an additional watt of power for overhead, including losses in power distribution, cooling and lighting for every watt of power consumed by IT equipment. This is referred to as the “burden factor” which may range from 1.8 to 2.5 times more power. “Currently, data centres have only 20 percent utilisation with 7 percent efficiency and some servers do not get used at all” said Ramarao. In such a scenario, visualisation proves to be the ultimate remedy for those who are faced with growth challenges, compute power and data centre utilisation issues. Ramarao further says, “Today, the emerging trend is x86 server virtualisation, which most companies are focusing on now”.

It is envisaged that India is gradually

embarking on the path of virtualisation and therefore towards a greener future.

FUTURE TRENDS

Talking about the future of data centres, Ramarao further adds, “Worldwide, the total power consumption of data centres is expected to double between 2005 and 2010”. This is reflective on the current scenario which Ramarao throws light upon, “today most large data centres consume 10-100 times more energy per square foot than a typical office building and most of the data centres have become chillers (over cooled), which again eats into power to cool”. It becomes important to look at the best practices of power management and cooling for energy efficient data centres.

If we look at some of the emerging trends that will occur in the sphere of green data centres – one can ascertain that there will be a lot of work on strategic designing for energy optimisation and control. Talking about some of these future trends of data centres Faisal Paul, Head ESS – Marketing & Growth Initiatives, HP India told egov that, “IT environmental lifecycle management and asset lifecycle planning will be some of the chief trends helping global customers to move towards faster green business technology and with lesser risk”.

We have a promising future in India with such technologies and vision in place for the green data centre drive.

Attitudinal changes would also go a long way in making ICTs for enabling a greener India. Also, with the economic slowdown, India Inc as well as the government departments should look at green data centres as an effective cost cutting tool, rather than shying away from their ecological footprint.

Nilakshi Barooah nilakshi@egovonline.net

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www.eINDIA.net.in

5th

India's Largest ICT Event

eINDIA 2009 is a unique platform for knowledge sharing in various domains of ICT for development and facilitates multi-stakeholder partnerships and networking among governments, industry, academia and civil society organisations of different countries, including India. The objective is to bring together ICT experts, practitioners, business leaders and stakeholders of the region onto one platform, through keynote addresses, paper presentations, thematic workshops and exhibitions.

25 - 27 August 2009 PREVIOUS PARTNERS OF egov INDIA

Hyderabad International Convention Centre, India eINDIA 2009 TRACKS

ORGANISERS

knowledge for change

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Department of Information Technology Ministry of Communications & IT Government of India

SUPPORTING PARTNERS

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Will have the strong participation from Government | PSUs | IT Companies | Banking and Financial Institutions | Academia | Telecom Industry | SecurityPlayers

For sponsorship and exhibition enquiry, contact: Gautam Navin (+91-9818125257), gautam@csdms.in, Debabrata Ray (+91-9899650692), debabrata@csdms.in For paper submission, contact: Nilakshi Barooah : (+91-9911142973), nilakshi@egovonline.net

FEATURE FEATURE

Wired to Unwired The author talks about the ‘connected’ world and how this ‘indicator of development’ contributes to global warming

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n March 2009, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) reported that more than 4 billion people use a mobile phone, with three times more mobile cellular subscriptions than fixed telephone lines globally. Two thirds of those are now in the developing world compared with less than half in 2002. There are recognised social and economic benefits associated with mobile communications, including evidence that in low income countries, an average of 10 more mobile phone users per 100 people was associated with a per capita GDP growth of 0.59%.

The main environmental impacts from mobile communications are through materials use at the design stage, energy use during operation and recycling of end-of-life equipment. There are also potential environmental opportunities using wireless communications to improve the energy efficiency of other sectors. The particular importance of mobile communications in the developing world offers additional opportunities in adapting local behaviours and providing warnings about weather or other hazards.

ENERGY USE

The Global eSustainability Initiative (GeSI) estimates that mobile communications currently represents about 3% of the global ICT sector impact though this could grow to 13% by 2020 through the continued growth in subscribers. This numbers should also be seen in the context of GDP contribution, in the UK alone mobile communications contribute about 0.3% of national greenhouse gas impacts and around 1.8% of GDP, evidence of a low climate impact industry sector.

About 80% of a mobile operators’ energy is used by the network, so 26 }

significant efforts are underway to improve efficiency. About half the energy used by the site is for radio transmission purposes and a large proportion of the remaining 50% is associated with active cooling, especially the use of air-conditioning. Operators have reported three-fold increases in the efficiency of radio transmitters in recent years and the move from 2G to 3G communications technologies can support up to eight times more subscribers on each transmitter. In cooler climates there is an increasing move to eliminate air conditioning for base station equipment and instead use fans or passive cooling through better

air flow design. Operators in developing countries have successfully run base station equipment at 45°C, rather than 25°C, and newer equipment is being supplied with specified reliability at these higher temperatures, thus substantially easing cooling needs.

GREENPOWER OPPORTUNITY

An increasing number of base stations are being built in off-grid and unreliable grid locations, the GSM Association (GSMA) estimates that 75,000 new off-grid sites will be built each year in developing countries through to 2012.

It can cost an operator up to $30,000 and lead-times can be up to 2 years to www.egovonline.net

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provide grid electricity to a new site.

Even where grid electricity is available, it may be unreliable and operators rely extensively on diesel generators to power base stations. There are significant costs not just in the price of diesel but also in transport to sites and provision of security.

As the power required to operate a base station has reduced, the feasibility of alternative energy solutions, especially wind and solar has improved.

Wind is harder to predict for power planning purposes and site surveys are recommended (though not always done) before installation is undertaken.

Where feasible, wind can provide sufficient energy for larger sites. Solar power is economical for lower powered sites if used alone or as a complement to wind energy. A significant advantage to solar is easier power planning through readily available databases of incident solar energy for various geographic locations. Typical payback periods for alternative energy installations are 23 years. The GSMA has announced a target of 118,000 green power sites by 2012. Achieving that target would save up to 2.5 billion litres of diesel per annum and cut annual carbon emissions by up to 6.3 million tonnes. This is an ambitious target as it is estimated that at the end of 2008, there were only 1,500 green power base stations worldwide.

UNIVERSAL CHARGER INITIATIVE

About 1 billion new mobile phones are sold each year. Between 50% and 80% of these phones are replacements for an existing device resulting in approximately 51,000 tonnes of duplicate chargers. In February 2009, the GSMA and 17 leading mobile operators and manufacturers announced a commitment to implement a crossindustry standard for a universal charger for new mobile phones that will be widely available by 2012. This universal charger will make life much simpler for the consumer, who will be able to use the same charger for future handsets, as well as being able to charge their mobile phone anywhere from any available charger. The chargers will also have to meet an energy efficiency rating that is up to three times more efficient than an unrated charger. With potentially 50% less chargers being manufactured each year, the industry can expect to reduce ov

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greenhouse gases in manufacturing and transporting replacement chargers by 13.6 to 21.8 million tonnes a year.

There may eventually come a time when the charger is no longer bundled with the handset and is provided to the customer only when needed.

USED AND END-OF-LIFE MOBILE PHONES

New phones are becoming more energy efficient, for example, power cells currently in use require fewer resources during manufacture, and avoid the use of toxic metals, such as lead and cadmium. Nevertheless, a phone should never be thrown away with unsorted household waste. The mobile industry supports handset, battery and accessory take-back in more than 85 countries.

When the returned phones are in good condition or economic repair is possible, the phones may find a second or even third happy user. More than 20% of mobile subscribers live in the developing world and there are concerns over the potential for inappropriate disposal of mobile phones where the necessary recycling infrastructure for end-of-life electronic equipment is lacking. In these countries the informal repair sector is significant, so successful collection requires engagement with this informal sector but research to date indicates that there is little awareness of the problems of electronic waste.

About 16% (by weight) of a typical mobile phone is considered ‘high value’ materials, for example, gold, platinum, palladium and silver. About 80% of a phone can be recycled or the energy recovered. The remainder can be used in inert construction aggregates However, high value metals can only be safely recovered in sophisticated facilities that cannot be duplicated in every country. Therefore, end-oflife phones will need to be exported, under appropriate authorisations, to the few suitable plants. The GSMA welcomes efforts by authorities to tackle illegal export of end-of-life electronic equipment to countries that lack the necessary infrastructure. However, the introduction of unnecessary barriers for companies demonstrating good practices should be avoided.

ENVIRONMENTAL OPPORTUNITIES

telecommunications. An Australian report estimated carbon reduction opportunities at 4.9% of Australia’s total national emissions. The GeSI report calculated that the ICT sector’s ability to monitor and maximise energy efficiency both within and outside its own sector could cut CO2 emissions by up to five times ICT’s own footprint, a potential saving of 7.8 giga-tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e) by 2020.

For an individual mobile phone user, pilot projects have shown the use of mobile phones to monitor air pollution in Ghana or track animal movements in South Africa. They are also likely to form the basis of weather warning systems in order to mitigate the impact of changing climate conditions.

Applications that run are mobile phones are now available that allow the user to calculate the carbon impact of choosing among different modes or transport or to track their own energy usage. Widespread deployment of smart meters for electricity could also be coupled with remote power control by mobile phone.

In developing countries, expensive, time consuming and polluting travel is being avoided by fishermen or farmers using text messaging to check market prices.

CONCLUSIONS

Climate change is a significant issue for the wireless industry. The industry needs to reduce the costs associated with use of carbon intensive fuels and the impacts of national carbon reduction targets. In this context, how operational impacts are measured and the weight to be given to offset benefits in other sectors are still to be determined. The GSMA initiatives to harmonise mobile phone chargers to the benefit of consumers and to facilitate the development of green power for offgrid and unreliable grid base stations are concrete contributions to reducing industry environmental impacts.

