To provide free access to Govt data, Maharashtra becomes 1st state of India to unveil ‘Public Cloud Policy’

Mumbai, January 19: With an aim to provide free access to government data, Maharashtra becomes the first state in the country to have a cloud policy. Speaking at Maharashtra Technology Summit, CM Devendra Fadnavis stated that the Public Cloud will create a $2 billion opportunity for the startups and other big data companies. 

"We have unveiled our public cloud policy and this policy will allow all government departments to have access to the public cloud," Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said at the Maharashtra Technology Summit. By implementing the cloud policy, the Maharashtra government will likely maintain an early lead in eGov services among the other states, in the very beginning of 2018.

 

The public data and services company, National Informatics Centre, might take its own time, if implemented on its own. The state government, therefore, has planned to bring private companies in the loop that is completely up for this.

The cloud policy will make it mandatory for all the government departments to shift their entire documents to the cloud. The cloud policy will also embolden Right to Information RTI, as the data can be instantly made available against all the queries raised.

Two months ago, the Maharashtra government constituted a four-member committee to draft a cloud policy framework to shift the entire government database onto the cloud.

While in the next few weeks, the government will supposedly enact the policy in motion, it will also onboard the leading cloud service providers such as Amazon and Microsoft in order to keep the shifting clean-shaven.

NetApp or other leading data security provider will be brought in to secure the access of sensitive data limited to the authorized people only.

In 2017, the state government had taken a number of initiatives to support the startup ecosystem in the state.Besides giving 100% waiver to startups and incubation centres, Maharashtra state government has already constituted a 14-member committee headed by the Vice Chairman of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University, Dr Vilas Gaikar, with a mandate to prepare a draft startup policy in the next few months. The policy framework aims to establish incubation centres at every public university that could perform and exercise its powers within the ambit of duties designed by the Board.