project implementation & management - Community Information ...

CONTENTS 

Message 1 

Preface 3 

1. Introduction 7 

2. Objectives 11 

3. Infrastructure 15 

4. Project Implementation and Management 19 

5. Training Of CIC Operators 23 

6. Services Offered By CICs 27 

6.1 IT Education and Training 29 

6.2 E-mail and Internet Access 31 

6.3 Access to Government Information 32 

6.4 Citizen Centric Applications 34 

6.5 Entertainment and News 38 

7. Information Dissemination 41 

8. Best Practices 45 

9. Lessons Learnt & Experience Gained 53 

10. Status of CICs in the Eight States 59 

10.1 Status of CICs in Arunachal Pradesh 59 

10.2 Status of CICs in Assam 60 

10.3 Status of CICs in Manipur 62 

10.4 Status of CICs in Meghalaya 63 

10.5 Status of CICs in Mizoram 63 

10.6 Status of CICs in Nagaland 64 

10.7 Status of CICs in Sikkim 65 

10.8 Status of CICs in Tripura 66 

11. Future Plans 70 

Annexures 73 

Annexure I (List of CICs in the North East) 75 

Annexure II (CICs Offering DOEACC Courses) 89 

Annexure III (CICs Offering IGNOU Courses) 95

Brijesh Kumar 

Message 

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Secretary 

Ministry of Communications & Information Technology 

Department of Information Technology 

Electronics Niketan 

6, C.G.0. Complex, New Delhi - 110003 

Tel.: (011) 24364041 Fax : (011) 24363134

PREFACE 

Established in 1977, National Informatics Centre (NIC) is a premier government organization in the field of 

Informatics Services and Information Technology applications. It functions under the Ministry of Communications 

and Information Technology. By implementing IT applications in Social and Public Administrations NIC has 

been instrumental in adoption of Information and Communication Technology to reach all corners of India. 

All State governments work in tandem for the success of these projects along with NIC. Government 

departments have separate NIC cells created for this very purpose. 

The Community Information Centre (CIC) Project was undertaken in the North Eastern region comprising the 

states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura in April 

2000. The basic thrust is to put the region on the IT map of the world. This region lacks proper 

communication infrastructure due to difficult terrain. This raises the cost of setting up and maintaining 

equipment in the region. In such a situation, communication among villages or communities is a tedious 

process. The CIC Project was setup to overcome this problem and provide many IT-related facilities and 

services to the people. These services can be categorized as follows: 

➭ Reaching the Unreached: Most towns and villages in North Eastern India are situated in difficult terrain. 

CICs offer them instant internet access and facilities for entertainment via NICNET. Visitors also utilize 

the internet facilities to browse for information and tele-consult doctors for serious situations. Sports 

enthusiasts were overjoyed by the live broadcast of the cricket tour of India to Pakistan and other such 

games. The viewer response in terms of turnout was tremendous. 

➭ Bridging the Digital Divide: Today, it is imperative to be IT literate for employability in many organizations. 

IT education and certification from Department of Electronics Accreditation of Computer Courses (DOEACC), 

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is being provided by many CICs. Providing both 

education and certification, is a two-pronged approach aimed at raising the IT knowledge of the youth, 

children, even the elderly, while providing certification for the courses from the organizations that set the 

standards for the IT industry in the entire country. 

➭ Access to Government Information: People need information in the public domain from time to time for 

various purposes and in this regard, they need to access government information banks. Remoteness 

from the distribution center of such information and lack of communication facilities make it doubly difficult 

for citizens to achieve this purpose. Sensing the seriousness of the problem, most government 

departments have set up their own websites that contain detailed information about all the forms that 

need to be filled up. 

➭ Citizen Centric Applications: E-governance offers the facility of applying online for documents from a 

government office from the comfort of one's home or a cyber-cafe and now they are available at CICs. 

The government has already created the e-governance applications for many departments. Since the 

volume of paper work carried out as part of administrative activities is huge, total e-governance is likely 

to take a long time. Meanwhile, many state governments have already begun implementing this citizenfriendly 

measures in piecemeal fashion. 

➭ Common platform for knowledge sharing: CICs provide a forum for people of various communities 

operating from far flung locations to come together to exchange knowledge and information that can be 

of greater utility to the people of North Eastern region. This is a win-win situation for both receiver and 

provider of knowledge and results in greater benefit of society at large. 

(N. Vijayaditya) 

Director General 

National Infomatics Centre

National Informatics Centre 

Community Information Centres 

in the North East 

- Reaching the Unreached 

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER – 1 

INTRODUCTION 

The location in difficult hilly terrain and remoteness 

are the main reasons for the North East 

being less developed as compared to other parts 

of India. The lack of a strong communication 

infrastructure is also a drawback. In today’s era 

where information is available at the click of a 

button, an efficient communication infrastructure is 

a must for sustained growth and development. 

With the advent of Information Technology (IT), 

which is a big boon in the field of communication, 

the entire world has become a close-knit family. 

India has been successfully riding the crest of the 

IT revolution and has been recognized globally for 

its IT prowess. All these developments make it all 

the more necessary to ensure that all parts of 

The remote location of the North-Eastern states is a cause for it 

being less developed 

India are well connected as far as communication 

is concerned. 

World over, IT is being seen as the harbinger of 

economic development and India is no exception. 

Rightly so, the Government thought it prudent to 

extend the reach of the IT revolution to this 

region to give a boost to its all-round development. 

If harnessed well, technology can do wonders. 

This becomes a reality, for instance, when a 

satellite-based communication network can be 

utilized to take-on the challenge of terrain and 

geographical remoteness. Sincere efforts would 

help in exploiting the potential of this region to 

the fullest. 


Community Information Centers 






In February 2000, the then Prime Minister Atal 

Behari Vajpayee announced a plan for the 

establishment of IT facilities at Block level in the 

North-Eastern region of the country. 

Honourable Minister of IT, Mr. Pramod Mahajan inaugurating the 

CIC Project 

A pilot project under the supervision of the Ministry 

of Communications and Information Technology 

was launched in August the same year to establish 

Community Information Centres (CICs) in 30 Blocks 

in the North-Eastern region. With a missionary 

zeal, the government inaugurated the main project 

in August 2002, wherein 457 additional CICs were 

up and running. 

State wise Distribution 

No State Distts Blocks Pilot Main 

1. Arunachal 15 56 2 54 

Pradesh 

2. Assam 23 219 15 204 

3. Manipur 9 33 2 31 

4. Meghalaya 7 32 2 30 

5. Mizoram 8 26 2 24 

6. Nagaland 11 52 2 50 

7. Sikkim 4 40 2 38 

8. Tripura 4 29 3 26 

TOTAL 81 487 30 457 

Today, the North-Eastern region boasts of 487 

CICs dotting eight states viz., Arunachal Pradesh, 

Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, 

Sikkim and Tripura. 

Thus, CICs are playing a vital role in 

facilitating communication and information exchange. 

They are using technology to its best capacity to 

improve the lives of the people here. � 

7





OBJECTIVES

CHAPTER – 2 

OBJECTIVES 

The objectives of CICs in the North East are to 

function as nodal points for communication, 

information exchange, citizen-centric services, 

entertainment and learning. The CICs fulfill their 

objectives by the establishment of IT infrastructure 

at the Block level to create IT awareness amongst 

the local populace. The CICs are making all 

possible efforts to put the North East on the IT 

map of the world. The establishment of CICs has 

helped the people of the North East to advance 

further in the field of computers and connect with 

the rest of the country. 

The objectives of the CICs are as under: 

� To provide ICT infrastructure at the block level 

As most towns and villages in North Eastern 

India are situated in difficult terrain, they lacked 

a clear communication network to link them 

with the rest of the country. The CICs are 

making dedicated efforts to provide this 

missing link to the people here. A good 

communication network will undoubtedly help 

in the development of this region especially 

socially and economically. 

� To provide Web Access and Internet 

Services 

In this age of the Internet super highway, any 

information we require is just a click away. 

With the world shrinking into a closely-knit 

global village, it’s imperative that our country 

becomes a part of this village in totality. 

Further to this goal, the CICs aim at providing 

global connectivity to the inhabitants of the 

North East. 

� To provide Market Access and E-commerce 

Greater exchange of market information is a 

must for trade to flourish. A successful seller 

must be fully informed about domestic as well 

as global trends. This enables sellers to learn 

about new products in the market, to anticipate 

demand for existing and new products; and 

to understand pricing strategies. Business 

decisions taken on the strength of current 

and relevant inputs always fetch better results 

than otherwise. 

In the North East, valuable trade information 

and inputs can be accessed through the 




platform provided by CICs. IT frees 

� 

entrepreneurs in the North East from barriers 

to their business like their location, inhospitable 

terrain etc. 

To provide access to Socio-Economic 

Databases 

India has the hallmark of being a country of 

regional, religious and cultural variety. This 

has contributed to a vast pool of socioeconomic 

information. Such vital information 

databases have been meticulously aggregated 

over a period of time by many governmental 

and non-governmental organizations. 

CICs are helping to make these critical 

databases available to the residents of North 

East region. This allows a sense of oneness 

with the rest of the nation - a feeling that had 

long been missing in the North East owing to 

the region being geographically cut-off from 

the rest of the country. 

� To provide E-learning (Computer-Aided 

Learning Processes) and E-education 

CICs undertake the fruitful and beneficial task 

of bringing literacy to the people of the North 

East. The Internet provides access to 

numerous educational institutes that offer 

online courses. Taking advantage of Internet 

access at the CICs, students and other 

professionals can become a part of a global 

community pursuing higher and specialized 

education. Educational CDs are used to train 

local students. 

This engagement of the CICs as centers of 

educational and professional growth would go 

a long way in improving literacy levels in the 

North East. 

� To provide E-medicine and E-consulting 

With sustained economic development, Indians 

have started giving priority to healthcare like 

never before. However, quality healthcare 

services are not as regularly or easily available 

in hilly and remote regions of the country. 

Tele-consultation by prominent experts helps 

general practitioners in these inaccessible 

regions to stay in touch with experts in their 

subject. It also helps citizens to broaden their 

knowledge base on such diseases, their 

prevention and patient care. 

National Informatics Centre 11

12 




� To provide E-governance Applications 

The government - public interaction is increasing 

at a steady pace in India. Citizens, who earlier 

had to stand in queues for hours to obtain a 

single government form, can now download 

these forms straight off the net in the comfort 

of their homes. Residents of the North East 

can do the same in the comfort of various 

CICs. Both the State and Central government 

have created single window clearances to 

provide access to their services. The CICs are 

functioning as gateways for inhabitants of the 

North East to avail this opportunity. 

� To provide Weather Information 

The North Eastern economy has been 

constantly ravaged by the spate of floods 

hitting the region with morbid regularity. The 

fatalities have been both physical and financial. 

When monsoons hit the area, villages often 

remain cut off from rest of the districts in the 

state as well as the rest of the country. In 

such critical situations, CICs with their satellite 

based communication networks are a lifesaver 

by providing information on weather and a 

link to the rest of the country. 

� To create IT awareness among locals 

People of all age groups are becoming 

increasingly inquisitive about computers and 

IT. This is true not just of urban settlements 

but also remote villages in the North East. 

