Govt unveils draft rules for IT Act

Under the draft rules, one of the key functionaries would be the controller who would supervise the activities of the certifying authority and would lay down the standards which the authority should maintain, he said. Another important issue which has been dealt with by the rules is one of specifying the qualifications for becoming the certifying authority.

A certifying Authority is a person who would be granted a licence to issue a Digital Signature certificate and would be responsible for secure online transactions. The rules specify the amount of paid-up capital, the bank guarantee and various other requirements that would need to be fulfilled before one is granted a licence for issuing Digital Signature certificates.

quot;The process of obtaining feedback before finalisation of rules is being adopted as IT and Internet are new areas. The government would invite feedback on the draft rules for the next few weeks and the final gazette notification for the same would be issued by September 15,quot; he said.

The draft rules also cover issues such as the period of validity of licence granted for issue of Digital Certificates and the payments to be made for the same. The rules also envisage procedures for creating secure electronic record and secure digital signature.

Rules have also dealt with the manner in which the disputes which arise would be disposed. To this effect rules have been framed on the manner in which the adjugating officer would hold the inquiry.

Internet for disinvestment process: The Government is considering using internet for executing the disinvestment process including inviting bids for sale of its equity in PSUs, Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie said here today.

quot;The government is considering adoption of open bidding system through internet for disinvestment in various enterprises,quot; Shourie told reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration of the E-governance centre, set up by IT Ministry.

Emphasising that the measure was intended for bringing in total transparency in the disinvestment process, Shourie said that the net would be used by government as a speedy and transparent mechanism. Official sources, however, said the idea of using net for inviting bids was at its conceptual stage and would require several safeguards for actually bringing it into practice with requisite secrecy elements.

The government, as such, is issuing the expression of interest invitation for bids through the net, they added. Shourie, who is also heading Planning, Administrative Reforms and Personnel, said that the E-Governance practices would also be implemented in the administrative reforms department for ushering in a quot;paperless officequot; environment.

The E-governance centre lab set up by IT Ministry focuses on E-governance solutions and services, showcasing applications by various IT majors like CMC, Microsoft and Oracle.

The centre would offer services such as technical consultation, proof of concept and thematic presentations, besides creating awareness among decision makers at the central and state levels and helping them in defining and implementing process and policy changes.

It would also showcase applications by CDAC, CMC, NIC, Microsoft, Oracle and IQ Virtuals to start with.