India’s smallest state by area is set to gain a new data center in the next three months.

Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar told the state legislative assembly that the facility would be located at the new Information Technology Hub in Altinho and cost the government Rs 3 crore ($448,595).

Goa, India
– Thinkstock/Marina113

Bringing government online

“The present state data center is located in rented premises and the government has to spend monthly rent of Rs 6 lakh [$8,971] to Rs 8 lakh [$11,961] on it,” Parsekar said.

Currently, Goa offers limited e-governance services, including issuance of income certificates, domicile certificates, residence certificates, divergence certificates, caste/community certificates and Matriz certificates. But services like the ability to store patients’ medical history and online educational syllabus are currently lacking.

Sanguem MLA Subhash Phaldesai told the Chief Minister to bring the major services online soon, especially in the health and education sectors. He also said that the Chief Minister should provide Wi-Fi facility to schools, especially the higher secondary schools.

Goa has been trying to rapidly upgrade its technological and Internet capabilities, all the more so ahead of this October’s BRICS summit, which the state is set to host.

Preparing for President Xi Jinping’s visit, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi travelled to Goa last week. Chief Minister Parsekar said: “He has shown interest in Goa’s electronic city and IT Park and said that after the BRICS summit they would be interested in bringing investment here and we have welcomed it.

At a seperate conference, Parsekar also revealed that an in-house cyber security cell for the state was planned after 17 government department websites were hacked in last four years.

He said: “Looking at the increase in number of cyber security treats and concerns the department of Information and Technology is in process of setting up of cyber cell in-house which would monitor the cyber treats in the Government websites.”

Goa was also tapped to as a potential area for Google to test its Project Loon program, the experimental project that uses high-altitude balloons to provide Internet access.