Jack Rowley Director Research & Sustainability, GSM Association, London, UK jrowley@gsm.org

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FEATURE FEATURE

Mobiles on New Turf Mobile phones which in itself is a revolution is joining yet another - the ‘go green’ revolution.

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ach one of us is trying to be part of the rats race for the go green revolution which is a buzz word nowadays. Mobile phones which in itself is a revolution for connecting the unconnected is not lagging behind in this one too. Whether it is Nokia’s announcement last year for launching 40 green mobile phones or Samsung Electronics who announced the world’s first ever solar-powered mobile phone - Blue Earth a month ago, or Motorola’s W233 Renew, they are

Nokia’s Green Initiatives • we:offset can be downloaded onto all Nokia S60 phones. It is the world’s first CO2 emission offsetting tool on a mobile phone and available in 46 languages.

• All new Nokia devices are free of PVC, lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). Starting from 2010 the list will also include all brominated and chlorinated compounds and antimony trioxide.

• Nokia has banned 8 different phtalates of which 6 are restricted based on EU regulation.

• Nokia chargers save 90% more energy.

• Nokia has reduced their packaging by more than 50%.

• Nokia 3110 Evolve and all of other Nokia phones are recyclable up to 80%.

• Nokia’s ‘take back’ campaign collected approximately 10000 mobile phones of all brands, 30000 chargers, 12000 batteries and over 10000 other accessories like headsets etc across 4 Indian cities.

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all part of this race for going green. Still there is no denying the fact that green mobile phones is at a very nascent stage. Ask yourself, how many of us carry a green mobile phone? May be a very minuscule of the population. Speaking to egov Ambrish Bakaya, Director Corporate Affairs, Nokia India said, “Yes, it is still at a nascent stage though more and more handset manufacturers are looking at “going green”, not only as a viable business option, but also an environmentally positive one.”

THE CHEMICAL SOUP

All electronics gadgets and therefore, mobile phones too have a lot to contribute towards mother earth’s already degrading environmental condition. Mobile phone hardware comprises of hazardous components such as PVC and Brominated Flame Retardants (BFR) which are harmful ingredients for the toxic soup of eWaste that they create at the end of their lifecycle. Commenting on Nokia’s green initiatives, Bakaya mentioned, “All new Nokia devices are free of PVC, lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). Starting from 2010 the list will also include all brominated and chlorinated compounds and antimony trioxide.” Moreover Greenpeace Green Electronics Survey, December 2008 revealed that a lot of the products proved to be PVC and BFR free and also some innovative ways of using bio-plastic in the cover of the phone came up. But on the other hand, the batteries which are the lifeline of the mobile phone contain nickel, cobalt, zinc, cadmium, and

copper which are mined from the earth and will sooner or later become extinct. Therefore, even if there are a lot of initiatives for going green in the mobile sphere, the mobile phones which flood the market are not so green yet!

COUNTING ON ENERGY

Mobile phones run on batteries and therefore, we need electricity to recharge them regularly. With each member of a family owning such a device, imagine how much energy we are consuming on a day to day basis. Therefore mobile chargers and batteries are the components that www.egovonline.net

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Top 10 findings of GSMA on Green Power for Mobile in February 2009: •

An estimated 75,000 new off-grid sites out of a total of 300,000 sites, will be built each year in developing countries through 2012.

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There is a rapidly increasing cost in the off-grid and unreliable grid sites. The average price of diesel has risen more than 50% in many locations within the past year, and contributes to a significant portion of operating costs for operators.

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Solar and wind power are viable today and other solutions may become suitable in the future

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Capital expenditure is high for green power but at low loads the payback period is short

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Power provision is a noncore activity for operators that presents an additional challenge

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Green power feasibility assessments are complex and scenario-based

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Energy optimisation has become a focus of mobile network technology development

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Accurate specification and the need for sophisticated power controllers is critical for green power sites

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Of interviewed operators, 39% have trialled green power sites, 50% have live sites and nearly all have plans for green power. Remaining operators have expressed interest in initiating activity.

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Innovation will be driven by a cohesive industry community

Source: www.gsmworld.com

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everyone is looking at when it comes to ‘energy saving’ for mobile phones.

Nokia claims that today their chargers save 90% more energy. Moreover the company which is the most popular handset manufacturing company, is also looking at other energy saving ways. Today, lot of mobile handsets beep when charge is full indicating the user to take the charger off the plug.

This type of features cut down the energy consumptions to a large extent.

The scenario is even more encouraging with the recent commitment of the GSMA and 17 leading mobile operators and manufacturers across the world to implement a Universal Charging Solution that uses Micro-USB for new mobile phones. The initiative expected to be in place by 2012 would ensure that a common format for mobile phone charger is used across the industry that would adhere to the energy-efficient targets set out by the Open Mobile Terminal Platform. It is expected that this would reduce the number of chargers being manufactured annually by 50 % and reduce greenhouse gases by 13.6 million to 21.8 million tones per year.

On the other hand renewable means of generating energy is also catching up. Such innovative usage of wind and solar energy for powering cell sites in remote areas fetched Philippines based wireless services provider Smart Communications the “Green Mobile Award” at the World Mobile Congress 2009 concluded recently.

Working more on such renewable sources of energy, Nokia commented that they are working on green initiatives such as light sensor detecting natural light.

RECYCLING OLD PHONES

With a new advanced phone in the market every month, there are also higher rates of old phones being discarded. People settle in for more smarter phones as their needs grow for better features with the passage of time.

This means a need to recycle phones even more. Take back programmes of many handset companies is gaining momentum. For instance, Nokia has laid out a recycling infrastructure across India to take-back and promote recycling of discarded handsets and accessories amongst consumers.

They have already laid out over 1300 recycling bins covering all our Nokia Priority Dealers and Nokia Care Centres across India. This was also backed by their ‘take Back’ campaign in the cities of Bangalore, Delhi, Gurgaon and Ludhiana which they plan to roll out in a phased manner across other cities of the country. With other mobile handset companies doing similar activities or planning such comprehensive recycle programmes, there will be a lot of e-Waste burden being removed from the face of our planet.

TOWARDS A GREENER POLICY

There is lot being said by agencies such EPA, GSMA and Greenpeace etc.

But India still does not have a policy in place that pertains to green mobile phones. It is the need of the hour for a joint effort from the Indian corporates as well as the government to work towards a comprehensive policy for green gadgets. Also it is important to educate the masses through campaigns.

Speaking about the need for such policy Bakaya said, “We strongly feel that for any e-Waste policy to be effective there is a strong need to educate the end user on the environmental impact of disposing off their electronic waste.”

If one puts things into perspective, mobile technology has brought in sea changes in the world operates today and has actually contributed towards reducing our environmental footprint. How? It has helped in reducing the amount of travel people need to undertake by connecting them wherever they are around the world. Nevertheless there are also numerous ways in which mobile phones have contributed to the ecological degradation.

However, with companies pledging to try out innovative ways to tackle the situation, and awareness across continents, we are definitely moving towards greener options. But all this will make better sense when the three R’s - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle will echo in the minds of all stakeholders corporates, organisations and individuals for reducing the ecological footprint and we will all be winners in this rat race.

Nilakshi Barooah nilakshi@egovonline.net 29

INTERVIEW

www.globalservices.bt.com

CLIMATE Sustainability Strategy

Arun Seth Chairman, BT India

“

Our target is to reduce global carbon emissions intensity by 80% by 2020 and to actively engage 20% of our workforce by 2012 into activities focussed on addressing climate change”

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The carbon generated from materials and manufacture is about one quarter of the overall ICT footprint, the rest coming from the use of these ICT devices like PCs and mobiles.

Please comment.

The ICT industry is seen generally as environmentally friendly and is certainly cleaner than many traditional industries. However, it is a big user of energy and therefore has the potential to contribute significantly to climate change.

BT recognises that its day-to-day operations impact the environment in a number of ways and is committed to minimising the potentially harmful effects of its activities wherever and whenever possible. In particular, it is committed to helping the world tackle climate change by reducing its emissions and helping others to do the same.

BT’s biggest direct impact on the environment is the result of the energy it uses. In the UK, for example, it consumes 0.7 per cent of the electricity generated in the country each year - a significant total.

BT is committed to tackling climate change. We have measured our carbon footprint in the UK since 1992.

Our climate strategy covers our global business and has four elements which comprises of reducing the impact of our operations; empowering customers to reduce their impacts by offering innovative products and services; influencing our suppliers to provide more energy efficient products and services; and encouraging our employees to reduce their carbon footprint at home and at work.

Do you have any fixed targets as to how you as an organisation would go about achieving this target of reducing Carbon footprints?

We have set targets in each area to focus our efforts.

Carbon reduction is one of our key performance indicators. Our target is to reduce global carbon emissions intensity by 80% by 2020 and to actively engage 20% of our workforce by 2012 into activities focussed on addressing climate change.

Our key ‘green’ initiatives focus on energy usage reduction and energy security. For example in 2004, we signed what, at the time, was the www.egovonline.net

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network of suppliers. In the world’s largest contract for the 2008 financial year we bought supply of ‘green’ energy. Nearly The global economic downturn £8.64 billion worth of products all the electricity we use in the and services from suppliers.