Families often send children to big cities and 

metros to pursue higher education or to work. 

With postal facilities providing snail mail, the 

Internet rescues impatient families with access 

to instant communication via e-mail, chat etc. 

Families and friends can even see their loved 

ones via web cameras. The CICs put forward 

their friendly hand in meeting this requirement 

and train and educate residents interested in 

learning these communication tools of the 

Internet. 

� To provide computer training programmes 

While using the CICs for communicating with 

far-away family and friends, and to seek global 

information is a definite trend, the growing job 

market for IT professionals has led to North 

Eastern citizens seeking training and education 

in computer programmes, applications etc. CIC 

operators, who are trained in these much-indemand 

programmes, provide training services. 

IGNOU has rolled out its Computer Literacy 

Programme (CLP) using CIC infrastructure at 

many locations. 321 CICs have been selected 

as centres for accreditation for DOEACC 

“Course on Computer Concepts” (CCC) 

Certificate. Computer Aided Paperless 

Examination System (CAPES) developed by 

NIC is being utilized for conducting online 

tests for awarding the “CCC” Certificates. 

� To provide access to Tender Notification 

Professionals who wish to participate in 

government projects through tenders used to 

rely on snail mail to receive project details, to 

send their proposals and for all interactions. 

This often led to waste of time, money and 

resources. Now they can access project 

details and tender notifications via Internet 

services at the CICs without any loss of time 

and at significantly lower expense. 

� To provide E-employment Notification 

Information on job opportunities can be easily 

accessed on the Internet. CICs provide a 

platform for aspirants to surf the net, visit job 

employment sites and locate promising careers 

any where in the country or the world without 

leaving their homes. 

� To provide Edutainment 

CICs serve as a medium that performs dual 

functions of disseminating information and 

entertaining the local populace. Television sets 

at CICs display important events and current 

happenings. Doordarshan Programmes (DD-I 

and DD-News) are being broadcast to all the CICs 

through the CIC network. Visual proceedings of 

interesting events are broadcast to all CICs. 

National and International newspapers are being 

delivered electronically. � 

National Informatics Centre




INFRASTRUCTURE 


CHAPTER – 3 

INFRASTRUCTURE 

The governmental support is helping in introducing 

useful changes in the infrastructure, which will give 

way to a bright future for the people of the North- 

East. National Informatics Centre (NIC) is a premier 

Science and Technology organization of the 

Government of India in the field of Information 

Technology (IT) applications. It has been instrumental 

in steering Information and Communication 

Technology (ICT) in Government departments at 

Central, State and District levels. It has been working 

towards bringing wider transparency in government 

functioning and improvement in decentralized 

planning and management. 

To facilitate this, NIC has established a nationwide 

ICT Network (NICNET) with nodes at Central 

Government Departments, 35 State/Union Territory 

Secretariats and all District Collectorates. 

NICNET Architecture 

Given its reach, the Government has designated 

NICNET as the Government Network. 

As NIC was entrusted with the responsibility of 

establishing CICs at the Block level, efforts were 




made to provide state-of-the-art technology for the 

communication infrastructure as well as computers 

and peripherals. 

Each CIC is provided with one Server system, five 

desktop Client systems, one Laser Printer and one 

Dot Matrix Printer. These systems are connected 

on a Local Area Network (LAN). The CICs are also 

equipped with a Television, which can receive 

signals broadcast over the CIC network. 

CIC Infrastructure 

The LAN is further connected through broadband 

VSAT to NICNET and Internet. In essence, each 

CIC is linked to all Districts, State capitals and 

Central Government Ministries / Departments 

across the length and breadth of the country. 

Each CIC is manned by two CIC Operators who 

operate equipment, provide services to visitors 

and conduct training programmes on computer 

awareness and IT tools. 

The well-equipped infrastructure will contribute 

immensely in removing the bottlenecks that have 

been acting as hindrances in the development of 

this region. � 





PROJECT 

IMPLEMENTATION & 


MANAGEMENT

CHAPTER – 4 

PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION & MANAGEMENT 

The formulation, implementation and management 

of the project are complex tasks and require 

efficient planning for the success of the project. 

This project is a joint effort by Department of 

Information Technology (DIT) under the Ministry of 

Communications and Information Technology, 

National Informatics Centre (NIC) and the 

Governments of the North-Eastern States. Their 

joint efforts have helped in utilizing the untapped 

resources to the fullest. 

Engineers taking Computer Equipment to a remote location 

on foot 

DIT has funded the Project and has the 

responsibility of over-all monitoring and 

management and NIC is the Implementing agency. 

NIC’s responsibilities include development of 

application software and training of CIC Operators 

among others. 

Under this project, a Complaint Management 

Information System has been implemented, where 

the operators lodge hardware complaints. These 

complaints are automatically forwarded to the 

vendors. 

Video Conference meetings are held every week 

with State Informatics officers and vendors for 

troubleshooting and complaint rectification. The 

implementation and the management of the project 

is closely monitored by the District Informatics 

Officers (DIOs) and State Informatics Officers 

(SIOs). 




The respective State Governments are entrusted 

with the mandate of site selection, preparation 

and maintenance and manpower recruitment and 

management. 

Content creation for various services/applications 

to be delivered through the CICs is the 

responsiblity of State Governments and is being 

supported by NIC. 

It is easy to generate a blueprint or plan, but the 

difficult part is implementation and this project has 

had its own quota of implementation hurdles. NIC, 

DIT and the Governments of the North-Eastern 

states are making use of all available means to 

achieve their desired end. Vendors experienced 

great difficulties in reaching remote sites. For 

instance, there are no motorable roads in Tali, 

Damin, Chambang and Mechuka Blocks of 

Arunachal Pradesh. The question that arose was 

whether the chosen site should be left out and 

the next site taken into consideration? Here the 

Engineers taking Computer Equipment to a remote location on 

the boat 

never say die attitude of the project formulators 

and implementers helped in finding solutions. 

Equipment reached their sites on time through 

helicopter sorties. 

Vendors used innovative ideas to achieve their 

goal viz., to deliver and install equipment. Boats 

and elephants were pressed into service to take 

nature’s challenges head on. 

Nothing was left to chance and participants 

ploughed through knee-deep waters, with a 

missionary zeal. Exemplary courage and devotion 

was on display for others to emulate. 





TRAINING OF CIC 

OPERATORS 


CHAPTER – 5 

TRAINING OF CIC OPERATORS 

The project implementation proceeded at a smooth 

pace and as planned. Sites were chosen. The 

installation process was complete. However, the 

equipment would be of no use without trained 

personnel. 

CIC Operators assembled for training 

NIC showed foresight by conducting two rounds of 

training for handpicked CIC Operators, covering their 

roles and responsibilities. 

CIC Operators sat through learning sessions and to 

gain hands-on experience, received high quality 

training from experts on equipment and software 

being used at CICs. CIC Operators travelled to their 

respective State capitals for training. NIC put together 

experts drawn from NIC headquarters, State level 

NIC units and, of course, vendors to impart training 

and education to CIC Operators. The training 

provided proved to be a boon, as implementation and 

provision of services became easier. In the training 

programme, over 500 CIC Operators were trained. 

Efficient implementation was the need of the hour to 

ensure that the progress was sustained. Considering 

the pace at which the world is evolving, new CIC 

activities were incorporated to catch up with the rest 

of the world. These CIC activities comprised of 

implementation of citizen-centric services like E- 

Suvidha and the development of Block Community 

Portals (BCPs) or interactive websites for each CIC. 

Thus, there arose the need for a fresh round of update 

training for CIC Operators and training-cum- 


In The North East 


awareness programmes for Custodians of CICs as 

well. But the cost of grouping them at State capitals 

and other associated expenses for the training was a 

major deterrent. NIC found a solution that was waiting 

for deployment without much financial implication. 

NIC cashed in on the Video Broadcasting feature of 

the CIC network. Through this facility, discussions, 

awareness programmes, demonstrations and training 

could be conducted in one central place and beamed 

simultaneously to all CICs. Indeed, this was the 

most cost-effective solution. 

Based on the Video Broadcasting facility, the training 

programmes went smoothly. The obstacles faced at 

the introductory level were dealt with intelligently. 

Trainers from NIC headquarters and the State units 

of Assam and Tripura worked together for this 

programme. Besides the regular familiarization 

course on equipment and software installed at CICs, 

training was imparted on new activities such as E- 

Suvidha, Block Community Portals, Drishya Visual 

Monitoring System, the Complaint Monitoring System 

and chat for trouble-shooting. 

CIC Operators taking keen interest during their training session 

at Jugijan CIC in Nagaon district of Assam 

The programme, attended by about 250 operators 

and 100 Custodians, was a major success. 

Trainees at CICs could ask questions and or send 

feedback over the web and receive instant responses 

from experts or trainers. These training sessions drew 

wide appreciation from the participating Gram 

Panchayat heads too. The results drawn from the 

efforts put in were satisfactory. � 





SERVICES OFFERED 


BY CICs

CHAPTER – 6 

SERVICES OFFERED BY CICs 

Concrete plans were made to exploit the personal, 

professional and technical skills of those associated 

with the operation of the CICs to the fullest for the 

benefit of the local population. Extensive 

technological innovations have been put into place 

to ensure that the services offered by the CICs 

reach the masses. 

By and large, CICs are located in the Block 

Development Office complexes of the locality 

concerned. Some CICs are set up in schools or 

Outside CIC, Gabharu, Assam 

colleges due to space constraint or the need to be 

centrally located. 

Broadly, services offered by CICs can be categorized 

into the following: 

● IT Education & Training 

● E-mail and Internet Access 

● Access to Government Information 

● Citizen Centric Applications 

● Entertainment & News 

The CIC Operators conduct computer training 

programmes for the local population. Desk Top 

Publishing and data entry for government offices in 

their respective regions is another routine activity 

for many CICs. These community information hubs 

are used for sending or receiving mails from 

government offices. 

Visitors to CIC browse for information on health, 

education, examination results, bank recruitment 

information, scholarship details, career opportunities 

and much more. Newspaper reading is another 

big draw. 




Rail and airline booking also attract sizeable visitors. 

Residents of North-Eastern region utilize CICs for 

booking hospital facilities and online medical 

consultation. 

Enthusiastic CIC Operators make wholehearted efforts 

for creating IT awareness among the target group, 

which in turn promises them a bright future. They visit 

schools and surrounding villages mobilizing local 

population to visit CICs for a free demonstration of 

technology and its positive fall-outs. 

Exterior View, CIC Batadrava, Assam 

As a part of IT awareness programmes, a slew of 

activities such as quiz competitions, seminars or 

workshops are held regularly to attract people from 

all walks of life. It is not an unusual sight to watch 

visitors from foreign lands touring the North-Eastern 

region invariably reaching out from CICs to access 

web-based information. 

People visit CICs to communicate with the world at 

large. Each CIC is a window for the community to 

explore, apply online for a job, reach out to friends 

and relatives and give online examinations. 

