: Karnataka government todaysaid it would sign a contract worth Rs 615.82 crore withIT major Wipro to connect government offices from the Gram Panchayat level in the State.
It would be implemented under the Karnataka State Wide Area Network (KSWAN) project- I and II.
"KSWAN, that initially began in 2009, has ended in 2014. Now the cabinet has given the go ahead for KSWAN-I and KSWAN-II. For this, we will be signing a five-year contract with Wipro. Rs 615.82 crore bid has been accepted," Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T B Jayachandra said.
Speaking to reporters after the cabinet meeting here, he said Rs 185.60 crore would have to be paid to BSNL for bandwidth for five years.
KSWAN was initially set-up in December 2009 underCentre for e-Governance with assistance of the Union Government to provide reliable and most secure network connectivity and bandwidth upgradation on-demand to user departments across Karnataka.
The network envisages establishing most reliable fault-free video, voice and data communication services to allGovernment offices across Karnataka.
Stating that the project is to interconnect all government offices from gram panchayat level,Jayachandra said "We are aiming to connect up to 10,000offices from 4,000."
The cabinet also agreed to convene the next session of the state legislature in June, he said.
"We will have to ratify GST which will come into effect from July 1. By then we will have to do it, so it will be probably in the June first week. Also our vote on account is only for three months," he said.
Among the other decisions taken by the cabinet were giving consent on the civil aviation policythat was sought by Civil Aviation Ministry, from thestate.
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