UK now comes from renewable could play a role too - with sources or combined-heat-andWe engage with our the rising cost of energy and power schemes. We also have manufacturing suppliers to low carbon electricity supply energy security becoming issues promote good environmental contracts in Belgium, Germany, in the boardroom, we could see practices and to ensure that they Italy and Ireland. Also our follow our standards for product increased action from industry biggest savings have resulted stewardship.BT has a blacklist from our extensive use of to become more energy efficient of banned materials and a grey conferencing services in place of through reduction strategies, use of list of materials giving cause for face-to-face meetings. According concern. to independent researchers, this greener technologies and greener All potential suppliers alone avoided CO2 emissions energy supplies” of electronic and electrical totalling more than 103,000 equipment must complete tonnes in 2006-07. our product stewardship As far as our UK is concerned our business has reduced its online questionnaire (GS19) when tendering for business. absolute carbon emissions by 58 per cent since 1996. Our The responses are assessed by our product stewardship target is to reduce our global carbon emissions intensity by team. Our product stewardship efforts are part of our 80 per cent by 2020. Further we plan to build wind farms in environmental management system which is certified to the the UK capable of meeting 25 per cent of our electricity needs international standard ISO14001. We need to make continual in the country by 2016. It is the biggest investment in wind improvements in this area to retain certification. power to be announced so far by a company outside the UK energy sector. Moreover, in USA, our El Segundo, California, What are the major challenges you are facing in adopting headquarters will soon be powered by solar energy. Some the above measures as well as in putting into practice 2,000 solar panels will generate approximately 917,000 other initiatives towards turning green? kWh per year, reducing our CO2 emissions by more than There are many challenges ranging from securing positive 290 tonnes. government action in the development of policy and supportive regulatory frameworks, boardroom will, Dematerialisation seems to be the need of the hour if one customer and shareholder influence. Purchasing behaviours wishes to go green. So what are the steps that you as an of consumers in high consumption societies also need to organization is taking in this direction? change.

To achieve our targets BT is looking critically at every aspect The global economic downturn could play a role too – of its energy consumption. For example, power usage was with the rising cost of energy and energy security becoming a key factor in the choice of the equipment for our new issues in the boardroom, we could see increased action from 21st century network, for example, and our data centres industry to become more energy efficient through reduction are being designed to use 60 per cent less power than their strategies, use of greener technologies and greener energy predecessors. supplies.

The information and communication technology (ICT) Under the banner ‘I want to make a difference’, a global industry is seen as a major part of the solution to climate employee engagement programme is encouraging BT people change with the growth of teleconferencing and other e- to make small changes that, together, will make a big communication services reducing the need for physical difference and save energy 75,000 tonnes of CO2 over three journeys and international travel. years.

BT also seeks to influence the environmental performance of BT people can make a difference individually or as members its suppliers and contractors through its purchasing policy. It of carbon clubs. The carbon club initiative is a great way for has, therefore, established a set of procurement principles that colleagues to share ideas and undertake projects together, support its climate change strategy. Its supplier environmental while having fun along the way. So far around 130 clubs have standards (GS13 and GS19) are included in our procurement been formed – mostly in the UK, but also in Europe, Asia contracts and cover issues such as environmental management Pacific, Latin America and the United States. systems and product stewardship. In 2007, the company We are also developing innovative products and services to agreed additional procurement principles that support BTs help our customers reduce their climate change impact. We climate change strategy. And in 2008, it developed a set of launched our Sustainability Practice in 2007 to help our large questions which is helping BT understand what its suppliers corporate and public sector customers make better use of ICT are doing to tackle climate change. to become more sustainable. The first service launched as part of the practice is the BT Carbon Impact Assessment, which Industrial process automation can also go a long way in calculates organisations’ CO2 emissions and recommends contributing to cutting down on carbon emission, how is ways to reduce them.

Tannu Singh it being implemented in your organization?

At BT we design products that are manufactured by a tannu@egovonline.net ov

April 2009

31

FEATURE FEATURE

Green Engineering Engineering plays a vital role in developing products that are smarter, better, simpler, lighter, safer and more energy-efficient

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scalating industrial growth, burgeoning global population and fast-changing standards of living are increasingly having an impact on the environment.

However, technology, and engineering in particular, can be used to contain this impact. A major portion of this environmental impact can be attributed to the way products and systems are designed, manufactured, used and retired.

As defined by the US Environmental Protection Agency “Green engineering is the design, commercialization, and use of processes and products, which are feasible and economical while minimizing 1) generation of pollution at the source and 2) risk to human health and the environment.”

There are several statistics indicating the huge potential for ‘green engineering’ through better product, process and systems engineering. Some of these statistics include: • There are abundant opportunities to save more than 50% of energy consumed today by household appliances and industrial systems on-board • Every kilogram of weight reduction for airlines saves thousands of liters per annum in fuel consumption • Every 10% reduction in automotive weight significantly increases the fuel economy 32 }

Ergonomics-related injuries comprise significant portion of disabling occupational injury costs in the US Engineering plays a vital role in developing products that are smarter, better, simpler, lighter, safer and more energy-efficient. The complete lifecycle of products and systems, through Design-Manufacture-Maintain- Retire, impacts the environment and users in many ways. Better engineered products consume fewer resources in being designed, while also being more resource-efficient in downstream operations like manufacturing, supply chain logistics, customer experience, maintenance and retirement. For example, the lead time for developing complex products like automobiles has shrunk from over 36 months to about 12 months resulting in a significant saving of resources. Effective and efficient engineering ensure better products with a shorter product development lead time and minimal wastage.

Evaluation of manufacturing processes early in the product lifecycle ensures efficient factory processes resulting in better plant throughput with reduced wastage. By leveraging virtual environments for simulation and what-if studies, many leading organizations have drastically cut down •

the need for physical prototypes. This has resulted in significantly reducing wasted resources in building, testing and recycling physical prototypes.

Also, virtual process planning has been leveraged considerably in improving worker ergonomics leading to reduced job related injuries. According to several estimates, virtual manufacturing helps in cutting down overall manufacturing costs up to about 25% by better planning of equipment, direct labor and manufacturing processes.

‘Shop floor to Top floor’ integrations facilitate real-time manufacturing visibility and intelligent decision making. This further ensures optimized inventory, reduced downtime, effective asset utilization, better maintenance of manufacturing assets along with higher throughput and quality. Technologies such as manufacturing execution systems (MES) are leveraged to achieve better plant throughput and energy efficiency.

Product, Process and Asset Lifecycle Management (PLM) frameworks enable effective integration and collaboration between multiple stakeholders in the extended enterprise. PLM enables www.egovonline.net

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visualization of the real-time product development process in a collaborative environment avoiding costly mistakes (wasted resources, legal liabilities) due to communication gaps between functional groups and suppliers in the eco-system. PLM also enables component reuse by avoiding reinvention. PLM frameworks are playing a crucial role in ensuring strict adherence to regulatory frameworks like RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive) and REACH (Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals). For example, RoHS mandates that companies must not manufacture products with more than a stipulated concentration of materials containing restricted substances such as lead, mercury, cadmium and REACH is targeted at keeping about 30,000 banned chemicals out of the product and the supply chain.

Over the last decade, Infosys through engineering and IT-enabled solutions, has been helping customers across industries develop enhanced products and IT systems to achieve ‘green’ results. Infosys’ contribution in this context includes about 20 ov

March 2009

aerospace programs, 50 automotive programs, 20 heavy machinery development, 15 end-to-end PLM implementations and 10 industrial automation, MES implementations.

Given below are some specific engineering examples of ‘green engineering’ of products and systems along with the results achieved.

As mentioned earlier, every additional kilogram of aircraft weight is a huge penalty for airlines as they incur significant additional costs on fuel consumption along with added emissions.

Optimizing aircraft structural weight has been a great challenge aerospace OEMs have been grappling with.

Infosys has partnered with several large commercial and transport aircraft programs for structural design and has delivered substantial weight savings.

For a large US-based aerospace manufacturer, the team reduced over 1000 lbs of aircraft structures weight in two programs, leading to significant savings in fuel and reduced emissions.

In several other aircraft programs, knowledge-based engineering (KBE) applications in various product development phases like design, sizing and optimization have led to significant weight savings which would not have been possible through manual iterations, as traditionally executed.

Emission legislations, fuel economy demands and the drive towards cleaner diesel combustion are major competitive advantages for engine systems manufacturers. For a leading diesel engines and engine management systems manufacturer, Infosys supported the development of complex engine control electronics and algorithms to improve the fuel injection and performance monitoring efficiency.

Highly power-optimized electronics design combined with advanced engine control algorithms and a new set of

mechanical characteristics helped these engines achieve legislative norms and create a new benchmark in the industry.

For a semi-trailer manufacturer, Infosys re-designed the ‘sub-frame’ assembly, resulting in significant weight reduction and improved manufacturing process. By converting the assembly arrangement from a welded structure to a bolted configuration and by reusing components across multiple variants, Infosys reduced the part count by about 37% and ‘sub-frame’ weight by 18%. The conversion from a welded to bolted arrangement resulted in reduced assembly time of approximately 30% and significantly reduced the carbon emissions due to change in production process.

For the above customer, Infosys also proposed an innovative solution through cross-pollination of ideas from the aerospace industry experience, leveraging composites to redesign the floor of the trailer van. This design change resulted in a structural performance enhancement by about 12.5% and thermal performance by 83% due to better insulation characteristics of the floor material, and 68% reduction in weld length which resulted in a significant reduction in carbon emissions. The weight reduction combined with better thermal performance led to a significant reduction in fuel consumption for the fleet operators.

For a leading turbo machinery manufacturer, as part of their clean energy initiatives, Infosys team is collaborating in developing advanced gas turbine technology to improve the efficiency by about 1.5% and advanced steam turbine technology to enhance supercritical steam temperature by about 80 degrees Centigrade from the conventional levels to reduce CO2 emissions.

Valmeeka Nathan (Valmeeka_Nathan@ infosys.com ) is Vice President and Head of Product Lifecycle and Engineering Solutions (PLES) at Infosys Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ: INFY).