CIC Rupshi, Barpeta Distt, Assam is located in the Main Arts 

Building of Nabajyoti College 


28 




Novel marketing methods are deployed to encourage 

potential visitors. CICs from Suruhoto, Zunheboto 

district, Nagaland offer "Free First Time Visit" 

service. First time visitors are given free time to 

surf, type and print a few documents. 

Attractive pricing is another factor that draws people 

here. As against steep fee or tariff for computer 

training and surfing at private institutes, CICs adopt 

a nominal price strategy and are successful in 

drawing crowds and making them their regular 

customers. 

CIC Operators exploit business opportunities. Given 

the hilly terrain, surface mail takes an unusually 

long time to reach residents in the North-Eastern 

region. The delay, sometimes, is not less than a 

month. So to simplify things, business savvy CIC 

Operators took advantage of these opportunities to 

provide e-post service. In a nutshell, CIC Operators 

receive e-mails, print and deliver a hard copy to 

the recipients for a nominal fee. 

Training Session at CIC Teliamura, Tripura 

Interestingly, when the Jiribam Block CIC in the 

state of Manipur ran into several bandhs back to 

back, the CIC Operator promoted the e-post service 

to overcome the crisis period. As a humanitarian 

gesture, sometimes the CIC Operators deliver hard 

copies of e-mail letters from local students studying 

outside Manipur to the nearby villages absolutely 

free of cost. 

Other services offered by CIC Operators include 

printing of documents, storage of critical data on 

Compact Discs (CDs) for a fee. For instance, the 

Sangau CIC in Mizoram regularly undertakes printing 

jobs of Certificates, Report Cards of private schools, 

letterheads and circulars of various Non- 

Participants in a consulting mode 

Governmental Organizations (NGOs), political parties 

and private offices. 

E-mail accounts have been set up for government 

departments. 

The establishment of the web connection benefited 

the people of the North-East in many ways. Some 

residents utilized this connection diligently. One user 

in Raha CIC vicinity in Assam received information 

from a Guwahati-based Neurological Institute about 

treatment for his father's illness, while another 

placed an order and received medicine from the 

Apollo Hospital, Chennai. 

Another took refuge in the local CIC to download a 

comparative price list before deciding on the 

purchase of a personal computer. A filmmaker 

registered his entry for a film festival while another 

bank officer obtained his correspondence course 

results through the web. Thus the CICs exist to 

serve the people of the North-East. � 

Participants practicing on the systems 


6.1 IT EDUCATION & TRAINING 

One of the key objectives of establishing CICs 

was to create IT awareness and spread literacy 

among the residents of North-Eastern region. 

Participants giving the DOEACC Exam 

CIC Operators have taken it upon themselves to 

achieve this goal with the sincerity and eagerness 

it deserves. They are making all efforts to ensure 

a success story. They are leaving no stone 

unturned to achieve the set target. 

Courses 

Training programmes on fundamentals of 

computers and software such as Windows and 

MS Office are held regularly. 

The Operators design their own courseware on 

the basis of local requirements. Some CICs 

conduct Computer Literacy Programme designed 

by the Indira Gandhi National Open University 

(IGNOU) and Course on Computer Concepts 

(CCC), offered by DOEACC. 

The Certificate Course on Computer Concepts is 

targeted at government employees, traders, 

businessmen, students and housewives. This 

Course enables participants to handle his/her own 

business letters, use the web for viewing, sending 

or receiving e-mail and prepare Power Point 

presentations. Till now, approximately 20,000 

candidates have qualified to receive these 

Certificates. (See Annexure 2 for a list of CICs 




offering the DOEACC Courses and Annexure 3 

for a list of CICs offering IGNOU courses). 

Computer Awareness Programmes 

In the previous pages, we noted the missionary 

zeal with which CIC Operators are working to 

generate interest among residents of North-Eastern 

region about computers. 

CIC Amarpur, Tripura trained 12 Block officials on 

computer usage and productivity tools through a 

30-hour programme. Similarly, the CIC roped in 

five elected representatives of the local Panchayat, 

256 students and 118 citizens for a 40-hour 

orientation programme on computer and internet 

tools. 

The Sikkim Government posted a technical 

assistant in one of the key CICs to train a variety 

of people (government employees and general 

public) under the IT literacy programme. 

Young children during a training session at CIC Khliehriat, 

Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya 

The courses include Basics of Computer 

awareness, Basics of Computer Hardware, 

Windows 2000 Operating System, MS Office and 

Internet Concepts. 

Training for many batches are held daily to 

accommodate more participants. Special sessions 

are also conducted during the vacation period to 

cater to the needs of school children. Students of 

economically weaker sections are allowed free 

training. 

The CIC Operator in Mawkynrew of East Khasi Hills, 

Meghalaya successfully held an awareness 

programme for school students in his block that 


30 




attracted several others including the headmen, 

secretaries and sardars of villages in the near vicinity. 

Several of them opted to open their individual e-mail 

accounts for future use and make the most of the 

popular uses of the Internet. This facilitated fast 

communication as compared to snail mail. 

Apart from these special classes, courses are 

conducted for IGNOU students every year. Students 

from Sengbhalang Laitulum School, Riwar Mihngi 

Presbyterian High School, Umtong and Mawkynrew 

Presbyterian High School also participated in the 

computer awareness programmes. 

Barjelenga CIC in Assam launched "e-Parichay" 

programme to spread IT literacy. The CIC Operator 

Details of training programmes conducted by a few CICs 

educated the local population about the intricacies 

of e-mail usage to encourage them to use 

electronic mail in their daily lives. 

A truly unique classroom experiment was enabled 

by Pub-Nalbari CIC in Assam wherein the Operator 

provided a 3-month course based on the CCC 

course of DOEACC with some additional topics 

such as introduction to multimedia, mail merge in 

MS Word, Macros in Excel etc. 

At some CICs, DTP course on Assamese script 

with ILEAP software and Ramdhenu software have 

been conducted enabling students to learn the 

Assamese script. � 

Name of CIC Participants Programme Details 

Mebo, East Siang Students from local schools Small batches of 10-12 students 

District, Arunachal for 1-2 months long course on 

Pradesh basics of computers. 

Ramle-bango, East Students of Government Town Computer Awareness Training 

Siang District, Primary School Programme 

Arunachal Pradesh 

Roing, Dibang Valley & Handicapped and Rural Women Special Programme 

Along, West Siang 

District, Arunachal 

Pradesh 

Kangpokpi, Senapati Students who have passed Two batches of basics of 

Manipur Class X from local schools computing conducted. 

Dhekiajuli, Sonitpur Local population IGNOU and DOEACC programmes 

Assam with increasing demand 

Namthang, South Local population Quiz competition on computer 

District, Sikkim software and Internet. 

Duga, East District, Class X students of local school Test on computer fundamentals 

Sikkim conducted and prizes given to 

winners. 

Yuksam, West District Students of Class 1-5 of Yuksam Quiz competition on general 

Sikkim Secondary School knowledge, science, and history 

with the usage of computer audio, 

video rounds and an Internet 

demonstration. 


20 




Computer Equipment being taken to a remote location to 

set up a CIC 

In Tripura, for instance, the team of engineers 

who had gone for installation fell ill due to 

exposure to the unfriendly climate and they 

required immediate hospitalization. 

Despite all odds, the entire CIC team - comprising 

of functionaries drawn from Central, State, District 

and Block administration on the one hand and 

external vendors on the other worked round the 

clock to complete the installation at all 487 CICs 

on time. � 


FEEDBACK 

"I have enrolled myself for 

the Computer Course to 

acquire knowledge as 

computer knowledge has 

become indispensable in 

today's society." 

-Geetashree Bhagawati 

"I am a student and was taking a keen interest 

on computer by mugging up 

magazines on computers. I was 

dreaming to be a whiz kid on 

computers. It seems that my 

dreams have come true since 

the CIC came to my village. I 

am doing the 3 months course. But to me, 

this is not enough to be a whiz kid, it is the 

beginning." 

- Challang N Sangma 

6.2 E-MAIL & INTERNET ACCESS 

One element in the wholesome bouquet of services 

offered by CICs that has benefited the people of 

the North-East hugely is the facility of E-mail and 

Internet access. The best part is that these facilities 

are available at incredibly nominal rates. As a 

result visitors of all age groups throng CICs to 

communicate with others in the digital world. 

Everyone wants to be updated with the latest 

developments of the world and information related 

to any field can be easily accessed through the 

dynamic medium of the Internet. The interaction 

facilitated by these two communication tools are 

playing a vital role in making the people move 

hand in hand with the rest of the citizens of the 

country as far as being well informed and being 

well connected is concerned. 

These two communication tools have become an 

integral part of the lives of residents of North- 

Eastern region like the rest of the world. This, 

indirectly, augurs well for CICs also as they are 

able to visualize a future where they become selfdependent 

through regular revenue generation. 

The CIC Operator at Ambassa of Tripura provides 

E-mail support and guided surfing for NGO visitors, 




during their visit to the region on work, and also 

for defence officers. 

Some enterprising North-Eastern residents go 

beyond normal E-mail activities. Web browsing 

serves many purposes and gives the user immense 

satisfaction. How about considering some stock 

market play? Such an idea is not preposterous 

but actually practiced. For instance, Smt Aparna 

Roy of Kumarghat in North Tripura buys and sells 

shares through the ICICI portal. Her visits to CICs 

are meant primarily for this business activity. 

Imagine her plight in the absence of CIC in her 

neighbourhood! So in many ways the CICs are 

helping the people of the North-East in realizing 

their dreams and achieving all that, which would 

have been impossible otherwise. 

Perhaps earlier she may have had to travel to or 

discuss with stock brokers at distant towns or 

cities to attain her ambitious goal of self-trading in 

stocks and shares. Thanks to CICs, she's her 

own trader and happy to carry on a business 

unaided. The role CIC is playing in making the 

people self-reliant is worthy of praise. 

School children in Namchi, Sikkim are equally 

imaginative in the skilful usage of the Internet. 

The local CIC is their regular stopover for 

researching input for school projects and checking 

Board exam results online. Lawyers practicing at 

the District Court in Sichey, East Sikkim utilize the 

local CIC situated nearby for typing their 

documents and reports besides engaging in 

browsing and chatting. 

Music aficionados regularly visit Namsang CIC in 

Tirap district of Arunachal Pradesh to download 

Students use the Internet both, for browsing and checking 

their E-mail 


32 




Participants taking keen interest in the training session 

about the uses of the Internet 

and listen to their favourite songs from the Net. 

Travel guidance is another unique service offered 

by CIC Operators in the North East. Imphal East 

CIC in Manipur provides Myanmar-bound 

passengers with Indo-Burma bus timetables 

obtained from the Net. Tracking of Speed Post 

parcels for delivery is made easy by providing 

links to associated websites in this regard. The 

operator manning Tousem CIC in Manipur got the 

Republic Day programmes printed for public 

distribution besides forwarding the speech of local 

Member of the Legislative Assembly to popular 

local dailies in English and Manipuri. 

