State Science and Technology Minister Dr. Anil Kumar, while addressing a seminar on 'Environment Science and India' at the NIT campus in Patna, said the software park in Patna would soon be constructed ushering the state into a new era of Information and Technology.The state government has already made available 25 acres of land for the construction of software park in Patna that would rival similar facilities in other parts of the country.Dr. Kumar further said that within a short period of one year, over a dozen engineering colleges would be opened thus bringing an end to the mass exodus of students to similar colleges elsewhere in the nation.

In a bid to move ahead with e-governance, the state has proposed to constitute a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) with the clear-cut objective of bringing about Information Technology (IT) transformation in the state. The SPV would constitute a tripartite joint venture of state-owned Beltron, Tata Consultancy Services and Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (ILFS) at the estimated cost of Rs. 380 million. The SPV would prepare a comprehensive special package for e-governance. Besides, separate e-governance packages would be created for different departments by the joint venture partners, based on the specific requirements of each.According to a state official, apart from preparing software and strategy, the SPV would raise funds for the development and spread of e-governance, and develop information technology infrastructure.