He is based in India.

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CASE STUDY FEATURE

A Paradigm Shift The cycle of automation is rapidly improving delivery of various government services.

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utomation be it computerisation or mechanisation in India has been challenged constantly to be adapted and moulded, from Indian fortune 500 companies to your corner shop grocer, now use evident automation techniques to ease processes. Now the cycle of automation is rapidly improving delivery of various government services. The role of IT can be largely observed for registration of businesses, license applications, inspection clearance, customs modernization, tax administration, (e.g. electronic filing), and procurement of goods and services.

The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) the civic body which is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city and some suburbs of Mumbai, is well on the road to automation. Apart from the civic responsibility which lies with MCGM, the civic body collects Octroi at various entry points in Mumbai. MCGM is one of the largest local governments in the Asian continent. The octroi is collected for most types of goods which enters the city. The manual cash collection process of octroi made it extremely tedious.

MCGM had the objective to reduce traffic congestion at various naka’s. The only way MCGM could see a solution to this quandary was transformation from the tedious manual Cash Collection process to a cashless process When Itz Cash Card Limited was presented the challenges faced by MCGM, it partnered with State Bank of India, to come up with a unique solution to automate the Octroi process.

The result of this venture resulted in the creation of the Octroi Silver Card a unique prepaid payment Instrument by which the truckers who entered the city

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could pay the octroi.

The processes and operations developed

by ItzCash for the card, customized to meet the needs of the truck owners and attain the objectives set by MCGM. The truck owners were provided with several top-up points which operate on a 24X7X365 basis. The simple and robust technology provides for offline and online transactions. The whole process of transformation of the transaction from a cash exchange process to a cashless process was carried through an intensive training process by ItzCash for the truck drivers in vernacular language.

The user friendly, contactless card was magnanimously accepted by the truck owners and the drivers.

The success for the wide adoption of the card is because it delivers Simplicity, Speed and Transparency.

Post implementation of the Octroi Silver Card, the process of collection at the nakas has come down to 10-12 secs per transaction from close to twelve minute per transaction on an average.

The functionality and the usage of the card has been very user friendly and has made the life of the truckers

passing through the nakas lot easier. Moreover, the absence of direct cash in the exchange process keeps the whole process very transparent and free from any stain of revenue leakage. The card has brought in a ‘radical change’ in the whole process of collection of the money. The efforts of this new age automation has been recognized and rewarded in the international arena too, Itz Cash Card Ltd along with MCGM and State bank of India were awarded the Paybefore Award winners in the Most Innovative Prepaid Program for ItzCash Octroi Automation, which was recently held at Orlando, US. ItzCash card is associated with various other e-government initiatives like payment of property tax with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, payment of various utility bills with North Delhi Power Limited (NDPL) and many more.

Besides e-government projects, ItzCash Card has tied up with more than 3500 merchants to provide services in the area of Shopping, Entertainment, Utility, Mobile Services etc. www.egovonline.net

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FEATURE FEATURE

BJP on Information Highway BJP has laid out a grand vision for transforming India and empowering Bharat using the power of information technology (IT)

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ecently Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came up with its 30 page IT vision document. It announced the creation of 12 million IT-enabled jobs for rural India; providing laptops to 10 million students at INR 10,000 a piece (the company which bags this order needs to have its production unit in India); immediate implementation of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP); protection of domestic hardware manufacturers against imports and promotion of usage of open source software. Heads of at least 10 top IT companies were consulted before finalising the document according to the sources.

BJP has laid out a grand vision for transforming India and empowering Bharat using the power of information technology (IT). Unveiling the BJP’s IT Vision document, the National Democratic Alliance’s prime ministerial candidate Shri LK Advani said, “A future NDA Government, if elected to office in the coming parliamentary elections, would give high priority to the realisation of this vision, which would help India overcome the current economic crisis; create productive employment opportunities on a large scale; accelerate human development through vastly improved and expanded education and healthcare services; check corruption; and make India’s national security more robust.”

The BJP also used the occasion to launch its revamped website, http:// www.bjp.org/. It was launched by Party President Shri Rajnath Singh. Way back in 1997, BJP became the first political party in India to have its own website. The new website will be used creatively to support BJP’s campaign for the elections to the 15th Lok Sabha. An important tool on the site is the Google-powered internal search engine. Another important feature ov

April 2009

is Google’s Feedburner-based ‘Alert’ system whereby anyone who submits his/her email ID on the site would get an automatic email-alert anytime a new press release is uploaded.

Commenting on this development, Shri Shailesh Rao, Managing Director of Google India, said, “We are impressed with the innovative way in which the BJP has shown commitment to the Internet and realised its potential power in better connecting with their constituency”.

BJP has also embraced the path of information highway to have a edge during the period of general elections .

BJP is implementing Wi-Fi connectivity in all its headquarters plus nationwide IP video telephony and unified messaging networks. Video telephony and seamless integration of fax, voice mail, and email would also enable BJP leaders to send instructions to remote offices and take updates from remote offices at a press of a button.

Similarly, an extensive SMS-based communications network will be in place soon as a result mass messaging will help in sharing of information and updates to all part members at one go. The BJP is all geared up to explore and experiment innovative technology in telecommunication,” says Prodyut Bora, national convenor of BJP’s IT Cell. “Since most politicians are not IT savvy,” Bora says, “the idea is to have a system that is easy to operate”. Now it is the time to wait and watch and see the future course of action. Time will only tell how helpful has ICT been in its election campaign. One also, needs to look out for how many promises made in the IT vision are fulfilled. Of course!all that depends on the results of general elections because implementation of the IT vision can only be implemented if BJP comes into power.

Sandeep Budki sandeep@egovonline.net

HIGHLIGHTS OF IT VISION DOCUMENT •

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• • • • • • • •

•

• • • •

Multipurpose National Identity Card (MNIC) with unique Citizen Identification Number (CIN) for every Indian citizen in 3 years; to replace all other identification systems.

1.2 crore (12 million) new ITenabled jobs in rural areas.

1 crore (10 million) students to get laptop computers at INR 10,000.

Interest-free loan for anyone unable to afford it.

Broadband Internet (2 Mbps) in every town and village.

All schools and colleges to have Internet-enabled education.

100% financial inclusion through bank accounts.

Every BPL family to be given a free smart mobile phone.

Video conferencing to be made affordable and universally accessible.

Primary Health Centre in every village to be linked to the National Telemedicine Service Network.

National e-Governance Plan to cover every Government office from the Centre to the Panchayats.

Government spending to be made corruption-free. A former Prime Minister had once said, “If I put INR 100 in the pipeline in Delhi, only INR 15 reach the end beneficiary.”

In contrast to Congress governments’ Leaky Pipeline, the BJP’s IT Pipeline will ensure 100% benefit to people.

Those who misappropriate public funds will be punished.

All post offices to be converted into IT-enabled Multi-Service Outlets. All telephone booths to be upgraded to Internet kiosks. e-Bhasha: National Mission for Promotion of IT in Indian Languages.

Government to standardise on ‘open standard’ and ‘open source’ software.

Domestic IT hardware industry to be aggressively promoted to minimise dependence on imports.

An independent body, Digital Security Agency (DSA), to be set up for cyber warfare, cyber counterterrorism, and cyber security of national digital assets.

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FEATURE FEATURE

Change of Guard In the coming general elections Election Commission will use electronic voting machines in all the polling stations of the country and will also put in place voter-friendly initiatives.

General elections are round the corner as the term of the 14th Lok Sabha will expire on 1st June, 2009. The electoral rolls of all States and Union Territories have been updated in terms of the aforesaid delimited constituencies, with reference to 1.1.2009 as the qualifying date.

However, the process of continuous updating will continue till the last date for filing nominations. The total electorate in the country after the first round of revision is approximately 714 million compared to 671 million in 2004. This marks an increase of 43 million in the electorate.

PHOTO ELECTORAL ROLLS.

This year would be the first time when the entire country, except the three States of Assam, Nagaland and Jammu & Kashmir, would be using the Photo Electoral Rolls. Out of 543 Parliamentary Constituencies, photo electoral roll will be used in 522 Parliamentary Constituencies as well as in all the Legislative Assembly Constituencies in Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim and Orissa.

This will prevent impersonation and facilitate easy identification. The Election Commission had introduced the concept of Photo Electoral Roll in 2005.

This was tested as a pilot project during the 2005 electoral revision in all the constituencies of Kerala and Puducherry, two constituencies of Haryana and one constituency each in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. On the successful completion of the pilot project, the Commission took the decision to conduct the 2009 general election to Lok Sabha using Photo Electoral Roll.

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ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES

In this year’s election the Commission has decided to use electronic voting machines in all the polling stations of the country as was done during the last Lok Sabha Election in 2004.

Currently, there are 13, 68,430 EVMs available in the country.

In regards to their working, first level checking of these EVMs has already been taken up in all the states/UTs and has been completed in many places.

LOOPHOLES

Getting an Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) still is an major issue for a few eligible voters. No exaggeration, but a simple example from Noida.

Rajesh, a II year BCom student from L R College, has been waiting for his original EPIC card since 2006. Holding those acknowledgement receipts for every form filed over the years and a duplicate card he managed last year, he is yet to see his original card. There are many more cases like Wrong photo, name correction and change of address, just to name a few which needs to be addressed by election commission at the earliest.

VOTER PARTICIPATION

The Election Commission of India in recent years has initiated various measures to streamline the process of voter registration. The Booth Level Officer system has helped in enrolling the eligible voters and in detecting

and removing the names of the dead and shifted voters. The Commission has appealed upon all the registered voters of the country to participate in the voting process and exercise their constitutional right to vote. Wider voter participation will make the democracy in India more vibrant and deepen its roots more strongly.

