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Community Information Centres in the North-Eastern States of India
From Digital Divide" to Digital Opportunities for sustainable regional development
Genesis
The North-East of India is a land of breath-taking natural beauty. The region comprises eight states viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. The hills with dense forest cover make traditional forms of communication very difficult. A vital need has been felt to extend the reach of modern day technology to the area in order to enable rapid socio-economic development and bring the area closer to the national mainstream.
With this objective in mind, the Prime Minister announced a plan for the establishment of IT facilities at the block level in the North-Eastern Region in February, 2000. In April 2000, the then Ministry of Information Technology launched a project to establish Community Information Centres (CICs) in all blocks in North-Eastern States. Under this project CICs are in the process of being setup in all 487 blocks of the North-Eastern States. The pilot Project covering 30 blocks in these states was inaugurated on 12 August 2000 by Hon'ble Minister for Information Technology.
The establishment of the CICs constitutes a tremendously challenging task in view of the remoteness of the area and the difficult mountainous terrain. In a region where good communication is lacking, satellite based links to the world outside will usher in a revolution in socio-economic development.
Objectives
To establish IT infrastructure at the Block level
To create IT Awareness amongst the local populace
To provide Internet Services such as E-mail and Web access
To conduct computer based training programmes
To provide Citizen Centric services
To provide access to Socio-Economic databases
To facilitate distance education
To use IT tools for sustainable regional development
Scope
Under this project computer and communication infrastructure is being setup in each block. The centres are being located in local schools, colleges or suitable government buildings. In order to ensure uninterrupted communication, the Centres are connected through a satellite based computer communication network. Each CIC is equipped with a VSAT, computer systems, printers and networking equipment.
The CICs will not only facilitate the region to avail the benefits of global connectivity through Internet, but will also bring the region closer, emotionally, to the national mainstream by enabling more efficient and faster information flow amongst the people, other State Governments and the Central Government. The IT infrastructure set up at CICs will assist the concerned State Governments to plan IT-based Citizen-centric applications making government services available through the CICs.
Establishment of CICs will help bridge the digital divide. Local language interfaces are expected to be provided for Citizen Centric services. These services will entail an IT-enabled interface for public dealings of the government. Some examples are Birth and Death registration, Marriage registration, Schemes for the underprivileged, Local Market information and so on. There will be an increased awareness of IT especially among the block level staff. The project will lead to skill enhancement in school children. Internet access will tremendously benefit college goers and professionals among others.
Impact
The experience from the Pilot project has been very encouraging. Many of the CICs receive over a 100 visitors every week who use e-mail facilities, word processing applications, browse the Web, attend Training sessions and generally improve their familiarity with computers and awareness of IT. The public and state governments have appreciated the CIC concept. Most of the CICs are able to generate modest revenue by charging nominally for these services. The CICs are eventually expected to become self-sustaining.
One of the Pilot CICs is in the Raha block of Assam. This CIC is providing path-breaking services to the local community through Web access, E-mail, Word-processing etc. A user received information over the Net from the Neurological Research Institute, Guwahati for treatment of his fathers illness. Another used the Internet to order medicines from Apollo Hospitals, Chennai. A third accessed the Web to obtain a comparative price list of computers in order to purchase one. A bank officer received the result of his correspondence course in Banking. A film-maker planning to register his entry for the film festival, received the entry rules from the Web.
Tourists seeking directions for traveling from Imphal to Mandalay in Myanmar, visited a CIC in Manipur and got details on the route for traveling by bus to their destination on the Indo-Burma Road. The CIC operators downloaded the information from the Internet. CIC, Khowai, Tripura has organized special Training programmes for students from various local schools and colleges. This effort has been undertaken in many other CICs as well.
Earlier this year, the school Board results were disseminated over the Web and could be accessed by users at the CICs in the states of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland. In addition, the All India Entrance Examination results for various Engineering and Medical colleges were accessed at the CICs. State Bank recruitment results were also searched at several CICs.
The CICs constitute a unique opportunity for the North-Eastern region of India to avail of cutting-edge Information Technology to give a fillip to the development of the region.
