The
IT Policy has been declared four years ago. But does it
actually mean in terms of practical application. Much of
IT activity is given over to the preparation of banking,
government and communication systems and the Internet. Another
very important section is e-governance and its urban area.
Some suggestions have been given as how it could have been
adopted into the network in the rural areas. Some aspects
of cyber regulation and licensing have also been discussed.
"An
act to provide legal recognition for transactions carried
out by means of electronic data interchange and other means
of electronic communication, commonly referred to as "electronic
commerce", which involve the use of alternatives to
the paper based method of communication and storage of information,
to facilitate electronic filing of documents with the government
agencies and further to amend the Indian Penal Code, the
Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the Bankers' Books of Evidence
Act, 1891, and the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, and
for matters connected therewith, or incidental thereto.
Thus,
the act governs primarily the electronic commerceused as
an alternative to paper based methods of communicationthus
seeding the wave for heralding a "paper less"
office especially the government ones.
Chapter
III is devoted to electronic governance. In this, the provision
to recognize legal records, digital signature and retention
of electronic records, including publication of rules by
electronic means, are addressed. However, it is careful
in not insisting that all such records should be published
in digital format.Attribution, dispatch and acknowledgement
of e-records are dealt with in the next chapter.
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