India needs to invest $20 billion (around Rs.1.09 lakh crore) to computerise all government departments and records so that information is made available up to the panchayat level, said Sam Pitroda, chairman, National Innovation Council.
Pitroda pioneered the telecom revolution in India during the eighties.
The government would open four large data centres to enable the flow of information up to the panchayat level, he added.
“We have today some 10,000 software people working in the government on all these applications. If you put all these pieces together, the networks, platforms, applications (then) we believe government of India will wind up spending about $20 billion,” said Pitroda.
Pitroda is also the adviser to the Prime Minister on public information infrastructure and innovations.
Emphasising on democratisation of information and opening up of government data to the public, Pitroda said it is time for the government to re-invent itself.
(with PTI inputs)