The policy's highlights include creation of a Rs 50-crore state venture capital fund, floating of an autonomous company -- Gujarat Informatic Ltd, and setting up a HighTech InfoCity covering an area of 200 acres on the outskirts of the state capital.

The state government will commit at least 1 per cent of the budget `to provide resources for proliferation of IT' by 2000, gradually raising it to 3 per cent by 2005, Patel said.

The policy envisages private sector participation and encouraging healthy competition from regional, national and global agencies.

This is mainly aimed at creating:

An information corridor between the state capital and 26 district headquarters by 2001 and gradually with over 200 taluka places;

Information kiosks and other vendors to provide on-line delivery of variousapplication forms to the users by 2002;

Database-oriented services to various government departments by 2005;

High-tech cities;

IT training and educational institutions to train new hands and create jobs.

The new IT policy plans to set up a Gujarat Institute of Information Technology, besides an IT-dedicated air cargo terminal near the Sardar Patel International Airport at Ahmedabad.

The time-bound programme includes Internet connectivity to all schools, subject to availability by 2001, one PC for every 50 persons by 2005 (against the National Task Force recommendation of the same ratio by 2008).