SHRI PRAMOD MAHAJAN TO DEDICATE CIC FOR NORTH-EASTERN
STATES AND SIKKIM ON 17TH AUGUST
CICs TO ENSURE BENEFITS OF IT
TO THE MASSES
In a major initiative to provide
IT infrastructure to the remotest parts of the country, aimed
towards reducing the digital divide, the Minister of Parliamentary
Affairs, Communications and Information Technology, Shri Pramod
Mahajan, will dedicate the Community Information Centre Scheme
for the people of North-East and Sikkim, at Guwahati on 17th
August, 2002.
The Department of Information Technology,
Ministry of Communications & Information Technology had undertaken
a Scheme for setting up Community Information Centres (CICs) at
487 Block Headquarters in seven North-East States and Sikkim for
promoting application of Information Technology for accelerating
socio-economic development of the region. The scheme has been
implemented within two years after its conceptualisation in the
year 2000 and will benefit the people in the States of Arunachal
Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura
and Sikkim.
Community Information Centres aim
at facilitating interface between the citizens and institutions
of Government, providing connectivity, promoting distance learning
programmes, dissemination of information on plan initiatives and
national programmes, disaster management systems, public health
awareness, enabling e-commerce operation through call centres
and IT enabled services, developing public related services, widening
employment opportunities, etc. These Centres will work towards
providing internet access at block level, familiarising people’s
access to data bases of social interest created for the public
by the Government and image the use of IT as a tool of empowerment
and responsible governance.
Under this Scheme, each Centre
will be provided with a Pentium III Server, five Intel Celeron
clients, a DeskJet printer, a low-end laser printer and other
peripherals. Connectivity will be provided through VSAT to be
installed at each CIC, which would in turn be connected to NIC
hub. These centres are to be manned by specially trained personnel
who will be selected for the purpose by the concerned State Governments
and trained by the NIC.
This Project, which is a pioneering
scheme of the Government, is intended to meet the requirements
of the community inhabited at inconvenient hilly terrain, inaccessible
and remote areas in a cost-effective manner. The implementation
of the Scheme was carried out through a Pilot Project at 30 CICs
at sites selected by the State Governments. After the successful
completion of the Pilot Project, the scheme is being implemented
fully in the North-Eastern States and Sikkim.