The Commission has also directed the CEOs to take certain voter-friendly initiatives, like voter help-line, voter assistance booths near polling stations, web-based search facilities to locate the names in the voter list and so on. The Commission has also issued guidelines to the CEOs to take special measures to facilitate voting for the physically challenged voters.

Elections in India in terms of its scale, magnitude and complexities are the largest and most vigorous democratic exercise in the world. The Commission is confident that all the stake-holders the political parties, the candidates, the voting public and the entire election machinery, will fully appreciate the need for restraint and discipline to ensure free, fair and peaceful elections.

Sandeep Budki sandeep@egovonline.net

www.egovonline.net

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NEWS & VIEWS

“

Virtualisation is currently the ultimate remedy for CIOs who are faced with growth challenges, compute power utilization issues and data centre utilization problems.”

NATIONAL Certified Course on Internet Surfing For Just Rs 125 Learn internet surfing for just Rs 125 at 2,000odd Sify cybercafes through the country in just a ten hour course. Participants completing this course will be issued a certificate jointly by the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) and Sify Technologies. NIXI along with the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) is simultaneously spreading the concept of ‘smart and safe surfing’ in urban and rural schools (both English and vernacular medium).

Rural IT Training For Youth of Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (TN) government has launched a Statewide Rural IT Finishing School programme to help students who had completed Standard X and above to become BPO employees, free of cost. Furthermore, in association with the Electronics Corporation of TN, Nasscom, FOSTeRA and Sun iTech, the TN Government has proposed to set up at least one such finishing school in each district to train more than 7,000 students over the next six months.

Servers of MEA Hacked Servers of the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) have been hacked. Though the government does not have any specific idea about who the hackers were, the IP addresses left behind suggested the hand of Chinese. No sensitive information is believed to have been accessed during the hacking, which was detected during one of the regular checks by the intelligence agencies.

Karthik Ramarao Director- Technology, Systems Practice Sun Microsystems India

VoIP Services in Bihar Through SWAN One of the biggest benefit that Bihar is receiving through its setting up of statewide area network (SWAN) and secretariat local area network (SecLAN) is the use of VoIP (voice over internet protocol). VoIP phones have allowed free of cost phone connectivity among different government offices. Offices of ministers, departmental secretaries and other senior officials in the state capital have been fitted with VoIP phones.

Beltron is the nodal agency of the state government for implementing the egovernance project in Bihar under which SWAN and SecLAN have been set up. A data centre has also been set up in Patna where data generated from all offices across the state are stored.

Pay Your Insurance Premium at Post Offices Indian Post has entered a tie-up with ICICI Prudential for collection of insurance premium through Post Offices. The service is now available at more than 200 Post offices in Gujarat, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Maharashtra Postal Circles. There will be no additional cost involved for the customer.

The premium amount realized will be sent to ICICI Prudential through ePayment system of Indian Post.

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Virtualisation is the key mantra for going green.

Comment Virtualisation – as a single most important emerging tool, virtualisation can be an enabler of Green IT. The very purpose of virtualisation is to consolidate and utilize the hardware more completely.

And this play well into the Green IT requirements.

Virtualisation is available at all levels from us. Whether it is servers, storage, networking framework or software stacks. The objective of providing such a robust and comprehensive span of technologies is to allow customers to adapt what

Events Watch 3-5 April, 2009 International Conference on Information Management and Engineering (ICIME 2009) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia http://www.icime.org ........................................................

7-10 April, 2009 Next Generation Network Stadardisation Colombo, Srilanka http://www.cto.int/ngn/09 ........................................................

17-19 April, 2009 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD) 2009, Doha, Qatar http://www.ictd2009.org ........................................................

22-24 April, 2009 IDMA World Asia 2009, Singapore http://www.the-infoshop.com/ conference/idma09/ ........................................................

27-28 April, 2009 Government Technologies Conference & Expo Toronto, Canada http://gov.wowgao.com

27-29 April, 2009 6th International Conference on Information Technology: New Generations (ITNG 2009) Las Vegas, Nevada, USA http://www.itng.info/ ........................................................

5-7 May, 2009 4th International & Communications Technology Exhibition & Conference Karachi, Pakistan http://www.connectitpakistan.com/ ........................................................

7-9 May, 2009 2nd International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Accessibility Hammamet Tunisia http://www.icta.rnu.tn ........................................................

23-27 May, 2009 15th GCC eGovernment and eServices Forum Dubai UAE http://www.datamatixgroup.com/ conferences/profile.asp?id=457

24-28 May, 2009 The Fourth International Conference on Internet and Web Applications and Services (ICIW) Venice, Italy http://www.iaria.org/conferences2009/ ICIW09.html ........................................................

31 May - 4 June, 2009 6th Annual European Semantic Web Conference Heraklion, Greece http://www.eswc2009.org ........................................................

17-18 June, 2009 International Conference on Rural Information & Communication Technology Bandung, Indonesia www.rict-itb.org ........................................................

11-13 August, 2009 ITCN Asia 2009 Karachi, Pakistan http://www.itcnasia.com ........................................................

25-27 August, 2009 eIndia 2009 HICC, Hyderabad, India http://www.eindia.net.in

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NEWS & VIEWS might be most appropriate for his environment and benefit from that rather than force fit a solution.

What is happening on the virtualisation front in India?

Virtualisation is currently the ultimate remedy for CIOs who are faced with growth challenges, compute power utilization issues and data centre utilization problems. Currently, data centres have only 20% utilisation with seven percent efficiency and some servers don’t get used at all. This calls for effective handling where virtualisation does the job. Apart from acknowledging the primary advantages of virtualisation technology (like improved management capabilities and better IT infrastructure utilisation) enterprises in India are fast picking up on its additional benefits like savings in power consumption and optimized investment in physical office space.

As per IDC, with the adoption of virtualisation technology, utilization rates for x86 systems have jumped from less than 10 % to a far healthier 30 to 50 %. Analysts also report that virtualisation will rise dramatically through 2010.

What is the upcoming trend with respect to green data centres in India?

Indian Inc is already facing energy crisis.

Emerging high density computer systems and consolidation of IT resources into fewer data

centers are stretching the limits of data center capacity. The large number of components in a data center including cooling systems, power systems, and computer systems and the diversity of these components makes data center design and operations a complex task.

The demand for data center solutions with lower total cost of ownership and lower complexity of management is driving the creation of next generation data centres. Large data centers are looking at pocketing more green into their pocket.

At Sun, our modular, pod-based data centres can turn on a dime whenever business directions change, from accommodating new equipment in our pods to expanding our rack footprint by deploying additional Sun Modular data centres.

We can accommodate growth and increases in density because three key data centre functions — power, cooling, and cabling - are prepared from day one to support an overall doubling in each area. The pod-based design is an enabler, rather than a barrier, to business growth whether it is through an increase in demand, server replacement, merger, acquisition, reorganization, or other business activity. Our pod-based design has the flexibility to support gradual or rapid change to match the pace of the engineering and IT environments at Sun. Nilakshi Barooah nilakshi@egovonline.net

Executive Movements A S Rajan has been promoted to the rank of Joint Director in the Intelligence Bureau. He is a 1987 batch IPS officer from Bihar cadre.

R.P. Sisodia has been appointed Secretary Horticulture. ., K. Madhusudan Rao will be Member-Secretary of APPCB and Neetu Kumari Prasad will be GHMC Additional Commissioner.

Apurva Chandra has taken over as Joint Secretary Petroleum. He is a 1988 IAS officer from Maharashtra cadre.

V.Umashankar will be the Director Higher & Technical Education. Prior to this, he was the was Director, Environment and Member Secretary, Haryana State Pollution Control Board. He is a 1993 batch IAS officer from Haryana cadre.

Shaktikanta Das has moved to the Department of Economic Affairs as Joint Secretary on lateral transfer basis. He is presently working as Joint Secretary in the Department of Expenditure. He is a 1980 batch IAS officer from Tamil Nadu cadre Anshu Vaish is the new Secretary School Education and Literacy in the Government of India. He has succeed A K Rath. He is a 1975 batch IAS officer from M.P. cadre.

Lokesh Jha has joined Ministry of Home Affairs GOI, as Joint Secretary. He was secretary of Revenue, relief, and rehabilitation Department in J&K government. He is a an IAS officer of the 1988 batch.

A N Chatterjee is the new Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). He is a 1974 batch IA&AS officer.

Sanjay Verma is promoted as Joint Secretary in the Energy Security Division of Ministry of External Affairs.

He is an IFS officer of the 1990 batch.

Upamanayu Chatterjee is appointed as Joint Secretary – Defence. He is an IAS officer of the 1983 batch of the Maharashtra cadre.

Veenu Srinivasan is the new President of Confederation of India Industries (CII). He has succeeded M V Kamath. He is the Chairman cum Managing Director of TYV Motor Company and Managing Director of Sundaram-Clayton.

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NATIONAL e-Kendras Inaugurated in Jharkhand Jharkhand Agency for Promotion of Information Technology (JAPIT) and National Informatics Centre (NIC) has launched an e-Nagrik service.The plan is for 300 Pragya Kendras or e-kendras out of which 106 are already operational, spread out across Ranchi.

Herein citizens can submit all details of the applicant online after which the request is expected to get processed in two days on a payment of Rs 15.

TRAI Brainstorms on Growth of Rural Telephony The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released draft recommendations on an Approach to Rural Telephony – Suggested Measures for an Accelerated Growth for public comments. The draft recommendations are placed at TRAI website www.trai.gov.in. All the stakeholders are requested to send their comments on these recommendations by 12th March, 2009.

