Santosh Babu joins as MD, Elcot

CHENNAI, INDIA: Nearly two months of functioning without an MD, Electronic Corporation of India (Elcot) the nodal agency of State Government of Tamil Nadu, has finally got an executive on board.

The State Government has appointed Santosh Babu, Former District Collector of Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu as the new MD of Elcot and Director of e-Governance and CEO. The post was vacant since the transfer of C Umashankar almost two months back. Santosh Babu was appointed after T Udayachandran, the successor of Umashankar, delayed in assuming charge as MD of Elcot.

Babu, has successfully launched various e-Governance initiatives while being district administrator of Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu, and was instrumental in rolling out the Krishnagiri District website that had web-based tracking and monitoring system for out of school children, public grievance redress and an e-governance project. He is also in the process of rolling out a new website that will enable people from village panchayats to know the status of their panchayats in terms of development.

Speaking on the delay in supplying low-cost laptops to students, a venture started by Umashankar, the erstwhile MD of Elcot, Babu said the problem pertaining to supply chain was the main reason behind the huge delay. “Around 3,204 students applied for laptop from Elcot and we have distributed the machines to 1,604.

There were problems in the supply chain, and a few bounced cheques provided by students also affected the distribution system. We are confident that we will be able to complete the distribution by September 15,” he informed. He also mentioned that the absence of decision-making authorities in Elcot also delayed the distribution process.

When questioned about the introduction of more such offers, he said it was up to the IT Secretary to decide, as he has just assumed office. Bet he shared that as the new MD of Elcot he would like to add value to what his predecessor—Umashankar has done in Elcot.