M A I N   N E W S

India overcomes Y2K hurdle
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Jan 1 — There was a smooth roll over to the new millennium and no glitches were experienced due to Y2K in 11 critical sectors, including defence, power, aviation and telecommunications, the Union Information Technology Ministry said here today.

“We have come to the conclusion that there will be no long-term Y2K compliance problems in these 11 critical sectors for which the total expenditure can be estimated between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000 crore”, the Information Technology Secretary, Mr P.V. Jayakrishnan, said.

“The roll over was so smooth that the government did not even require to activate its contingency plan drawn up for the occasion,” he said.

The 11 critical sectors were banking and finance, telecommunications, power, civil aviation, railways, ports, petroleum and natural gas, insurance, space, atomic energy and defence.

He said the Department of Telecommunications made extensive investigation on telecom installations that included 32 networking stations in various states and union territories adding that “we found 100 per cent okay with no glitch anywhere.”

The Director-General of the National Informatics Centre, Mr N. Seshagiri, said the centre had earlier been concerned about the oil supplies from the Gulf countries due to any possible Y2K problem, but had “got confirmation that the systems there are okay.”

A senior official of the Airports Authority of India, Mr Ramalingam, said the computer installations at various airports were found to be functioning normally with several arrivals and departures taking place from within the country and outside during the crucial period after midnight.

Amadeus India, leader in travel distribution technology in the country, said its system successfully worked through the roll over.

The president of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), Mr Dewang Mehta, said the preparations for Y2K and acceleration in industrial activities had enabled the software industry to register $ 2.3 billion of exports in value terms during this year.

Domestic info-tech companies got orders worth Rs 1,200 crore within India, he said.

None of NASSCOM’s 860 clientele companies, including 360 domestic ones had reported any problems, Mr Mehta said adding that “we will have to wait for two to three days to get the full report because many of the offices are closed”.

Mr Jayakrishnan said the banking and insurance companies were also not expected to experience any problems though many of these offices in the sector were closed for public till tomorrow.

The additional member of the Railway Board, Mr V. Kumaran, said the computerised railway bookings for March 1 had already commenced as no Y2K problem had been detected.

The railways process about 3.5 lakh applications for about six lakh passengers everyday in 450 locations and 2,500 terminals, he said.

He said the computer reservation system had been tested problem-free for transactions on February 29.

The official said the railways had spent Rs 4 crore involving 100 man hours for the Y2K combat operations.

He said the ministry had also taken preventive measures for the smooth running of the suburban trains in Mumbai, Calcutta and other cities.

Earlier, the IT Secretary said power stations, including those under the NTPC had a smooth roll over to the new millennium.