India, Japan to boost IT ties

India will sign three agreements with Japan, aimed at enhancing ties between institutions and industries of the two countries in the information technology and telecom sector, in the first meeting of ministerial forum on ICT starting Wednesday.

The ICT forum will also witness the signing of three separate MoUs by National Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Japan with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, Centre for Development of Telematics and Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, to undertake joint programmes in research and development and human resource development in the information and communications technologies sector, an official statement said.

The MoU between Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology and C-DAC envisages cooperation of the two organisations on information and telecommunications research through the exchange of scientists and information, fellowship programmes, and the conduct of joint research projects in all fields of mutual interest to strengthen mutual cooperation on technology management and long time cooperative research.

The forum will also constitute working groups, to be primarily led by the industry on areas of broadband, mobile communications, e-governance, information security, R&D and ubiquitous computing. The groups will evolve a detailed action plan for implementation of the joint statement.

In order to review and monitor the activities of the working groups and the implementing agencies, a Joint Task Force will be set up under the ICT forum.

The ministerial level meeting will witness the signing of a joint statement for bilateral cooperation in communications and information technology, wherein both sides will seek to develop joint proposals in R&D, HRD in ICT sector, e-governance and IT enabled services, among others.

The Japanese minister is also expected to extend Official Development Assistance to India to take ICT to schools with an objective of stimulating millions of young minds in information and communications technologies.

This is likely to assist in meeting the growing challenge of the quantum of resources needed to take ICT to schools, and lead to strong business collaborations between India and Japan.

The Indo-Japan ICT ministerial forum is the outcome of a programme of cooperation, comprising of eight fold initiatives chalked out by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Junichiro Koizumi, during the latter's visit to India in March 2005.

According to IT and Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran: "India is emerging as a major global player in the field of ICT with a strong success story so far in IT and ITES. Indian software competitiveness lies in its low cost, size and strength of its skilled engineering manpower.

"It is India's endeavour to promote R&D work in public private domain to position India in the global R&D hub in ICT. The Chennai hub, an Indo-Japanese centre for R&D training in ICT, is a step in this direction."