CICs also play a crucial role in nation-building 

activities. Arunachal Pradesh-based Chambang CIC, 

for instance, participated in the Election result data 

transmission process to Doordarshan during the 

State Assembly Elections 2003. Other fruitful 

engagements include CICs in Tripura creating a 

website for Amarpur Rural Development Block, 

compiling Block level Master Plan for Rural 

Development and multimedia presentations on total 

sanitation campaign. CICs have effectively evolved 

methods for trouble shooting common problems. � 

FEEDBACK 

"I have been able to 

create my e-mail ID and 

keep in touch with out 

of town friends." 

- Rashmi Saikia 

6.3 ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT 

INFORMATION 

CICs have strategically deployed communication 

technology to enable socio-economic development. 

With the advent of Internet, the quality of 

Government-Citizen interface is being enhanced 

day by day. Several initiatives are underway to 

facilitate it. 

A CIC Visitor accessing Examination Results website 

Unlike in the past, citizens seeking information or 

certificates from various government departments 

for a variety of purposes now need not make a 

physical visit to these offices. 

At a click of a button on the personal computer, 

the user has most of the information available - 

ostensibly put up for public display and use by 

concerned ministries or departments from Central, 

State and District levels. 

The web connectivity through the CICs has opened 

up a new gateway for citizens in the North East 

to save their time and effort in accessing 

government information and at the same time 

enabled administrators to concentrate on more 

productive activities. 

A sizeable chunk of visitors to CICs seek 

information on various government schemes such 

as the National Old Age Pension Scheme, Indira 

Awas Yojana, MLA/MP Schemes etc. The required 

application forms are downloaded, printed and 

kept ready for distribution. 

By and large, central government departments 

and all state governments have their own web 


portals and the government-public interface finds 

a prominent place on the Home pages itself. CIC 

Operators help citizens to access many of these 

government portals in getting the right information 

and assist them in filling up the government forms 

with relevant inputs. 

Government portals provide information on the 

web for public consumption i.e. Tenders, Weather 

Alerts, Disease Alerts, Vacancies in various 

government departments. For instance, citizens 

desiring to procure a driving license can visit the 

relevant section in the state portal and download 

the list of documents they need to carry along 

with the application. 

Similar general guidance tips for procuring ration 

card etc are also displayed on the web. 

The services provided also include RuralSoft. It is 

an application that enables the citizen to monitor 

government schemes like Indira Gandhi Awas 

Yojana, SGSY etc. The data is available to the 

beneficiaries at CICs. 

Another type of service offered is interactive in 

nature. For instance, the Tripura government has 

a Health Booking Information service. 

A CRPF Personnel accessing information about various loan 

schemes. 




Several CICs help local residents to search and 

apply for jobs online and widen their knowledge 

on educational curriculum or syllabii for various 

courses offered by Universities across the country 

and from abroad. 

Last, but not the least, CICs are assisting the 

business community to check global and domestic 

prices of a variety of goods from the net. Visitors 

surf the web for bank loan schemes also. 

CICs lend a helping hand in computerizing 

government data. The Operator at Mamit CIC of 

Mizoram assists in generating computerized data 

such as Below Poverty Line List, Indira Awas 

Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Gram Yojana etc and 

forwarding the same to the Department of Rural 

Development by e-mail. 

The Block level administration in Wakro, Lohit District 

of Arunachal Pradesh use the local CIC to record 

and transfer data instead of sending it through 

wireless communication. Thingsul CIC in Mizoram 

regularly puts out government announcements and 

news to the local community. � 

FEEDBACK 

"CICs have created a new 

gateway for the people to apply 

for any necessary documents 

directly with the authorities." 

- Davidson Sangma 

"The facility of applying directly 

has eliminated touts and saved 

the common man's precious 

time and energy." 

- Arsin M Marak 

"Many government departments 

have websites where we have 

access to a lot of helpful 

information." 

- Silgrak Shira 


34 




6.4 CITIZEN CENTRIC APPLICATIONS 

The North-Eastern states are characterized by 

remoteness, inadequate communication 

infrastructure and difficult terrain and as a result 

the rural population is deprived of many critical 

government services meant for them. 

Computerization of Government data under progress 

CICs attempt to bridge this gap by providing these 

services virtually at their doorstep. Thus the CICs 

play a pivotal role in providing e-governance or 

citizen-centric services. These services make a 

huge difference in improving the life of the people 

in the North East and are benefiting the people 

enormously. The interface based on citizen needs 

provided by CICs is a stepping-stone towards the 

development of the region. The CICs have done 

commendable work that will take the region way 

ahead with a brand new vision. 

The CICs are providing path-breaking services to 

the local community through Web access, E-mail, 

Word-processing, etc. E-governance refers to 

governance processes in which Information and 

Communication Technology (ICT) plays a significant 

role. In effect, it is more than mere computerization 

or automation of existing governance services. 

Instead, it has to be seen as a 'tool' for good 

governance and human development. 

The CICs provide the following citizen centric 

applications and services among others: 

(1) E-Suvidha: It is a front-end for the government 

to citizen services, providing a single window 

facility to avail services provided by different 

departments of the government. The E-Suvidha 

software processes, maintains and monitors 

activities on-line relating to issue of certificates 

of various nature required by the citizens. 

It enables issue of certificates, licenses, forms 

etc to citizens. It also assists them in applying 

for the document of their choice at the nearest 

CIC and in keeping a track of its progress. 

The document can be collected from the CIC 

when it is ready. 

(2) ASHA: NIC Assam in partnership with Assam 

Agribusiness consortium has developed a 

model "ASHA- Making Farmers Prosperous 

through CIC using ICT" for facilitating 

agribusiness in the state of Assam. 

The portal used for this is 

http://www.assamagribusiness.nic.in CIC 

operators update the website regularly and are 

helping promote it. A minimum of two campaign 

programs are to be conducted by every CIC 

for Farmers at locations near them, in 

consultation with DAO and other agriculture 

officers. A Registration Process for Farmers 

has been initiated. Unemployed youth are also 

being registered. ASHA has received 

appreciation from NRIs in addition to local 

citizens. It is proving to be not only an 

exemplary service accruing tremendous benefits 

to the agriculture community but a steady 

revenue earner as well. 

(3) RuralSoft: This service/application enables the 

citizen to monitor government schemes like 

Indira Gandhi Awas Yojana, SGSY etc. The 

data is available to the beneficiaries at CICs. 

(4) Government to Citizen (G2C) Schemes: Public 

Grievances Redressal and Management 

System (PGRAMS), and Public Information & 

Facilitation System (PIFS) are some of the 

G2C applications that are already under use 

at several CICs across the North Eastern 

region. Large numbers of CICs are engaged 

in data entry for Below Poverty Line census. 

Other applications such as Comprehensive 

Household Survey (CHS), Payroll System, 

Personnel and Management Information System 

(PERMIS), MP & MLA Schemes, Village 

Directory System etc. are installed at CICs for 

general public use. 





CICs State-wise Activities: At A Glance 

State Activities Detail 

Arunachal Pradesh ● G2C Services 

- BPL Survey 

- Panchayati Raj Election Results-related work 

● IT Support 

- Staff Training at Block Level 

- Office Record Computerization 

● Downloadable Forms 

● Miscellaneous 

- E-entertainment 

- Information on Awards & Scholarships 

Assam ● G2C Services 

- BPL Survey 

- Departmental Gazette Publication 

- Rural Programme Check List 

- Public Distribution System Details 

- BPL List Publication 

- Land Records Information 




- Tender Notifications 

- Market Information 

- Public Infrastructure Database(Roads, Bridges, Canals, 

Healthcare Centres etc) 

- Elementary School Pay Roll Preparation 

Manipur ● G2C Services 

- BPL Survey 

- Certificate Issuance Procedures 

- Birth/Death Registration Facility 


- Treasury Department Data Update 



- Assistance to Foreigners 

- Information Feeder for Media 

- E-post 

- Agricultural Market Information 

- Weather Forecast 

- Online Registration for Delhi Colleges 

- School Results 


Meghalaya ● G2C Services 

- BPL Survey 

- PGRAMS & PFIS Facility 


36 






Meghalaya ● IT Support 




- Agriculture Marketing Service (Portal) 

Mizoram ● G2C Services 

- BPL Survey 

- Publication of DRDA Scheme Beneficiaries 

- Transport Department Details 


- Election-Eve Data Support 

● Downloadable Forms e.g. Inner Line Permit Forms 


- Information Feeder for Press 

- School/College Admission Details 

Nagaland ● G2C Services 

- BPL Survey 

- Redressal of Public Grievances Support 





- Information for Farmers 

- Government Press Releases through e-mail 

- Free National/International News Access 

- Daily NAGA News 

- Examination Results 

- Election Results 

Sikkim ● G2C Services 

- BPL Survey 

- Panchayat Elections 


- Staff Training & Office Record Computerization at Block 

Administration level 




Tripura ● G2C Services 

- BPL Survey 

- SGRY Progress Report 

- Municipal Councils Information 

- Government Service Status Report 

- Gramoday Services (Grassroot Level Participation in 

Developmental Activities) 







Tripura ● IT Support 




- Tender Notices 

- Job Opportunities (Government Sector) 

- Agricultural Tips (Farming Advisory, Agri-marketing information in 

local language) 

- Educational Guidance 

(5) IT Support to Government: Staff training and 

office record computerization at the Block 

administration level has been undertaken by 

several CICs. 

(6) Miscellaneous: CICs assist local residents in 

contacting government officials and checking 

the status of their applications for various 

government services. Sometimes, they go an 

extra mile too. For instance, Sri Dipankar Indu 

of Jalebasa from Panisagar CIC in North 

Tripura contacted the authorities of Pensioner's 

Service in the United Kingdom regarding his 

relative's pension that was abruptly stopped. 

The same Panisagar CIC also played a role in 

assisting Sri Subir Dhar to collect his blood 

report examined by a hospital in Hyderabad 

and avail of medical consultation via e-mail. 

Visitors to Churachandpur CIC, Manipur 

download information regarding Tribe 

Certificate, Domicile Certificate, Hill House Tax, 

Land Revenue collection, Land premium, 

Process fee, Lower Income Group & 

Economically Weaker Section Loan etc. 

(7) Distance Education on Health: CICs play a 

pivotal role in disseminating health-related 

information through health broadcasts. Given 

the broadband availability, many CIC Operators 

organize health shows and invite locals to view 

and participate. These gatherings generate a 

lot of interest where locally prevalent health 

issues are debated and relevant information 

shared. Many CICs in Assam participated in 

the broadcast on Diagnostic Approach to 

Infective Diarrhoea and Rational Antibiotic 

Therapy. The telemedicine session on Budd 

Chiarry Syndrome drew good response. 

(8) Election Support: CICs played a crucial role 

during the Lok Sabha elections. Here in the 

North-Eastern states, traditional communication 

modes are not robust. So in these 

circumstances the satellite based connectivity 

provided by the CICs played a pivotal role in 

facilitating the electoral process. 

NIC Assam State unit developed a web-based 

system for capturing Legislative Assembly's 

(LA) segment-wise, round-wise counting 

information details for all the 14 Parliamentary 

constituencies in Assam. Election results could 

be viewed at the site http://election.assam.nic.in. 

Similar services were provided in the other 

North-Eastern states as well. 

