New Delhi:
The Department of Information Technology (DIT) has been renamed as the Department of Electronics and IT (DEITY) to reflect the increasing focus of the government on the electronics sector.
Recently, the Cabinet Secretariat amended the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules 1961 and renamed the DIT as DEITY and 'Electroniki aur Soochana Praudyogiki Vibhag' in Hindi, an official statement on Wednesday said.
Recently, the Cabinet Secretariat amended the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules 1961 and renamed the DIT as DEITY and 'Electroniki aur Soochana Praudyogiki Vibhag' in Hindi, an official statement on Wednesday said.
Communications and IT Minister Kapil Sibal will tomorrow preside over the renaming function of the Department.
In the early days, DIT was called Department of Electronics. In October, 1999, it was initially made Ministry of Information Technology.
But with the merger of Departments of Telecommunications and Posts in the Ministry, in December, 2001, the Department acquired its current name.
However, in recent years, there has been a feeling that the electronics sector has not been given adequate importance by the government.
"This resulted in a demand from various quarters of industry, academia and other stakeholders that the Department should provide increased focus to the electronics sector. The renaming of the Department is a symbolic move in that direction," the statement said.
The Department is in the process of initiating several measures to renew the thrust to the Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) in the country.
A new National Policy on Electronics is under finalisation and a draft of the same was released by the Minister of Communications and IT in October 2011, which outlines the rationale and road map for the development of ESDM sector in the country.
"It is expected that this move will send a positive signal to domestic as well as foreign investors in the sector.
Moreover, within Government and within the Department, it will help provide higher priority to policy initiatives relating to electronics," it said.