Security Concerns Block 3G Services from BSNL, MTNL BSNL and MTNL have been asked to stop their 3G services till the security agencies put in place suitable monitoring system to track traffic on their network. The step has come about in the wake of Intelligence Bureau (IB) informing the DoT that BSNL has not provided for monitoring of video calls.

Kashmir Gets its First Call Centre The first call centre of the valley has come up in Kashmir very recently. Some 230 young men and women work at the call centre owned by Access Infrastructure, which serves clients only in the Kashmir Valley. Access sees information technology prospects improving in Kashmir and thus has just hired 60 more employees. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah laid the ground for another call centre last month.

Multi-Purpose Identity Cards for Kashmir Special Multi-purpose cards for Kashmir is being planned by authorities to help identify them as Indian nationals and to also check infiltration in the state. The Home ministry of India is providing the Multipurpose National Identity Cards or MNIC to all citizens of 15 years and above. The cards will help the police and the Army distinguishes the Indian nationals from the militants living in the guise of the locals.

Telemedicine Project for Himachal Pradesh State government of Himachal Pradesh has started a highly specialized doctor service through its telemedicine project to connect patients with physicians. The project has been jointly launched by the DIT and the Department of Health. Under this telemedicine system, several zonal, regional and circle hospitals have been connected with telemedicine facility through dedicated ISDN lines with a total cost of INR 4.51 crore.

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NEWS & VIEWS NATIONAL DIT to Soon Make Software That can Read All Indian Languages Jainder Singh, Secretary, Department of Information Technology (DIT) inaugurating a conference on ‘Common Service Centres: The Change Agents’ recently said that by the end of September this year, the Department of Information Technology (DIT) will have readied software tools and fonts which can help personal computers (PCs) and websites decipher content in the country’s 22 languages recognised by the Constitution.

NCDMA Moves Further Towards e-Governance The National Clean Development Mechanism Authority (NCDMA) in the Ministry of Environment & Forests is taking to IT. Its recently launched a new website which will enable CDM Project Proponents to file applications and upload their project documents directly.

With this on-line uploading of project reports paper work of the Authority will be reduced considerably. E-filing will be mandatory with immediate effect.

BJP Takes to SMS For Election Campaigning The way Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) is planning its election campaign it will have around five crore additional voters on its mailing and SMS lists by the end of the election campaign.

The BJP will soon be sending daily updates to mobile subscribers across the country. Over the last few weeks, the BJP alone has added over 20,000 mobile phone users to its list in Mumbai. This number has been increasing by 5,000 each day.

INR 67 Crore Order from BSNL Bagged

by Gemini Comm INR 67 crore order from BSNL for supply, implementation and maintenance of the latter’s rural mobile wimax project has been bagged by Gemini Communication.

BSNL’s rural mobile wimax project ensures connectivity through common service centres through the country.

400,000 Jobs to be Generated by CSCs Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar told reporters after inaugurating a conference on ‘Common Service Centres: The Change Agents’ recently that the government’s CSCs initiative will generate around 400,000 direct employment opportunities and as many as indirect jobs in rural India. He added that the government would set up 100,000 CSCs across the country under the public-private partnership model by year-end.

Agri Clinics For Punjab, Haryana Setting up of agri clinics in districts of Punjab and Haryana the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham).The clinics will test soil, devise techniques for water management and accordingly inform farmers to cultivate agri and horti produce to earn higher yields.

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How far has been your product ‘Atom-Sewa’ been successful in addressing the financial inclusion of the excluded?

We started the Atom Sewa to model we created a technology and focused on the device in-house, we have two elements one is the service provider i.e. business correspondent where we have promoted a Section 21 company called Grameen Pragati Foundation and other side is the technology to render the service. The technology aspect has the device with fingerprint and biometric authentication and we have the card interface as we are providing the villager a card and they could be of multiple formats depending upon connectivity. The telecom revolution will bring connectivity to villages, so the first need is that we begin applications on a device that is currently available with us.

We innovated on the atom sewa model Business Correspondent Dewang Neralla can use his/her mobile to deliver the financial services. as mobile Director, Atom Technologies are now ubiquitous and can act as Information Technology will revolutionse a smart phone available at even customized products, as there is certain amount of INR 3000 and in areas which lack saturation at urban markets and there is an interest or with limited connectivity we in the rural markets.” have innovated with the feature with a device that understands fingerprints. aspirations of every customer urban or rural, and We aim to bridge the digital divide by mobiles and IT will bring down the operational providing the urban amenities in the rural areas. cost and time down. Information Technology Mobile telephony can change the rural landscape. will revolutionse customized products, as there The mobile banking and payment services are is certain amount of saturation at urban markets

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China Tops Public Sector Equipment Spending A latest research report announced by Springboard Research stated that the Greater China region (including Hong Kong and Taiwan) contributed the largest share at 42.7% to Enterprise Networking spending by the public sector across Asia Pacific (excluding Japan).

Springboard’s report, titled “An Opportunity Emerging: Networking in the Public Sector,” saw Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) region as the second largest public sector market, with India as the fastest growing in the region. Springboard estimates the overall market for enterprise

networking equipment in the public sector (including government and education) to have reached US$1.1 billion at the end of 2008; with a forecasted growth to US$1.7 billion by 2012, amounting to a compounded annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12%. “A major trend in the region’s public sector vertical is cross-department collaboration; state or local governments are aggressively deploying networking framework to facilitate connectivity with other states and regions,” said Nupur Singh Andley, Senior Research Analyst for Connectivity at Springboard

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NEWS & VIEWS and there is an interest in the rural markets. We are looking at Maharashtra, UP , Gujarat for Atom Sewa, we are working with MFIs in Rajasthan.

MFIs main area of concerns are collections, hence audit trail and micro-finance collection system will be an area of need, mobiles are going to be again an interface for collection trail though innovative technology mediated audit trails.

What are the security aspects that have been undertaken for the m-Payments and mBanking services?

Security is authentication of customer. They have a card, and we have the photograph verification, followed by fingerprint verification. Technology security for transfer of data is protected as data stored inside the device is all encrypted. The device are mechanical and as back up we have the hard-copy print outs. We have hence developed end-to-end encrypted security systems from transactional security and front-end security model. Cryptographic engines are available on the device that ensures secure applications.

You have addressed the issue of localization of content for your various products and services.

In this regard, what is the value addition that you have brought for the customers?

Localisation of content includes pure information or e-Governance services. Atom has been a major player in offering transaction services.

Information in banking systems does not require much of localisation of content, instead it is localisation of voice tags and receipts and is primarily related to information that you are delivering in villages. The localisation in financial services would really mean the localisation of services is in sync with the local needs and requirements of the customers. Localisation

of information is the key to the success of the business model. Grameen Suvidha Kendras of MCX we have wedded with them selling seeds and fertilizers as value add services, as one-stop shop and the villager need not go out for these services. We are also offering micro-insurance services in collaboration with LIC We will scaleup this year and create around 1500 touch-points as we need to understand the demographics and local needs very well, but certain needs are omnipresent everyone, hence we need to offer relevant bouquet of services. Hence technology can be localised keeping in mind the customer and its regional, but we also need to understand the regional and local service requirements to make the information services addressing the local needs.

Have you got any tie ups with any state /central government departments for your services?

What are the benefits the government vertical can derive from your products?

We are working with state governments for bringing the service applications across the state.

We are working for tie-ups with strong rural presence such as MCX etc. The idea is to create a social entrepreneur at the rural level offering services to the villagers, to offer the financial services as facilitators of the banks to bring in the financial excluded to the financial included security net. The CSCs need to go beyond the PC and have a bouquet of services on the mobiles, as mobile telephony catches up with the customers.

We need to realize that rural aspirations are at par with urban aspirations and we would need to get innovative in bringing financial services to the rural landscape.

Nilakshi nilakshi@egovonline.net

NATIONAL (CORPORATE) INR 393cr Order from NIC Bagged

by HCL INR 393 crore order for providing end-to-end IT services and operations management, for a span of seven years, has been bagged by HCL Technologies from National Insurance Company (NIC). In these seven year of engagement, HCL would be responsible for setting up and managing a new enterprise wide IT landscape for NIC.

INR 1182 Cr. Contract from ESIC Bagged

by Wipro Wipro Infotech a unit of the software services firm Wipro Limited has bagged Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) contract worth INR 1182 crore in Banglore. This outsourced contract is spread over a timeperiod of six and a half years. This project which is called ‘Panchdeep’ was offered on a Built-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model through a global tender.

IT Companies Looking Towards SMEs for Growth IT service providers are making the SMEs their key focus area for tapping the growth potential of this market. A report by Access Markets International (AMI) Partners early this year had revealed that the SMEs in the country are likely to spend $9.7 billion on IT this year.

Information Highway for Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh with the adoption of e-Governance project will soon see its government services getting delivered to the common public through Internet, computers etc. About 1 lakh information centres, including about nine thousands two hundreds centres in Madhya Pradesh would be opened in rural areas. Madhya Pradesh state electronics Development Corporation has been deployed as nodal agency for proper implementation of information centres schemes in the state.

Matrubhasha Launched by Lenovo

Enterprise Networking in Asia Pacific Research. “The focus of networking investments, especially in developing markets like China and India, has shifted to semi-urban and rural pockets where even the most basic network infrastructure is not present,” Ms. Andley added.

According to the findings of a survey of Public Sector IT decision makers featured in the report, over a fifth of respondents claim that their budgets for networking are more than 40% of overall IT budgets. This trend was more prevalent in China over other regions. The survey also revealed that the main factors influencing network purchasing

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decisions by the respondents were equipment provider’s expertise, technological strength and value for money (in that order). The survey’s respondents rated Cisco as the top enterprise networking player in top-of-mind recall, as well as their existing equipment provider in all the three categories of data networking equipment, voice networking equipment and network security equipment. Other prominent players named by the respondents include HP-Procurve, Avaya, Juniper Networks, Nortel Networks, D-Link, Alcatel-Lucent and Checkpoint.