In Meghalaya people visited the CICs to check 

the voter list on the net. The best feature was 

that people could view the results of the state 

assembly, district council and parliamentary 

elections. Online declaration of poll results, 

demonstration by the operators on how to use 

electronic voting machines with a CD etc were 

services that were of great help for the local 

populace. The CICs put sincere efforts and acted 

as centers where people could get their queries 

regarding elections resolved. In Tripura, the 

operators collected election-counting results from 

the counting centers for NIC-DD Election Project 

as well as for the Election Commission of India 

through the State Government machinery. 

Thus, it can be said that the reach of the IT 

revolution to this region gave a boost to its allround 

development. � 


38 

6.5 ENTERTAINMENT & NEWS 




The National Informatics Centre (NIC) rightly 

believes in using entertainment and news elements 

to attract general public to Community Information 

Centres (CICs). The platter on which the news is 

served is quite interesting and moves away from 

the monotonous method of providing services. A 

rural citizen, who initially visits a CIC to watch an 

entertainment programme, gradually becomes 

aware of the services available there. Thus, over 

a period of time he starts utilizing other services 

of his use. People are always hungry for news 

and CICs by providing the news required by the 

people are striking the right chord. 

Visitors watching an entertainment programme at the CIC 

The CICs disseminate important information 

regarding Admission to Colleges, Public Notices, 

and Government Messages. 

The NIC has a foolproof broadcasting facility 

coupled with the broadband availability at remotely 

located CICs. So the curiosity about Information 

Technology and the Internet among the local 

populace can be attributed to the CICs. It was 

envisioned by the government that by extending 

the reach of the IT revolution to this region, CICs 

would accelerate the much awaited all round 

development. Without any delay, the CICs looked 

into the utilization of all the facilities available to 

the fullest and used the VSAT hub to broadcast 

cinema and entertainment-oriented programmes for 

viewers through the television sets installed at every 

CIC. Interestingly, the village elders are roped in to 

act as catalysts to bring general public to CICs and 

create regular interest in computers. 

Sponsorship of Quiz competitions is also utilized 

to generate publicity about CICs. Phullen CIC in 

Mizoram organized such a competition drawing a 

large number of students to participate. Winning 

students walked away with free IT education at 

CICs. The publicity of CICs through Cable TV 

network in Kadamtala CIC of North Tripura is 

another success story. 

Visitors watching the News at CIC 

Word of mouth publicity by elected representatives 

of Panchayat, Block administration officials and 

active canvassing at schools are other means 

used to popularize CICs. The Sunday school 

children at Pfutsero CIC in Nagaland (situated at 

an altitude of around 2,133.60 metres above sealevel) 

are enticed with video show screenings. 

TV sets have been provided to disseminate 

educational programmes through Doordarshan. 

Doordarshan news and lectures organized by NIC 

are other major draws for the people living around 

Nongstoin CIC in Meghalaya's West Khasi Hills 

district. 'Krishi Darshan' and other agriculturerelated 

documentaries attract huge audience at 

CICs, as agriculture is the main occupation for a 

large chunk of population in this region. Seeing 

the sincere involvement of the CICs, it has been 

proposed to use the Community Information 

Centres for E-edutainment in the future. It is 

planned that selected channels could be telecast 

through the VSAT based network. � 

FEEDBACK 

"I have watched Deputy 

Prime Minister's speech 

during the Doner Exhibition 

in North East show." 

- Tutumoni Dutta 





INFORMATION 

DISSEMINATION 


CHAPTER – 7 

INFORMATION DISSEMINATION 

CICs have taken it upon themselves to generate 

valuable information at the grass root level. It is 

well understood that for the successful 

implementation of plans, awareness amongst the 

masses about them and the know-how as to how 

they can exploit the benefits of these plans is 

crucial. Hence information dissemination is one of 

the priorities of the CICs. 

National Informatics Centre (NIC) devised a unique 

web-based solution for information, communication 

and knowledge management within a community.In 

this content management system, information at 

the micro level is aggregated and put together 

through dedicated portals. And this is done not 

through one, but 487 portals - one each for 487 

CICs. 

Snapshot of Block Community Portal of CIC Changlang, 

Changlang Distrist, Arunachal Pradesh 

Each CIC was assigned a unique URL, which 

became the portal for the block or the Block 

Community Portal (BCP). The BCP enables 

efficient interactivity within and among communities. 

It also allows easy access to relevant and 

authenticated information. It will benefit the 

communities in the North-East tremendously as it 

acts as a one-stop access & delivery mechanism 




Snapshot of Block Community Portal of CIC Mawphlang, East 

Khasi Hills District, Meghalaya 

for them. Its best feature is that it is customizable 

in terms of local language and content. Its focus 

is not so much on technology itself, but on its 

innovative use to empower the poor with tools to 

change their circumstances. It helps fight the 

challenges faced such as lack of suitable skill 

sets, language barriers and low literacy in using 

ICT and the Internet. 

The portal provides information on local parameters 

such as area, population, number of schools and 

colleges. Also details about various block level 

activities are put on the portal for public access. 

These portals showcase self-employment 

opportunities, community messages and notices, 

entertainment/news, local databases, online 

governmental services and emergency services. 

Facilities for online discussions, opinion polls, 

bartering etc. are also available on the portal. 

A well-informed North-East will not feel isolated 

from the mainstream of India. The dissemination 

of knowledge through communication will facilitate 

the empowerment of the populace of this region. 

Thus, the hindrances in achieving the long term 

objectives of the CICs can be tackled easily once 

the base for our development i.e. the villages are 

well informed about the plans made for their 

welfare by the government. � 






BEST PRACTICES

CHAPTER – 8 

BEST PRACTICES 

From the general trend it can be observed that all 

institutions whether big or small invest considerable 

amount of time to cull best practices from their 

experience. The CICs in the North-Eastern region 

stand ahead by creating a slew of best practices 

in a short duration. 

The fact that the CICs have done commendable 

work in reaching the demarcated set of goals is 

worth acknowledgement. The CICs offer services 

in key areas to serve the needs of the people. 

Best practice briefs are summaries of selected 

practices from around the CICs designed to provide 

an overview of how individuals and communities 

are coming together to reap greater benefits out 

of CICs. These best practices may appear ordinary 

for others but those who understand the cultural 

and economic milieu of the region under review 

will definitely consider these documented strategies 

or tactics as the “best”. 

Many CICS have fine-tuned some routine work 

into best practices. The best practices were 

adopted in the following key areas: 

1. Electoral Activity 

2. Examination Results 

3. E-governance Services 

4. Other Multifarious Activities 

I. ELECTORAL ACTIVITY 

In a democratic set up like India, electoral practices 

are a regular phenomenon and require an efficient 

communication infrastructure. Hence, in the 

northeastern region, where the traditional 

communication modes are not effective, the 

satellite-based connectivity provided by the CICs 

plays a crucial role. 

Here the CICs did praiseworthy work as far as 

integrating the people into the electoral process 

was concerned. Polling results were declared 

online. Citizens congregated at the CIC centers to 

get all the necessary information from the voter 

list to the final results. The CICs also provided 

information details to the Returning Officers and 

Polling Officers on other pertinent election issues. 




There are numerous examples where the CICs 

met challenges to come out with the best results. 

In some constituencies in Assam, collecting the 

poll results from remote counting halls in several 

districts is practically impossible. In such situations 

regular updates become a serious challenge. But 

this was overcome as the CIC infrastructure and 

manpower were pressed into service. The ‘roundwise’ 

data from various counting centres was 

uploaded immediately, from all counting halls, via 

NIC at the districts and CICs at the sub-divisions. 

Citizens accessing election results at CIC Lakhimpur, Assam 

During the 10 th Lok Sabha elections, a highly 

efficient network using VSAT, phones and faxes 

made collection of poll results easy. The manpower 

was relocated in strategic locations to collect the 

‘round-wise’ data instantaneously and handover 

the same to the uploading center. 

In Manipur, despite heavy landslides and lack of 

efficient communication system at Nungba, District 

Tamenglong, election related information was easily 

sent and received via the CICs. 

In Meghalaya, during electoral rolls, the local public 

visited the CICs to access election results on the 

Web and to watch the live telecast of the results 

on TV. This also attracted the communities of the 

West Khasi Hills and Garo Hills. 

The CICs participated in the electoral activity in 

all the eight states. 

The CICs have also been pressed into citizen 

awareness services. For example, in the North 

District of Sikkim, the CIC operators at Kabi 

demonstrated the use of the electronic voting 


46 




machines to the local people using a NIC 

developed CD based tutorial. It also helped 

individuals to check the voter list on the internet. 

The CIC Operators at Lachen and Lachung District 

authorized the local public to verify the presence 

of their names on the voters list. A remarkable 

turnout of approximately 70% to 80% of the eligible 

voters undertook the verification. 

At CIC Ilee Yangthang, West District, Sikkim, CICs 

organized regular meetings and awareness camps 

to announce the voters list and the availability of 

different kinds of forms from the government 

websites. The awareness camps were also extended 

to schools in some districts of Sikkim. 

II. EXAMINATION RESULTS 

There is a sizeable community of school and 

college students in the North-East, studying within 

as well as outside their states. They put in hard 

work into their studies and so for them the 

announcement of results is one of the most 

awaited events. 

Here students have instant access to Central 

Board Examination Results (CBSE), All India 

Entrance Examination results for various 

engineering and medical colleges, state bank 

recruitment results. Provision of printed CBSE 

results is a source of income for the CICs. 

Students enrolled at IGNOU undergoing various 

courses such as B. Ed, Master in Tourism 

Management (MTM), Bachelor in Tourism Studies 

(BTS), etc, are regular visitors of the CIC at Tezu 

where they can access information on the 

availability of study material, data sheets and 

examination results. 

In Manipur, the examination results were made 

available to the students of Class X and XII. The 

students can get a hard copy of the mark sheet 

for as little as Rs 5. 

At the Tikrikilla CIC, District West Garo Hills, 

Meghalaya the SSLC results were accessed by 

nearly 1200 students. 

In Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim, all the results of 

National Competitive Exams at the school, college 

and university level are disseminated from several 

CICs. 

Several CICs also serve as an avenue for those 

appearing for the recruitment examinations 

conducted by the Union Public Service Commission 

(UPSC), Bank Recruitment Boards and the Indian 

armed forces (Army, Navy and Air Force). Local 

residents surf the web at CICs to glean information 

on these services, syllabus or curriculum and 

return for checking out results at a future date. 

For the residents of North-East, CICs are a single 

window through which they voluntarily keep abreast 

of developments concerning their future. 

III. E-GOVERNANCE SERVICES 

E-governance is another best practice that the 

CICs have evolved. The citizens of the North- 

East, especially the rural poor, suffer from a lack 

of easily available citizen services. So the CICs 

make a constant endeavour to provide services 

like E-Suvidha to the populace. This service 

provides a wide variety of citizen centric 

applications for the issue of birth, death and 

marriage certificates, license for private businesses 

and even arms licence etc. 

Launching of E-Suvidha at CIC Kakching, Manipur 

This umbrella service called E-Suvidha is a onestop 

service facilitation window for e-governance 

services. E-Suvidha has received international 

accolades and has been awarded the e-Asia Award 

2004 in Taipei, Taiwan by Asia Pacific Council for 

Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (AFACT). 

