|
|
|
NATIONAL SCI-TECH SCENE
Rs452m data centre project approved
The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has approved a project initiated by the ministry of information technology for setting up a first data centre to house the federal government’s database and form a secure internal communication infrastructure.
The project aimed at providing the basic IT infrastructure at all the federal divisions, ministries, and inter-connecting them through a secure data centre with a view to improve the speed of communications within the government besides increasing the productivity of government functionaries and enabling them to provide services to citizens efficiently.
The project would be implemented by Electronic Government Directorate, a subsidiary of the ministry of information technology, in three years at a cost of Rs452 million. It was approved at the last meeting of the CDWP held on May 18 and would be put to the upcoming meeting of the executive committee of the national economic council (Ecnec) for approval.
The objectives of the project include installation of Local Area Network with the provision of basic infrastructure to 22 divisions of the federal government and setting up of a federal government Intranet for providing inter-connectivity between the 35 federal government divisions through a high speed metropolitan area network (MAN), having a central data centre, which will work as the nerve centre for Federal Government Intranet and house the building blocks of this network; including core switch, firewalls, intrusion detection systems, central storage facility, a central server farm having database, messaging / collaboration, network management, customized applications for each division and secure electronic communications.
The project will also provide central management, technical support helpdesk and monitoring for the federal government’s entire computer network. A centralized system for the document repository will be created in order to provide immediate access to federal employees to reduce the management time in searching and archiving of documents and improving security at different levels. The project also aimed at creation of the Federal Employees Portal, which will be an internal portal where federal employees will get the information meant for them and can see what orders and memos are issued to the group of which they are part of.
Engg council may lose status
The government has decided in principle to change the nomenclature of Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) from an elected and independent organization into a “government-nominated agency” through amendment in the 1976 PEC act, Dawn has learnt.
The proposed amendments in the act would reduce the country’s highest body of engineering sector into a government-owned institution, the source said, adding that it would empower the government to nominate the PEC’s chairman and vice chairman. The number of members of its executive committee would also be reduced to one-fifth of its strength for which elections would be held under the supervision of the government-nominated chairman and vice-chairman, the source said. The government would also nominate the vice-chancellors of all the engineering universities and rector of National University of Science and Technology (NUST) and other members, thus dominating the elected members through its nominees for decision-making in the council, he said.
The source also claimed that the charter of the council was also likely to be revised, and its major responsibilities relating to regulating engineering education would be taken out partially of its prescribed functions.
IT project for Bahria university
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has decided to strengthen the computing and networking facilities at the Bahria University, Islamabad. In this regard, a Rs30 million project was approved in a Departmental Development Working Party meeting held at the HEC headquarters recently.
The objective of the scheme is to develop the internal automation in the university and constituent units. The scheme aims at establishing e-offices in the university.
IT excellence centre
The NWFP government has abolished the Peshawar Software Technology Park and Information Technology cell projects. Officials say that the software business is not viable under current circumstances in the province.
After abolishing the software park and the IT cell, the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government is planning to set up a centre of excellence for IT to produce skilled manpower. NWFP Minister for Science and Technology Hussain Ahmad Kanju, talking to Dawn, said that the software project was abandoned due to non-availability of professionals and experts.
Officials, while blaming bureaucracy for the failure of the project said that the whole concept collapsed due to lack of interest and coordination between the provincial and the federal governments. — Sci-tech World Report
|
|
|
|