A vernacular computing initiative ‘Matrubhasha’, has been launched by Lenovo India as a part of its corporate social responsibility. This initiative is meant to enable school children to gain computer proficiency in their mother tongue, without even depending on English. 38 Akshara Foundation libraries in 35 Kannada Government schools and three Urdu Government schools across Bangalore would be the beneficiaries in this program.

YES BANK Introduces RFID in Retail Banking YES BANK, South Extension Branch, New Delhi, introduces RFID Technology for the First Time in Indian Retail Banking.YES BANK, focused on innovative banking solutions unveiled the first of its kind, ‘Bank Branch of the Future’ at its South Extension Branch in New Delhi. This branch aims to transform retail branches from simple transaction outlets to ‘Service Oriented Advisory Centers’.

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NEWS & VIEWS NATIONAL (CORPORATE) Apple Launches Safari 4 Browser Apple has announced the launch of public beta version of Safari 4, claiming it to be the world’s fastest and most innovative web browser for Mac and Windows PCs. At present there are five major browsers fighting for marketshare - Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome and Opera. Apple claims its Nitro engine in Safari 4 runs JavaScript 4.2 times faster than Safari 3.

HCL Enters Security Sector HCL Security is a new company being planned

by HCL Infosystems with a special focus on security. HCL Infosystems has executed several contracts for the Armed Forces in the last eight years. It has installed the service for distress calls (Dial 100) to the police in 23 cities. It has also done security-related projects for airports and telecommunication service providers. So in sync with the recent positive developments HCL felt it need to float a new company so that it could give a special focus to it.

CrimsonLogic Aggressively Enabling e-Governance CrimsonLogic, a Singapore Government Linked IT Solution Provider specializing in eGovernment Services & Solution organized a forum to share its experiences about transforming the way government functions by simplifying complex processes be it within its divisions, with its citizens and businesses.

CrimsonLogic has provided solutions for governments in many countries spanning Southeast Asia, Middle East, Caribbean and the America.

Xcel Acquired @ INR 800-850 Cr by ATC American Tower Corporation (ATC) has acquired the Mumbai-based independent tower company, Xcel Telecom for an undisclosed sum. Industry analysts had put an enterprise valuation of around INR 800850 crore for Xcel Telecom, which owns and operates around 1,700 towers in the country.

The acquisition would help ATC create a leading independent tower company.

BPL Mobile Renamed As Loop Mobile Following the expiry of its brand-use agreement with the TPG Nambiar-owned BPL Group, BPL Mobile Communications has changed its name to Loop Mobile. The new logo of Loop Mobile has been designed keeping in mind the youthful vitality, excitement and freshness that the company stands for.

VeriSign Unveils Platform for National Public Key Infrastructure VeriSign, Inc., a provider of Internet infrastructure for the networked world, announced a new platform specifically designed to meet the needs of governments looking to implement and manage their own Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). The new VeriSign PKI Platform gives governments across the world a way to offer citizens fast and easy access to e-services such as health and welfare programs, e-passports, and national ID programs.

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Rajat Mehta Country Category Manager - Remote Client Solutions Personal Systems Group Hewlett-Packard India Sales Pvt. Ltd.

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The data centre is one of the biggest energy consuming components of a business involving IT operations.”

Power management is an integral part of making data centres green. What are the measures taken in this regard?

Green IT will go a long way in cutting down energy-related operating expenses.

Money

saved from energy to power or cool systems goes directly to the bottom line. The principal drivers behind the adoption of eco-friendly computing are what are referred as PCFE issues—Power, Cooling, Floor space and Environmental issues.

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NEWS & VIEWS The data centre is one of the biggest energy consuming components of a business involving IT operations.

HP is the pioneer for Remote Client Solutions which are hardware and software components that work together through standard network connections to centralize computing resources in the data center, while delivering client computing to end users. These solutions consist of centralized computing resources such as blade PCs, blade workstations, or servers in the data center, a client access device at the user’s location, and a connection protocol optimized to provide a rich, remote-user experience. These data centres enable Green IT by reducing Power Consumption and Cooling requirement by 1/3rd.

Also, it helps in business continuity by improving the availability of important applications and has the ability to recover quickly form problems that arise, hence minimizing the impact, cost, and risk of worker downtime.

Then we have the blade technology which is touted as the best solution for power management.

At 25 watts per blade, our solution offers the highest rack density and lowest power usage of any blade client solution in the market today.

and personalized desktops delivered across the network. Each virtual desktop is isolated and secure in the data center, yet physical computing resources in the data center are shared for optimal resource allocation. Ideal for basic office productivity applications, this virtualization solution creates a satisfying enduser experience, while allowing IT to increase asset utilization, lower management cost, and deliver higher reliability.

Transforming the existing data centre into energy efficient ones is a serious issue. What is the Indian and the international scenario in this regard?

IDC believes that the downturn in the economy will spur interest in datacenter initiatives and solutions that can dramatically bring down operating cost.

Organizations will revisit the managed datacenter model and embrace it, starting with datacenter consolidation.

Beside saving costs, engaging a managed datacenter service providers gives organizations access to many of the cutting-edge datacenter technologies, such as new forms of server and storage architecture, virtualisation, WAN optimisation, cloud computing, disaster recovery and others. Currently, IDC estimates that only 23% of organizations in the region use an external service provider for their datacenter needs. Hence, there is a large untapped market and opportunity for managed service providers, and having an end-to-end solution offering will be critical for success in this market.

At 25 watts per blade, our solution offers the highest rack density and lowest power usage of any blade client solution in the market today”

Virtualisation is the key mantra for going green. Comment True, one of the primary goals of almost all forms of virtualistion is making the most efficient use of available system resources. For example, many of the suppliers of management software for virtualised environments have the ability to move workloads to a smaller number of servers when workload and service level agreements allow it. This contributes a great deal to power conservation or what can also be called “green computing”, computing that is safe for the environment.

HP’s existing Remote Client Solutions portfolio of desktop virtualisation offerings includes thin clients, blade servers, workstations, HP Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and traditional server-based computing. These help business customers dramatically reduce security risks and management and support costs by centralizing computing hardware and sensitive data within data centers. HP Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) provides end users with fully functional

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What steps can be taken to reduce carbon emission in data storage?

To reduce carbon emission in data storage the things that need to be considered are adoption of successful green IT consolidation strategies; capitalizing on all opportunities to reduce the environmental footprint of operations; eliminating multiple sites hosting e-mail servers; reducing disk and tape usage for backup purposes using data de duplication etc.

A number of best practices and technologies can help reduce overall data storage footprint and associated utility costs. For example, compression has been around for a while.

Nilakshi Barooah nilakshi@egovonline.net

INTERNATIONAL Tenders for Telecommunication Networks Released by Libya, Tunisia The Ministry of Communication Technologies of the Republic of Tunisia intends to issue, through an open international tender, a license for the provision of public fixed and second and third generation mobile telecommunications networks and services in Tunisia.

The General Telecommunications Authority (GTA) of the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (Libya) has announced its intention to grant one fixed and mobile license to one service provider (operator) to offer advanced cellular mobile and fixed services in the Libyan territory.

e-Network Project Launched With Pan-African Reach The Ministry of Communication, Ghana inaugurated the Pan-African E-Network project in Accra in collaboration with the Government of India. The project is supposed to connect all the 53 nations of the African Union (AU) by a satellite and fiber-optic network. The services being targeted through this are tele-education, tele-medicine, internet, video-conferencing and VoIP services. It is also expected to support e-governance, e-commerce and effective communication among the nations.

UAE’s ICT Applications Tops Many a Categories A report released by the UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) on the United Arab Emirates’s (UAE’s) performance in ICT sector, shows that the UAE tops the list in several categories. As for international ranking, the UAE ranked first worldwide on the cost of mobile telephone call, fourth on the importance of ICT to government vision of the future, sixth on government success in ICT promotion, seventh on government prioritisation of ICT, ninth on ICT use and government efficiency, 10th on mobile telephone subscribers rate.

First Data Centre for Nepal In Kathmandu, the country’s first data centre, Government Integrated Data and Training Centre (GIDTC), has started functioning. GIDTC has already started working as Internet Data Center and is providing e-connectivity to all ministries. In the second phase, it will start storing important documents.

Digital Certification System Launched in Oman Oman has signed a memorandum of understanding for establishing a digital certification system.

The Information Technology Authority (ITA) of Oman signed the MoU with Tunis-based National Digital Certification Agency (Agence Nationale de Certification Electronique - ANCE) to establish the digital certification system.

The new system will enable citizens to have on-line access to administrative services from their own homes along with digital signature solutions.

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NEWS & VIEWS NATIONAL BSNL Towers in Semi-Urban Areas to be Leased Out

Deepinder Bedi

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to lease out its passive infrastructure, that includes mainly towers, to other telecom companies in semi- urban areas in the country. BSNL has over 60,000 towers and the most of them are in semi-urban areas where private operators have small footprint, so it has decided to lease out those towers with unutilised capacity to the operators.

Executive Director Tulip Telecom, India

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The Bureau of Energy Efficiency, which is a statutory body under India’s Ministry of Power, estimates that, by 2015, India will need 20,000MW to power data centres.”

Separation of USOF, DoT For Rural Telephony The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) recently recommended separation of the USOF from the department of telecommunications and make it an autonomous body on the lines of the National Highways Authority of India.

This step has come up in the light of the fact that the rural telephony is not growing at the desired pace and the disbursement of the universal service obligation fund (USOF) is not effective enough.