In Arunachal Pradesh, the BPL (Below Poverty Line) 

Income Certificate application has been implemented 

at all CICs of Tawang district under E-Suvidha umbrella 

service. Many CICs have taken up block level 

computerization by creating BPL databases. 

In Assam, E-Suvidha was inaugurated at a function 

held at CIC Birsing Jarua in Dhubhri district of 

Assam on February 27, 2004. 


Here, E-Suvidha will initially offer five citizen centric 

services: 

1. Certified copy of electoral roll 

2. PRC for higher education 

3. Land holding certificate 

4. Income certificate for service holder 

5. Income Certificate for Cultivator/Farmer 

Jana Seva (Information Facilitation Service) can be 

used to obtain information on the action taken by 

the government on the grievances and the position 

of the files submitted through the web interface. 

The CIC at Kakching in Manipur has implemented 

a number of citizen-centric services under E- 

Suvidha. During December 2004, the CIC issued 

various certificates and collected Rs 10 per 

certificate as printing charges. 

The Meghalaya government has constituted a 

content-creation committee, which has interacted 

with a large number of departments (Health, 

Education, Agriculture, Sericulture etc.) under the 

chairmanship of the Principal Secretary, Information 

Technology Department. They will be responsible 

for identifying appropriate citizen-centric content 

for their respective departments. 

At Samdong CIC in Sikkim, information on social 

welfare schemes are distributed to the local people. 

These include old age pension, physical disability, 

opportunities for handicapped and widow pension. 

IV. OTHER MULTIFARIOUS ACTIVITIES 

The CIC project was showcased at the Asia IT 

Minister’s Summit held on 12-13 th January 2004 in 

Hyderabad. 

DD Sports Channel was video broadcast over the 

CIC network and visitors were able to watch the 

Olympic games, 2004 live at the CICs. 

In Meghalaya, students used the net to download 

forms and prospectus. Here apart from CLP 

(Computer Literacy Program) of IGNOU and CCC 

(Course on Computer Concepts) programme of 

DOEACC, the state government has granted a 

sanction for the implementation of the “Basic 

Computer Training” for the Upper Primary School 

Teachers’ programme held in all the 32 CICs of 

the state. 




Also there is an agri-marketing portal in Meghalaya 

ensuring rural farmers are aware of the current 

prices of agricultural commodities. 

Visitors at the Awareness Programme organized by CIC, 

Ambassa, Tripura 

At Khawzawl CIC in Aizwal, Mizoram an awareness 

campaign is organized once every week for Model 

High School. Another awareness programme on 

IT was conducted under the chairmanship of the 

BDO at Saiha district. 

The operators of CIC Kobulong, Nagaland take 

printouts of local, national and international news 

from the websites and paste them on the Youth 

Bulletin Board for the general public every week. 

In Sikkim, government officials visit the CICs to 

learn the basics of computers and to type official 

documents and reports. 

At Heeyangthang CIC in West Sikkim even illiterate 

people participate in the Computer Literacy 

Campaign undertaken for the local people. 

In Tripura, information on services is provided by 

renowned hospitals in the country such as AIIMs 

Delhi, CMC Vellore, Apollo Hospital Chennai, etc. 

The CIC operators in Tripura are actively involved 

in extending services like Health Booking 

Information System and Data Update for Gramoday 

(Gram Panchayat level Planning Database), BPL 

survey database, Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar 

Yojana (SGRY) and allied Rural Develoment 

solution implemented by NIC Tripura. 

At CIC Khagam, district Changlang, Arunachal 

Pradesh, the department of power is using CICs 

to send FBMS meter reading of weekly power 

consumption to their concerned offices. 


48 




A video conference session of CICs with NIC, New Delhi. 

In Assam, the flood-affected areas at Dhakuakhana 

produce superior quality of rice. Here an ambitious 

project to market organic rice in the region has 

been taken up. It is appreciable that participation 

of students has been encouraged . The students 

of CICs have set up a portal and a community 

development forum with the help of an NGO. The 

project is expected to benefit the rural economy 

in the region where agriculture is the only means 

of livelihood. 

A workshop on e-commerce was held at CIC 

Lakhimpur in Assam to discuss the potential of 

selling local resources through the CIC portal. 

With the advent of CICs into the north-eastern 

region, state-of-the-art communication facilities are 

in place. In such a positive scenario, there is 

room for greater interaction between various 

interest groups and that is precisely what is 

happening. 

The concept of e-sessions has gathered 

momentum and one can witness healthy race 

among CICs at both state and district levels to 

host such get togethers for the benefit of the 

local population. 

Poultry and livestock farmers got a pleasant 

surprise when North Karimganj CIC in Assam 

hosted an e-session. The drawing feature of this 

e-session was the use of both video as well as 

conventional chatting in association with North- 

East Information Technology Association, Guwahati. 

It was highly commendable that this meet brought 

together local farmers, researchers from the 

Agricultural Research Centre, Akbarpur and Block 

level veterinary staff under a single roof and 

facilitated interaction between them. 

Also the Telahi, CIC from Assam managed to 

rope in two renowned Australian scientists - Dr 

Greg Berry and his wife Dr (Mrs.) Leonie 

Crewman, an environmentalist for a workshop on 

rural technology. This workshop was co-hosted by 

People’s Advancement and Rural Technology, a 

local Non-Governmental Organization. The 

workshop was attended mostly by rural women 

and analyzed pubic sanitation issues. 

Another time-tested activity is the hosting of 

exhibitions to create general awareness about the 

CIC Project, showcasing various courses and 

resources available for the public at regular 

intervals. Exhibitions invariably attract a huge 

audience and the keen interest of the visitors is 

very encouraging. After gaining knowledge through 

exhibitions the visitors develop a deeper interest 

in the services provided by the CICs. 

A model of the CIC setup at the exhibition organised by CIC 

Gabharu, Assam 

Given the innumerable Centre-sponsored 

developmental schemes under implementation, CIC 

Operators conduct awareness programmes along 

with state or district level information officials. 

Such meets are well attended with the participation 

of Gram Panchayat or Village Development Council 

heads and members. Local schoolteachers also 

avail of free computer training facilities offered by 

CICs off and on. 

A cursory glance at the profile of visitors, for 

instance at Ambassa CIC in Tripura is an eyeopener. 

The visitors comprise of freedom fighters, 


doctors, Supreme Court staff, journalists, police 

officers, children, Sub Divisional Magistrate, 

unemployed youths, local Member of Legislative 

Assembly etc. 

These visits are not just casual ones but goal 

oriented. Each person visits the CICs to fulfill his/ 

CIC Operator assisting visitors at Kangpokpi, Manipur 

her information needs. Here the CICs by providing 

a medium for accessing the digital world act as a 

blessing for the people of the North East. 

CIC Operators have found out that workshops are 

one of the best avenues to attract visitors and use 

such opportunities to educate them. An Internet 

workshop organized by Lokowa CIC, (Assam) drew 

a sizeable audience and attendees were permitted 

free browsing, immediately after the workshop was 

complete. Practical experience coupled with 




theoretical knowledge enthuses visitors resulting in 

them being converted into regular customers. An 

open forum was held where there was an interesting 

question and answer session preceded by a 

discussion on Internet. Jiribam (Manipur) conducted 

a social service programme attended by the local 

students and youth. 

The Department of North East Region (DONER) 

organized an exhibition entitled “Development 

Initiatives in the North Eastern Region” in April 

2003 showcasing CIC Project in New Delhi. 

Activities at the CIC Stall were broadcast to all 

CICs. Deputy Commissioner of Lakhimpur videoconferenced 

with all Block Development Officers 

utilizing the local CICs for video facility, using 

webcams. Participants in this video-conferencing 

included the Election Officer, local MLA and several 

other government officials at the grassroot level. 

At the e-session organized by the District Information 

Officer at Lakhimpur CIC, Assam, participating 

students queried about various trends in infotech 

sector and job prospects. The bio-conservation 

seminar conducted by Telahi CIC witnessed 

resource materials being downloaded and relevant 

programmes being beamed on the TV sets and 

computers. For future reference, the organizers 

recorded the entire programme in VCD format. 

The above-discussed best practices have helped 

tremendously in ushering in a revolution in the 

North-East. � 





LESSONS LEARNT AND 

EXPERIENCE GAINED 


CHAPTER – 9 

LESSONS LEARNT AND EXPERIENCE 

GAINED: 

The CIC project is in its third year since launching 

and hence, an assessment on how useful these 

CICs have been to the people of the North-East is 

neccesary. There are no two opinions on the success 

of the CICs in reaching the masses. The users have 

benefited immensely in terms of faster and easier 

communication. Here are some lessons that were 

learnt. These lessons should be kept in mind to fill 

the voids and contribute in areas wherever the reach 

was limited due to some circumstances. 

1. Increase participation of people from all 

age groups. 

Children browsing and learning in a special course for them in CIC 

Lachung, Sikkim 

It has been analysed that the usage of the 

CICs has been limited to persons in the 

relatively younger age group. The conclusion 

arrived here is that the awareness programs 

need to disseminate this message to the 

users that age is no bar at CICs. Programmes 

that would benefit housewives and retired 

citizens could be introduced. 

2. Encourage female participation 

At the regional level more that 70 per cent of 

the users were males, a major portion of the 

society seems to be deprived of using the 

facilities available here. As mentioned above, 

awareness programmes would play a critical 

role here in increasing female participation. 

Emphasis should be given to make them 

aware about the services provided by the 

CICs. This is required as they can play an 




active role in enhancing productivity in the 

rural sector. 

3. Spread awareness that educational 

qualification is no criteria for availing CIC 

facilities. 

Mostly people with higher educational attainment 

are using CIC facilities. As a part of the IT 

awareness programmes, quiz competitions, 

seminars and workshops are held to attract 

people from all walks of life. Potential visitors 

need to be encouraged. People with primary 

education can attend computer – training 

programmes that are conducted specially for 

the local population. In short greater involvement 

of the masses should be aimed at. 

4. Spread awareness about services that are 

available 

Generating awareness among the rural people 

about the services that are being provided by 

the CICs need to be taken up rigorously. This 

can be achieved by involving the local 

enlightened people like teachers, educated 

youth, members and officials of Panchayats. 

Government officials specially connected with 

rural development programmes. CIC operators 

and people’s representatives have to play an 

active role. 

Computer Awareness Programme for Community Development 

organized by CIC Hajo, Assam 

5. Make efforts to ensure that CICs are used 

by the entire community. 

This trend was observed that CIC usage is 

restricted to people with selected occupational 


54 




categories rather that the entire community. 

Students, persons in service/ professionals 

dominate as users. So a goal can be chalked 

out to capitalize on the achievements of the 

CICs by roping in more and more people 

from the North-East to be a part of CIC 

programmes. 

6. Increase G2C services 

Hospital Management System Software Developed by Tripura 

At present G2C services made available to 

the rural people are limited. Better coordination 

is required between CICs and district 

administration. Initiative on the part of state 

government is necessary to make the CICs 

more vibrant and useful. Some interactive 

services like online public grievances, providing 

records of rights of land, issue of different 

certificates viz. residence certificates, caste 

certificates, birth and death certificates etc. 

should be taken up widely in coordination 

with district administration. These type of 

services will be able to attract the rural 

people to the CICs. 

