MeitY: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology Role & Responsibilities

Written by Rayden Sam Posted on 2024-01-09

MeitY (The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) is an executive body of the Union Government of the Republic of India.

Introduction of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY): The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology was carved out of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology on 19 July 2016 as a standalone ministerial agency responsible for IT policy, plan, and expansion of the electronics industry.

History of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)

MeitY is the new name of this institution. It was previously recognized as “The Department of Information Technology”, it was renamed The Department of Electronics and Information Technology in 2012. On 19 July 2016, DeitY was converted into a full-fledged ministry, which hereafter is recognized as the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, diverging it from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

Functions of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

Policy materials concerning information technology, electronics; and the internet.
Advancement of internet, IT, and IT-enabled services.
Help to other sections in the elevation of E-Governance, E-Commerce, E- Medicine, E-Infrastructure, etc.
Materials involving Cyber Laws, and administration of the Information Technology Act. 2000 and further IT-related laws.
Matters relating to the promotion and manufacturing of Semiconductor Devices in the country.
Dealings in IT-related materials with global agencies and bodies example., International Code Council – online (ICC), Institute for Education in Information Society (IBI), and Internet for Business Limited (IFB).
Initiative on linking the Digital Divide: Materials relating to Digital India Corporation (DIC).
National Informatics Centre (NIC).
Initiatives for growth of the Hardware/Software sector together with knowledge-based enterprises, measures for promoting IT exports and competitiveness of the industry.
All matters relating to personnel are under the control of the Ministry.
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
Semi-Conductor Laboratory, Mohali.

Organization Structure of MeitY

MeitY includes some of the agencies and companies that are associated with MeitY. To boost and leverage Quantum computing potential, the ministry has formed a partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The initiative is said to boost researchers’ and scientists’ work on quantum computing and will provide access to Amazon’s Bracket cloud-based quantum computing service.

Ministry grounded on the offer received and vetted by a steering committee will accept and sanction the set-up of the lab to strengthen the major computing capability in India.

Some of the agencies that come in child agencies that are associated with MeitY are:

National Informatics Centre (NIC)
Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA)
Cyber Appellate Tribunal (CAT)
Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Registry
Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In)
IN Registry

Also, MeitY has some of the companies which are associated with it. They are:

CSC e-Governance Services India Limited
Digital Locker
Media Lab Asia (ML Asia)
National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI)
STPI
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)

Now, we will discuss the current schemes of MeitY. These are:

Digital India Internship Scheme 2022
BPO promotion Schemes
Electronic Hardware Schemes
Ph.D Scheme

The minister of MeitY as of September 2022

Rajiv Chandrasekhar (Minister of State)
Ashwini Vaishnav (Minister)