Wireless Internet on Indian Rlys by a UK Firm Nomad Digital, a British Wi-Fi technology major has entered into a joint venture with Indian company Zylog Systems to provide wireless internet access to India’s massive railway network. Nomad Digital said that with this low-cost, high speed data network capabilities, it offered a variety of enhanced communication services to improve communication and monitoring of fleets.

Low-Cost Towers by Ericsson for Rural Connectivity INR 5,000 crore will be spent by the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) of Government of India to ensure cellular connectivity in rural areas across the country. Towards this Ericsson will provide low-cost towers. The costs of these low-cost towers, when compared with the existing traditional towers, would be lesser by over 40 per cent in the tube tower.

$6 bn Govt MMPs Eyed by IT Cos The government departments have plans to spend $6 billion in 30 so-called mission mode projects (MMPs). So country’s information technology industry in dearth of international contracts are aiming towards these government contracts. This covers a number of the government projects that relate to the filing of income-tax, central excise, transport services, computerising municipalities etc.

Pilot For Passport Seva Project to be Started in June 2009 by TCS Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is set to start the pilot launch of for the Passport Seva Project in June this year. A mock passport seva kendras will be set up in New Delhi to train hires, which will take 3-4 weeks.

The personnel employed and trained by TCS will provide the citizen interface, which will include all aspects of collecting and processing application forms.

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Power management is an integral part of making data centres green. What are the measures taken by Tulip in this regard?

In this phase of global warming and rising energy costs, industries, individuals and businesses are now recognising the benefits of using green technology.

Power deficiency is adversely affecting the Indian economy. And organisations are increasingly becoming concerned about reducing their environmental footprint.

As restricted availability of power is one of the major concerns faced by technology companies in the rural space, Tulip has been successfully experimenting with virtualisation in it’s existing data centre and going forward newer data centre’s will have virtualisation and consolidation as an integral part. All service delivery platforms have been designed to have a healthy power/capacity ratio. For smaller data centres, solar panels can be a viable proposition. Solar power will gain greater acceptance and implementation once it’s been given a look of a best alternative.

Considered from a practical viewpoint, solar energy is inexhaustible. It is also widely distributed, environment friendly and cost free in raw form.

Virtualisation is the key mantra for going green. Comment.

Virtualisation enables higher performance, efficiency with respect to higher underlying hardware requirement, optimum power utilisation, and consolidation, henceforth it contributes substantially in having

more greener methods of attaining same result. It Virtualisation as a matter of fact helps reduce energy consumption by 8090% and helps save on. Apart from the green bucks, virtualisation has become the bone marrow of green data centers.

Virtualisation helps companies save on hardware expenditure that constitutes 42% of the total expenditure for the IT sector.

What is happening on the virtualisation front in India? What is the Indian and the international scenario in this regard?

There are no such stringent laws made by the Indian Government in this context.

However the policy makers have been constantly in the process to implement such eco-friendly technologies. There have been initiatives to convert urban waste into wealth.

The Bureau of Energy Efficiency, which is a statutory body under India’s Ministry of Power, estimates that, by 2015, India will need 20,000MW to power data centres.

Hence, the adaptation rate of virtualisation in India is expected to witness a growth of 85% by 2011 from the current 19%. As virtualisation increases and improves utilisation, it would gradually gain momentum amongst Indian enterprises.

Tulip is on a ‘Go Green’ mission and we have reduced our dependence on diesel generators.

Tannu Singh tannu@egovonline.net

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Speedy ROI with Quick Green IT Fixes Though nearly half (42%) of IT departments have no plans to launch projects in the next 12 months to reduce energy consumption or carbon emissions - according to a 2008 ComputerWorld survey - plenty of CEOs and CIOs do agree that IT will play a very important role in their efforts to reduce environmental impact.

Still, many see green as an unnecessary increase in expenses, and many are reluctant to “fix” something that’s not broken - that is, mess with IT processes that work and re-engineering them to make them more efficient, accordint to computerworld.

But rising energy costs are a big motivating factor for them to rework at least a little, according to IDC’s “U.S. Green IT Survey.”

Among the quick ROI projects that will save money:

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Power management, such as making sure that employee’s desktops “sleep” at night and during other times of inactivity. Management

features on desktop PCs can save $50 per computer per year, and enabling power management tools on monitors can save another $12 to $90 annually per monitor Other devices that draw power (e.g., fax machines, printers, copiers) can also be identified and turned off when not in use.

• Set new procurement policies that specify that all new equipment must be Energy Star-compliant.

Enable more telecommuting and teleconferencing.

Consolidate data centers and control the temperature in those in operation. Scottrade recently identified air flow issues in its Arizona data center and was able to safely reduce air conditioning levels by making a few minor design changes.

Sandeep Budki sandeep@egovonline.net

FLIP SIDE by Santulan Chaubey

Bhai Sab… This is nothing to do with Development… Vikas is his son’s name….

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ASK SAP

Effective Social Services As Vice President of the Public Services group for SAP’s Asia Pacific Division, Adaire Fox-Martin oversees the strategic direction and activities in the area of public services in the health, education and defence sectors across the region and executive relationships with customers and partners. Ms. Fox-Martin is a key member of the SAP leadership team and plays a lead role in delivering SAP’s offering to public sector customers. A respected thought leader, Ms. Fox-Martin continues to be invited at seminars and conferences by the media and analysts to address public services issues ranging from e-Government transformation and reengineering of Government processes to public service policies. She is regularly featured and quoted in numerous publications throughout Asia and Australia. Ms. Fox-Martin has over 20 years of experience in the field of information technology and management.

Effective e-Governance can take information technology (IT) to the common man, while helping Governments to regulate their services in line with the changing needs of both citizens and stakeholders, as well as develop the economy. Recognizing the growing importance of e-Governance and the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in public administration, we bring you a much needed, regular, interactive platform, where your questions on a pre-defined theme can be answered by Adaire Fox-Martin, Vice President, Public Services, SAP Asia Pacific and Japan.

In this issue, we focus on a few questions around “Effective Social Services” in light of the fact that delivery of social services through social insurance, social protection and social care programs through various institutional mechanisms at Central, State and Panchayat levels is one of the most significant result area for government. Effective delivery of social services is decidedly one of the key drivers for the government in winning and retaining the mandate to be in power through elections.

What are the major areas of social services where government participates? Is there a significant quantum of effort and finances involved?

Government social services manifest themselves in various ways, the key ones being social insurance, social protection and social care programs. In India, there are various mechanisms by which these services are delivered – provident funds (EPFO and CMPFO), state insurances, housing schemes through HUDCO and NHB, programs of education, health and family welfare through central ministry and state departments, and all the social benefit schemes delivered through the panchayati raj and other institutions are some of the prime examples. There are more than 200 centrally sponsored schemes and a similar number of State schemes. The 11th 5-Year Plan (2007-2012) has laid a major thrust on social sector by increasing the allocation to about 75% of the budgetary support from about 55% in the 10th Plan. Expenditures of the GoI on social services have more than doubled over the last four years.

Apart from the financial support, the institutional infrastructure and number of schemes with its people and agencies involved have increased manifold. There is also an increased emphasis on improving the social services indictors as well as initiating outcome based budgets.

What are the key issues and challenges in the effective delivery of social services? Can ICT help in addressing the challenges?

It is a well known fact that only about a fourth of the funds meant for spending on social services reach the actual beneficiaries.

This was once stated by an earlier Prime Minister of India and was further validated by Planning Commission as well. There are leakages both on account of administrative inefficiencies and corruption. It is not the quantum of funds but its efficient and transparent delivery that is critical for the success of various social sector programs.

The other major challenge is the size of the agencies and manpower involved as well as the number of beneficiaries. Given the need for efficient and transparent delivery through a large chain of institutions, processes and people, it is imperative that government provides for a comprehensive and integrated social services management solution which can provide a common, open-standards based ICT platform to administer, monitor and analyze the various programs. Such systems would be a good supplement or replacement to currently fragmented or archaic systems.

Are there specific world class ICT solutions that can be deployed readily to achieve quick benefits? What are the key components of such solutions?

Comprehensively integrated and readily available (enterprise applications based) ICT solutions for social services are available with some of the world leading software providers. These solutions have proven themselves and have been deployed at various levels of government globally. They include central, state and local governments. Examples include Coal Miners PF Organization, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, UN Food Program, State of Hesse (Germany), City of Cape Town, Geuteng Shared Services Center (South Africa) and Birmingham City Council. These solutions provide for legislative compliance, improved quality of citizen’s life, efficient management operations, and transformation of services and payment delivery. The main components of these solutions include integrated applications for outreach, relationship management, case management, grant and fund management, and program execution. Importantly, these components work on a single view of the beneficiary. In this context, it is useful to note that the Universal ID project could be built around the concept of single master data (including the management of BPL information) that serves as the basis for leveraging the integrated social services applications.

Next Month’s Topic: “Integrated Government Financial Management”. Please write to us your queries on this topic or mail back to us at info@egovonline.net

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PSUs / Banks Special

Watch out for June 2009 Issue on PSUs / Banks

We at egov have realised the role and importance of Public Sector Units (PSUs) / Banks in the development of e-Government scenario in India. India is blessed with its 9 ‘Navratnas’ and a vibrant banking and financial sector. We are bringing out a special issue on the PSUs and Banking sector of India and outlining there key achievements and initiatives in terms of e-Government.

This issue will be in the month of June 2009.

For Branding / Advertising, Contact: Anuj Agrawal: +91 9911302086, anuj@egovonline.net, Santosh Kr. Gupta: +91 9891192996, santosh@egovonline.net

RNI NO. - UPENG/2008/25234

UP/GBD - 71/2009-2011