8. Provide innovative services to the people 

catering to their specific needs. 

9. Provide updated and relevant information 

to the users. 

10. Popularize Distance education programme 

that may be region specific and rural need 

based. 

11. Bring transparency in government 

functioning, additional services like 

information on officials posted at different 

health centers, rural development officials, 

etc. may be brought under the purview of 

the CICs. 

12. Review the location of some CICs 

The location of the CICs needs to be 

reviewed. Presently most of the CICs are 

located either in Block Development Offices 

or Schools. It is observed that some of the 

CICs located at Block Development Offices 

are far away from the centers of the villages 

they serve which is affecting the popularity of 

the CICs. 

According to studies, Community centers 

seemed to be the best locations. Schools are 

the least preferred ones. So for new centers 

priority should be given to locate the CICs at 

places where the people would prefer. A brief 

interaction with the local population is always 

of great help. When the location of the CICs 

is in accordance with user needs, the 

frequency of user visits will increase. 

13. Enhance role of CIC Operators 

In order to make CICs sustainable in the long 

run, it is necessary to provide their services 

effectively and efficiently. The role of CIC 

operators in this respect is most important. 

They have to keep abreast of the village 

environment and the requirement and 

expectations of the rural people under 

changing circumstances. 

USERS’ EXPECTATIONS 

1. Students’ expectations: 

Since a large number of CIC users happen to 

be students and will continue to be, dedicated 

applications for students and the information 

they seek should form the priority area for 

content creation teams for CICs. The CICs 

should be able to provide youth information 

on available sport facilities. CICs could be 

agents for E-education. CICs may provide 

model examination papers of schools and 

universities to students. Online libraries may 

be made available. Local MLA/MP 

development funds may be tapped. Non-formal 

methods of learning are more popular with 


illiterates, semi-literates and CICs may tie-up 

with National Open School for them. 

Free Computer Awareness Programme for Students by CIC Raha, 

Assam 

1. Farmers’ expectations 

Since the rural economy is agriculture oriented, 

applications catering to farmers should form 

an important part of CIC content. Information 

regarding crop rotation, crop diseases, use of 

pesticides, organic farming, bio-control 

methods, marketing facilities, current market 

prices, animal farming, horticulture, various 

cash crops and the suitability of their farming 

in the concerned areas, animal diseases, 

establishment and maintenance of poultry, 

piggery and cattle farms, government schemes 

etc. must be provided. 

2. Teachers’ expectations 

The teachers expected the CICs to provide 

online training facilities to help them upgrade 

their skills in specific disciplines, introduce 

them to new methods of teaching, supply 

them books relating to their subjects, provide 

them with general information on education. 

Special training modules for teachers on Adult 

education, literacy campaigns, Sarva Shiksha 

Abhiyans etc. may be provided through CICs. 

CICs must initiate ventures with various 

education boards and bodies like the SCERT, 

Adult Education Centres etc. 

3. Traders’ expectations 

Traders seek information that is business 

related and relates to the market, loans by 

various financial institutions, opportunities for 




exporting, prices for various products and the 

banking system itself. 

4. Housewives’ expectations 

They seek information relating to women 

specific benefit programmes and opportunities 

for women’s education. They feel that 

information on childcare, nutrition and other 

maternity and medical services, gardening etc 

if provided through CICs would be useful. 

Various organizations working on areas related 

to maternity and related health services could 

be involved in creating content to be 

disseminated through CICs. Local health 

service officials could also contribute. 

Computer Awareness Mela at CIC Rongram, Meghalya 

Hence, an aggressive campaign about CICs 

and their services as well as the benefits of 

IT in general are needed to attract the nonusers 

to the CICs. 

In conclusion, it is observed that CICs have 

not only integrated local people to the global 

society, they have already made an economic 

impact on certain section of the users. Keeping 

in view the slow pace of acceptance of 

technology in day-to-day life by the common 

people, complete self-sustainability of the CICs 

within a short span of time is not feasible. 

So, the above-discussed points can be kept 

in mind in future to make CICs more appealing 

to the masses. It is infact a challenge for the 

CICs to convince the targeted clients that the 

CIC offers an altogether different, efficient, 

and transparent domain to interact with their 

respective delivery apparatus and ensure 

community mobilization and orientation towards 

the Community Information Centres. � 





STATUS OF CICs IN THE 


EIGHT STATES

CHAPTER – 10 

STATUS OF CICs IN THE EIGHT STATES 

Under the CIC project, CICs have been set up in 

487 Blocks of the eight North-Eastern states viz. 

Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, 

Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura to take 

the benefits of Information & Communication 

Visitors availing the training facilities provided at Samdong 

CIC in East Sikkim District. 

Technology (ICT) to the remotest areas. The CICs 

have been set up to bridge the digital divide, so 

that people from different segments of society in 

remote locations are not seriously disadvantaged 

simply because they do not have access to ICT. 

CIC project is one of the Prime Minister’s ambitious 

projects and NIC under the Ministry of 

Communication & Information Technology (MCIT) 

is implementing it. The Pilot phase was 

implemented in 2000 and a total of thirty blocks 

in all the NE States were covered under this. The 

next phase consisting of 457 blocks was completed 

by August 2002. 

The CIC Project makes a significant difference as 

it is being implemented first in the North-Eastern 

States before any other region of the country. 

In the following sections the status of CICs in the 

eight sister states is given. 

10.1 STATUS OF CICs IN ARUNACHAL 

PRADESH 

Arunachal Pradesh guards the north easternmost 

part of India bordering a number of countries. It 

borders Myanmar on the East, Bhutan in the 

West and China in the North and North East. It 




shares interstate boundaries with Assam in the 

south and hills of Nagaland in the South-East. 

The state is also a part of Eastern Himalayan 

ranges. It covers an area of 83,743 Sq.Kms., 

which is the largest amongst North Eastern States. 

As a part of the plans to bring the North-East on 

the IT map of the world, CICs were commissioned 

in August 2002. At present, many CICs in Arunachal 

Pradesh are doing good work in their respective 

blocks. They are sending activity reports from time 

to time. Though power supply is a major constraint 

in Arunachal Pradesh, the CICs have been trying 

their best to provide services as per the expectations 

of the people. Also, as the population is very low in 

many of the blocks, the revenue earned may be 

lower than CICs of other States. 

The pilot project implemented during year 2000 

included two CICs at Yupia and Sagalee of 

Arunachal Pradesh. In Arunachal Pradesh, the 

Department of IT and Science & Technology looks 

after Information Technology (IT) and hence is the 

nodal department of the State Government for the 

CIC Project. 

Inaugural Function at the Roing CIC in Dibang Valley District 

In total there are 56 CICs in Arunachal Pradesh. 

There are 8 CICs in Arunachal Pradesh, which 

are Type-B (CICs with less infrastructure) owing 

to power problem and difficult road communication. 

SERVICES OFFERED BY THE CICs: 

People from all walks of life namely, students, doctors, 

teachers, engineers, Government officials, 

businessmen and the general public are utilizing CICs 

for their purpose. The services being offered are: 


60 




1. Training 

- Know-how to visitors and staff of SDO and 

BDO office. 

- Basic courses for which Courseware is 

designed by the local CIC. 

- Computer Awareness Programs 

- DOEACC has given permission to some 

CICs for conducting their Course on 

Computer Concepts (CCC). The CICs also 

conduct the Computer Literacy Programme 

(CLP) of IGNOU. 

2. G2C Services 

- BPL survey, IT support for Panchayat elections. 

- Rural soft, E-Suvidha. 

- Downloadable Forms for Indo-Bhutan Inner 

Line Permit Card 

- Coordination of work with Education 

Department especially regarding 7th AISES 

work 

- Help to PWD and RWD Department for 

their OMMS (PMGSY) work to be performed 

in future 

3. Miscellaneous 

- Document printing 

· - Recreational sport (internet games) 

- On line marketing 

- E-post for the Block Administration 

- Visual Entertainment, TV broadcast showing 

programmes like ‘Krishi Darshan’ 

- Typing of official applications, documents, 

forms (like land allotment, BSY and APR 

etc.) 

- Messages sent through CIC net instead of 

Police Wireless 

- Helping the housewives to do business 

through Internet 

- Information on Railway timings 

- Video broadcast of World Cup Cricket 2003 

- Training and Medical awareness programmes 

are being broadcast to the CICs from NIC 

headquarters over TV network. 

- Newspaper reading, railway reservation enquiry, 

Airline enquiry, hospital enquiries. Many 

foreign visitors use CICs for web related 

information. 

- Help to Army Personnel and NHPC staff in 

e-mailing, chatting and showing them their 

photograph while chatting with their parents 

or friends who stay in different States by 

using Web Camera 

- E-mail facility to Army personnel, Air force 

personnel, and others who are away from 

their home as the S.T.D. facility is not 

available. 

- Scanning of job advertisements from local 

newspapers & making them available to 

unemployed youth. 

4. Information Services 

- Information to the JNV (Jawaharlal Navodaya 

Vidyalaya) teachers about results. 

5. IT Support 

- Preparation of database in Excel for DDSE 

including school records on teachers, 

students, and furniture, building type etc. 

- Preparation of soft copy of all the forms 

used in District Administration 

- Building databases used for enhancing 

e-governance in future at the district level. 

- CICs are giving support to Block 

Administration 

computerization. 

staff on office record 

10.2 STATUS OF CICS IN ASSAM 

ASSAM is often referred to as mini India, because 

of its unique heritage of diverse races, creeds, 

cultures and religions. This state borders Myanmar 

and Bangladesh and has a lush green landscape. 

In Assam, the Department of Industries and 

Commerce looks after Information Technology (IT) 

and hence is the nodal Department of the State 

Government for the CIC Project. On its behalf, 

the Director of Industries and Commerce is the 

Nodal Officer and the General Managers (GM) of 

the District Industries Centres (DIC) take care of 

site maintenance work. A Committee consisting of 

the Deputy Commissioner (DC) as the Chairman, 

GM DIC and NIC’s District Informatics Officer 

(DIO) as members is responsible for manpower 

selection at the district level. 


Governor of Assam, Lt. Gen (Retd.) S. K. Sinha on a visit to 

CIC, Gabharu 

In Assam there are a total of 219 CICs. The CIC 

centers in Assam have already made a large 

number of people computer literate. Now the 

people know how to use the benefits of the IT 

revolution for their own and the state’s progress. 


1. Training 

- Computer Awareness Programme for Rural 

Youth 

- Computer Concepts & Paradigm (CCP) 

course 

- 30/40days Office Application Program 

- 3 Months Computer Course 

- Free Computer Awareness Programme for 

the Rural Students 

- CCC of DOEACC and CLP of IGNOU 


- BPL Survey 

- Land Records (Jamabandis) 

- Government form issue; Balika Samridhi 

Yojana forms, Birth and Death form, PRC 

form etc. 

- Various government beneficiaries scheme 

forms 

- Helping the DRDA in computerizing the data 

of Below Poverty Line Index 

- Mobilizing grievances to different nodal centres. 


