Dated March 28, 2002; Chandigarh
Chandigarh Tribune, [Online Edition]

On a day when the Chandigarh Administration planned to sign two Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), one was stalled while the other one was given green signal. Both were regarding computerization and IT-related programs in the city.

The successful MoU was between the Administration and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) regarding the computerization of the General Hospital, Sector 16. The one stalled was between the Administration and the Cisco Systems to launch the Cisco Networking Academy Program.

The agreement for computerization of the General Hospital was signed by Mr. Karan A. Singh, Secretary, Health and Information Technology, on behalf of the Administration and by Mr. M.R. Rajagopalan, Program Coordinator, on behalf of the C-DAC (a Scientific Society of Ministry of Communication & Information Technology, Government of India).

The agreement has been signed in pursuance of the goal of the Administration for computerization of the major public dealing departments as part of its IT policy. Computerization of the hospital would result in greater efficiency of the various departments resulting in greater convenience for the patients.

The objective of the computerization of the hospital is to collect, process and retrieve patient care and administrative information for all hospital activities to satisfy the functional requirement of the users. It also helps as a decision support system for the hospital authorities and the Health Department for developing comprehensive health care policies.

C-DAC and the Administration are introducing a state-of-the-art IT solution in the hospital sector based on thin client architecture for the first time in the country. The project would be executed within seven months by the C-DAC.

The other MoU was postponed after members of the media and other waited for more than an hour. A new date will be announced soon.