Miscellaneous Schemes under Ministry of Electronics and IT

Jeevan Pramaan

• Objective: To facilitate the online submission of Life Certificates by pensioners, thereby avoiding the need to physically submit them every November.
• Beneficiaries: Pensioners of Central/State Governments or other government organizations.
• Key Feature:
  • Based on Aadhaar Biometric Authentication.
  • Generates a Digital Life Certificate (DLC) that is automatically updated with the Pension Department.
  • Available through Jeevan Pramaan Centres (operated by CSCs, banks, govt. offices) or via PC/Mobile/Tablet apps.

➡️ In short, it simplifies the pension process and ensures hassle-free continuity for senior citizens.

Software Technology Parks of India (STPI)

• Background: Set up in 1991 as an autonomous society under MeitY.
• Objective: Promotion of software exports from India.
• Key Features:
  • Works as a single-window service provider for software exporters.
  • Implements two major schemes:
    • Software Technology Park (STP)
    • Electronics Hardware Technology Park (EHTP)
  • Provides services like incubation facilities, training, consultancy, co-location, statutory services, data communication, and IT audit.

➡️ Essentially, STPI has been a backbone for India’s IT/ITES export growth.

Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS)

• Objective: To offset the cost disadvantage faced by domestic manufacturers of electronic components and semiconductors.
• Eligibility: Entities registered in India, including both new units and expansion/modernization of existing units.
• Key Feature: Provides 25% financial incentive on capital expenditure for manufacturing identified electronic goods (components, semiconductors, display units, ATMP units).

➡️ Strengthens India’s electronics manufacturing ecosystem by encouraging component-level self-reliance.

Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyaan (PMGDISHA)

• Objective: To make one person per household digitally literate.
• Eligibility: Any household can nominate one person, aged 14–60 years.
• Course Duration: 20 hours (10–30 days).
• Medium of Instruction: Official Indian languages.
• Implementation: Training via nearest CSCs or Training Centres.
• Evaluation: Independent exam conducted by agencies like NIELIT, NIOS, IGNOU.

➡️ Aimed at bridging the digital literacy gap, especially in rural India.

Stree Swabhiman

• Objective: To provide affordable and accessible sanitary products for adolescent girls and women, especially in rural areas.
• Approach: Establishing a sustainable model of sanitary product manufacturing and distribution closer to rural communities.

➡️ Links women’s health, dignity, and empowerment with technology-enabled models.

Electronics Development Fund (EDF) Policy

• Type: Central Sector Scheme.
• Objective: To create an ecosystem of innovation, research, and development (R&D) in electronics.
• Key Feature:
  • Functions as a “Fund of Funds”, which invests in Daughter Funds.
  • These daughter funds provide risk capital to companies working in electronics, nano-electronics, and IT innovations.

➡️ Focuses on fostering R&D and innovation, helping start-ups and technology companies grow.

Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0) Scheme

• Objective: To provide world-class infrastructure for global electronics manufacturers.
• Key Features:
  • Strengthens supply chain linkages between domestic and global markets.
  • Reduces logistics cost and improves time-to-market.
  • Provides financial assistance for setting up:
    • Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMCs)
    • Common Facility Centres (CFCs)

➡️ It complements PLI schemes by ensuring manufacturers have the right ecosystem and infrastructure to set up operations in India.

Gyan Circle Ventures

• What is it?
  It is the Technology Business Incubator of IIIT Sri City, set up under the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development (CIEDI).
• Support: Funded under TIDE 2.0 as a Group 2 Centre.
• Purpose: To promote deep-tech entrepreneurship in emerging fields like IoT, AI, Blockchain by providing financial and technical support to incubators.

➡️ Think of it as a nursery where new technology-based start-ups are nurtured.

DigiLocker

• Aim: “Digital Empowerment” of citizens by providing a digital document wallet.
• What it offers:
  • A secure cloud-based platform for storage, sharing, and verification of documents.
  • Linked with Aadhaar (UIDAI).
  • Citizens get a dedicated cloud storage space.
• Legal status: Documents in DigiLocker are considered at par with physical documents as per Rule 9A of the IT (Preservation and Retention of Information by Intermediaries Providing Digital Locker Facilities) Rules, 2016.

➡️ Example: Your driving license in DigiLocker is as valid as the physical card.

UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-Age Governance)

• Objective: To create a single point of access to multiple government services.
• Features:
  • Integrates 162 services of 33 departments and 4 States.
  • Payments of utility bills, taxes, etc.
  • Supports 13 Indian languages.
  • Provides access even on feature phones through USSD codes.

➡️ UMANG reduces the need for multiple apps; it is a one-stop solution for government services.

Digishala

• A free Doordarshan DTH channel.
• Purpose: To educate citizens about different digital payment modes.

➡️ Especially useful in rural areas post-demonetization to promote digital literacy.

Cyber Surakshit Bharat Initiative

• Aim: To train and educate Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and the broader IT community in government departments.
• Objective: To help them defend digital infrastructure and become future-ready against cyber-attacks.
• Partners: Public-private partnership with major IT firms like Microsoft, Intel, WIPRO and consultancy firms like Deloitte, EY.

➡️ It is India’s first PPP-based cybersecurity training programme.

e-Sampark

• Objective: To connect the Government directly with citizens.
• Tools used: Mailers, outbound dialing, and SMS campaigns.
• Function: Used for sharing information and public service messages.

➡️ This reflects the essence of Digital India → Government communicating proactively with citizens.

S3WAAS (Secure, Scalable & Sugamya Website as a Service)

• What is it? An online service by NIC that enables government departments to create secure, scalable, and accessible websites.
• Features:
  • Departments can choose from templates.
  • No technical expertise required.
  • Hosted and maintained by NIC.

➡️ It standardizes and secures government websites across the country.

GI Cloud – MeghRaj

• Provided by: National Informatics Centre (NIC).
• Purpose: To provide cloud computing services to government departments.
• Services include:
  • IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) – basic virtual resources (CPU, storage).
  • PaaS (Platform as a Service) – pre-installed web/database servers.
  • SaaS (Software as a Service) – ready-to-use applications.
  • STaaS (Storage as a Service) – secure cloud storage.
• Hosting Environments: Production, Staging, Development.

➡️ MeghRaj is India’s National Cloud, ensuring efficient and cost-effective IT services for governance.

NIC-CERT (National Informatics Centre – Computer Emergency Response Team)

• Role: Acts as the nodal arm of NIC for managing cyber security incidents.
• Functions:
  • Single point of contact for cyber incidents.
  • Issues periodic threat intelligence, security alerts, tips, advisories.

➡️ It safeguards government IT infrastructure against cyber-attacks.

Project Cyber Shikshaa

• Launched by: Microsoft and Data Security Council of India (DSCI).
• Aim: To skill women engineering graduates in the field of Cybersecurity.

➡️ Promotes both gender empowerment and cyber readiness.

Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme (Phase-II)

• Objective: To increase the number of PhDs in Electronics System Design & Manufacturing (ESDM) and IT/ITES.
• Tenure: 9 years (from 2021).
• Support provided:
  • 1000 Full-time PhDs
  • 150 Part-time PhDs
  • 50 Young Faculty Research Fellowships
  • 225 Post-Doctoral Fellowships
  • One-time support to 250 PhD fellows for 6-month visits to international labs.
• Eligible Institutions: All IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, Central and Deemed Universities, Private Universities.

➡️ The scheme strengthens India’s research base in electronics and IT.