Thanks to the gallant initiative of the existing Union Government, India will soon witness launching of a National Information Highway Authority (NIHA). What will be its cardinal activities? The main aim of NIHA, as has been found, will be to increase various e-activities of the government and these e-activities include e-governance, e-learning and e-health. It will be headed by Sam Pitroda, known for his sharp acumen in this field.

As per government sources, Pitroda would be holding a cabinet rank, similar to Nandan Nilekani. The main intention of the Central government is to promote an assortment of e-activities, since different ministries and departments had partly restricted its penetration as they deal with them. Now, as the apex body for such initiatives, NIHA would clear and monitor all future projects and budgets.

“There’s immense scope to synergize activities in the telecom and IT space, which currently languish either because of the lack of initiative and focus or due to inter-ministerial differences. Once NIHA is in place with someone like Pitroda to head it, it would become an ideal vehicle to promote such initiatives effectively in a time-bound manner,” said an official. The basic task of Sam Pitroda at NIHA would also connect the digital divide, tele-density in urban areas is around 70 percent, as in the rural areas it is 16 percent.

How far will the new setup contribute? It has been found that NIHA would be decisive for the internet and telecom based activities within the government, mainly with 3G and WiMAX spectrum auctions scheduled later this year. Take for instance WiMAX. It is known to have the potential to rapidly increase the penetration of broadband, which currently has a user base of 6.6 million.

Why has Sam Pitroda been selected? Although detractors term him as the blue-eyed man of the Gandhi family, it must be kept in mind that the same person headed the National Knowledge Commission. He was also appointed as the Head of the Centre for Development of Telematics in the early eighties by the Indian Prime Minster Rajiv Gandhi.