Message from the Union Minister of IT
Shri Pramod Mahajan
My vision is to end the digital divide by moving the IT industry from South to the North and from the West to the East & North East. IT revolution is based on knowledge and knowledge is the only thing that can be shared without dividing. By sharing it, it is not divided, on contrary, it gets multiplied. I want this revolution to spread in all the North Eastern States and do our best to ensure that the people of the North East do not miss this revolution.
It is only beginning which I believe will go one step further in taking IT revolution to the remotest part of our brethren in the North Eastern Region.
Message from Prime Minister:
I am happy to know that the first two Community Information Centres in the North East at Umsning and Mylliem in Meghalaya are being inaugurated on August 12,2000. I congratulate the Ministry of Information Technology and the Government of Meghalaya for taking this small but important step to bring the benefits of IT to all the people of the North East through a special initiative that will create Community Information Centres in every block in this region.
Information Technology is one of the greatest boons of science to humanity. It is revolutionizing life on earth in a way that no other technology has done in human history. It has a deep influence on the economy, communication, culture, educational system and social interaction in all countries, bringing them closer in a world transformed into a Global Village. India is poised to become a major IT power in the coming years and contribute to the realization of its many promises for our own benefits and for global good.
I believe that the citizens of the North East are well positioned to use IT to strengthen their economic prosperity, their cultural links with each other as well as the rest of India and their ability to directly benefit from various Government schemes. I hope that these centres will be the harbinger of better IT services in Meghalaya and the rest of the North East.
New Delhi
August 9,2000 ( Atal Bihari Vajpayee)
After successful implementation of the pilot project, it was decided to cover all 487 blocks of the North Eastern states. Based on the experience gained from the pilot project, action plan was formulated for 457 blocks. The present status of the main phase of the project is as follows:
Delivery and installation of computers, peripherals and VSAT's is in progress at the CIC sites. Over 400 sites are ready for commissioning. Both the network hubs have been installed at NIC Headquarters. A major part of the manpower for CIC operation has been recruited. CIC operators in all states have been trained on networking equipment and software applications available at their sites.
Establishment of CICs will bridge the digital divide between the North East and the rest of the country. The IT infrastructure set up at the CICs will assist the concerned state governments to provide IT based citizen-centric applications making government services available through the CICs. Local language interfaces will also be provided for the G2C (Government to Citizen) services, wherever necessary.
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Opportunities in Education Institutions in North Eastern States & outside - Education Portal
Service Facilitation Center
Vehicle Registration System
Rural Bazaar
Prices of Agricultural Products on Web
Employment Opportunities in the State - Job Portal Web enabled appointment schedule for various medical facilities
School Board Results
Newspaper headlines
Gramodaya database to be created
Block projects information system
Web enabled electricity bill payment system
Cause list for the courts.
Arms License Issuance System
Issue of Certificates to Handicapped persons
Issue of Rural Area certificates
Issue of Caste certificates
Issue of Certificate of Residence
Issue of Death & Birth Certificate
Financial Assistance Schemes of the State Government
Issue of Licenses to Cinema Halls, Video Parlours & Guest houses
Issue of Character Verification for New Recruitment Issue of Succession Certificate for Legal Heirs
Web based Information Dissemination System for the Public
File Movement System for all the Branches of DC Office
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Information Tecnology Sikkim:Information technology is the modern addition to infrastructure.It is a powerful tool that enhances connectivity and productivity.In view of the geographical isolation of sikkim,the importance of information technology tools increases manifold.For example the internet can be used to advertise sikkim's products and services.It can also act as a major information resources.Computerisation of various departments will streamline thier functioning.Record keeping will become much more efficient and also will retrieving of data.In a nutshell information technology connects us to the rest of the world and at the same time increases our working efficiency tremendously.
The government came out with a comphrensive information technology policy with the objective of giving a fillip to a planned introduction of the tool in the state as such various projects are undregoing for the same as such to step into the world's information super highway.
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Community Information Centres in the North-Eastern States of India: community Information Centres in the North-Eastern States of India
From Digital Divide" to Digital Opportunities for sustainable regional development
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