- E-mail/Internet 




- CD Writing 

- Public Awareness Programme for 

- 

popularizing the CIC Project 

Free online newspaper reading for 15 min. 

daily (From 12 noon- 12.15pm) in some 

CICs 


- Printing documents 

- ASHA Agribusiness Portal 

- Visual Entertainment, TV broadcast showing 

programmes like 'Krishi Darshan' 

- Instant messenging (chatting) with district 

government officials like DC's PA, Minister's 

PA, DIC, DRDA etc. on official matters 

- Employment Notice 

- Despatching of various official reports and 

mails 

- Railway Information System 

- Video conferencing (with webcam) 

- Railway Reservation 

- Air Reservation 

- Weather Information 

- Tender Notification 

- Collection of various types of Degree & 

Master Degree Level Class Notes through 

Internet 

- Information on employment opportunities 

- Weather report 

- Preparation of Database for Schools, Self 

Help group, Medical, N.G.O, Child 

- 

development project etc. 

Newspapers online 

Students at CIC Naduar in Sonitpur district for a training session. 


62 





- Various schemes under Industry Department 

in Assam (http://assamgovt.org) 

- Various Schools & Colleges in India, 

(http://indiaeducation.info/usefulresources) 

- Online Agricultural Market in India, 

- 

(http://agmarknet.nic.in) 

DRDA in Assam, (http://ruralsoft.assam.nic.in) 

- Online Case status for Guwahati High Court, 

(http://ghconline.nic.in) 

- Online Reservation status of Indian Railway, 

(http://www.indianrail.gov.in) 

- Rural and Environmental Information, Medical 

Information, 

- Job Opportunities (Information & applications) 

- Information on tea research, agricultural 

activities etc. 

- Dissemination of information on plan 

initiatives 

- National programs disaster management 

system, public health awareness etc. 

5. IT Support 

- Keeping & maintaining databases of Block 

offices, Schools & other Organizations 

- Printing work of BDO and private parties. 

(DMP) 

- Preparing & printing documents for the 

various government departments 

- Computerization of Various Block Level data 

- Computerization of DRDA Data, Compilation 

- Students Database Management System 

- Web Page Design 

- Market Access and e-commerce 

- Video conferencing 

- Photo collection of various activities of 

Dhakuakhana Sub Division 

10.3 STATUS OF CICs IN MANIPUR 

Community Information Centres came up in Manipur 

as part of the pilot project in two Blocks, i.e. Imphal 

East I and Imphal East II in the year 2000. With the 

successful completion and operation of pilot project, 

popularity as well as the demand of the CICs also 

increased. This encouraged to GOI to establish CICs 

in the rest of the blocks immediately. Thus 31 more 

CICs came up in Manipur in year 2002. Altogether 

there are 33 CICs in Manipur. 

Some remarkable observations during the operation 

of the CICs are as follows: 

(a) It is obvious that there's increased people's 

awareness on the importance of CICs among 

the masses from the fact that during one of 

the student agitations, CIC office at Keirao 

was spared from burning. They burnt down 

the SDO's office at Keirao but they did not 

touch the CIC office, which is just 30 ft away 

from the SDO office. 

(b) During the general strike by students all the 

offices were closed at Jiribam, except CIC. 


1. Training 

- Basic Computer Awareness courses 


- Introduction to future plans of IGNOU 


- BPL survey support 

- Birth, death registration 

- Certificate issuance 




- Railway Ticket Confirmation 

- Job Information 

- E-post 

- CIC Bazaar 

- Computer access to employees of NHPC 

and CRPF in particular. 

- Help to farmers in fixing prices of produce 

- Articles submitted by correspondents in 

Imphal East II to local newspaper 

- Guidelines and maps for tourists going to 

Myanmar through Indo Burma road 

- CISF online form submission 

- Instant weather forecasting for farmers from 

sites like www.imd.ernet.in 

- Visual Entertainment like TV broadcast of 

Cricket World Cup 2003 


- Advertising of important, informative and 

useful website addresses, especially for 

students. 

- District Level School-wise Pass & Fail results 

of HSLC Exam 

- Maintaining a Notice Board where the latest 

news/weather forecasts (extracted through 

internet) are posted 

4. IT Support 

- Data update for Treasury Department 

10.4 STATUS OF CICs IN MEGHALAYA 

Meghalaya is one of the most beautiful states in 

the country because of its salubrious climate and 

natural beauty. A large English-speaking workforce 

makes it one of the most viable states for ITrelated 

activities. The setting up of Community 

Information Centres (CICs) in 32 blocks of the 

state has come as a boon for the rural populace. 

Internet access had not reached villages of the 

state because of the poor communication 

infrastructure in the state. The rural people, 

especially the youth and students thronged the 

CICs to access email and internet facilities, avail 

the computer training facilities conducted by the 

CIC personnel and also other information available 

on the Internet. 

In Meghalaya, there are a total of 32 CICs. The 

CICs (except the ones at Mairang and Amlarem 

which are located in the office of SDO (Civil)) are 

housed in the Block Development Office. The 

Block Development Officer is the custodian of the 

CIC and facilitates the activities of CICs and 

plays an important role in implementation of various 

central and state government schemes. 


1. Training 

- Computer Awareness Programmes 


- Sensitization programme on computers to 

local Headmen of villages under the Block 

- Lectures organized by NIC Delhi 

- Helping IGNOU students doing courses such 

as BCA, Certificate in Computer etc. 




CIC Dalu, Meghalaya participating in Development Mela 


- Information on C&RD, Developmental schemes 

- Information on different agricultural, 

- 

horticultural, veterinary schemes 

Information on Central Sector schemes like 

SGRY (EAS, JGSY), IAY, NSAP (NOAPS, 

NFBS), MPLAD, MLA Scheme, CD Scheme 

etc. implemented by the BDO. 



- Information about the diseases and medicines 

to the Doctors from the nearby CHC 

- Participation in exhibition like Development 

Mela to increase awareness about the CIC 

- CD writing. 

4. IT Support 

- Support to the district administration 

- Computer related support to the BDO 

- Computerization of Schemes (BPL, Payroll, 

Ruralsoft,etc) 

- Office work of the Block and the office of 

the Mairang Civil Sub-Divisions 

10.5 STATUS OF CICs IN MIZORAM 

The CIC project has proved to be a valuable 

asset for the development of Mizoram. Information 

Technology is the world's fastest growing economic 

activity. It is transforming resource-based 

economies to knowledge-based economies. With 

the help of CICs, the Government of Mizoram is 

aiming to be the most IT literate state in the 

country. It endeavours to become a global center 


64 




of excellence in IT education, training, and 

development. These will translate into wealth, 

employment generation, and economic growth. In 

total there are 26 CICs in Mizoram. 


1. Training 

- Training on computer fundamentals for local 

masses, student community etc. 

- Introduction to Designing Webpages with 

Microsoft Front Page 

- CLP of IGNOU 

- Computer Awareness Programmes 


- Designed a website for Kolasib containing 

plethora of information on geology, economy, 

the people, educational interests, tourists etc 

- Publication of beneficiaries of DRDA Schemes. 

- Information on schemes like SGRY, IAY, 

PMGY, EAS SGSY 



- Hosted a small Mizo Magazine Website 

- MUP (Mizo Upa Pawl an NGO for elderly 

persons, aged 50 and above) invited and 

shown how a computer works 

- Email, Internet browsing, chat etc 

- Information dissemination such as 

- 

examination results, Bank recruitment results, 

scholarship details, daily news papers etc 

CD writing 

- HSLC, National Open School and CBSE 

Results 

- IGNOU programme through DD and other 

related broadcasts are shown to villagers, 

students 

- Extended computer practical support to local 

students, dissemination of news items to 

local press media for local dailies, 

publications etc. 

- BDO uses the available TV 

4. IT Support 

- Maintenance of different types of work in 

DC's Office. 

- Computerization of office Data: Various data 

such as lists of BPL, IAY, PMGY, SGRY etc. 

10.6 STATUS OF CICs IN NAGALAND 

Situated in the farthest corner of North-East India, 

Nagaland is considered to be one of the most 

remote states of the country. The State of 

Nagaland lies between 25°60' and 27°40' latitude 

North of Equator and between the longitudinal 

lines of 93°20' E and 95°15' E having an area of 

an odd 16579 sq.km. It is bound by Myanmar in 

the East, Assam in the West, Arunachal Pradesh 

and part of Assam in the North with Manipur in 

the South. The topography is very severe, it is 

full of hilly ranges, which break into a wide chaos 

of spurs and ridges. The altitude varies between 

194 metres and 3048 metres. Most of the thousand 

odd villages stand 1 to 2000 metres high, as it is 

very typical of the Nagas to build their houses on 

the hilltops and at higher elevations. 

The inaccessibility of its interiors makes any effort 

at development difficult to achieve, and the people 

of Nagaland have been long deprived of the 

facilities of modern technology. 

There are altogether 52 CICs in Nagaland including 

two CIC Pilot Centres namely, CIC Kohima and 

CIC Jakhama. The remaining 50 CICs spread all 

over the state were setup under the second phase. 


1. Training 

- Basic computer awareness course 

Time duration: 2 hours for 15 days 

Course offered on MS Office and Internet 

Fees: 

1) Students and Church workers - Rs.70 

2) Government servants & other - Rs.100 

- Basic Courses with Courseware presently 

designed by the local CIC 


- Certificate and Diploma courses stretching 

up to six months or more 

- Free and compulsory training to all the 

Chairmen and VDB Secretaries of the block 



- Information on various Schemes like EAS, 

SJRY etc through VDBs in each RD Block, 

implemented by the RD department to 

improve the living condition of the villagers. 

- Elections results made available to students 

and general public 


- Free e-mails for press releases 

- Document printing 

- Church leaders, teachers, Government 

servants, students can communicate with 

the outside world through e-mail and chatting 

and video-conferencing. 

- Seminars cum Workshops 

- Providing news 

- Enabling students to see the results of the 

University and Board exams 

- Providing admission notification of other 

Universities 

- Educational / Medical (Teleconsultation) 

programmes through NIC HQ, New Delhi 

through TV. 

- CICs are being used for various activities 

such as newspaper reading, railway 

reservation enquiry, airline enquiry, hospital 

enquiries, games and so on. Many foreign 

visitors use CICs for web related information. 

Training at CIC Kubolong, Mokokchung District, Nagaland 

- People can access any information related 

to education, religious material, agriculture/ 

farming guide from experts as well as from 

universities, organizations etc. 

- Educated unemployed can always rely on 

the services of CICs for seeking job as well 




as for higher studies while remaining in 

their respective home places helping their 

parents. One can get job information from 

various job portals of India and abroad 

through portals like Naukri.com, 

- 

Jobsahead.com, timesjob.com etc. 

Any news, information on current events etc 

from the national and international 

- 

newspapers and magazines can be accessed 

freely through Internet. Daily NAGA News 

of State DIPR published through the state 

website and launched by NIC is being 

accessed by the public. 

Urgent messages can be communicated to 

the concerned Government offices / NGOs. 

10.7 STATUS OF CICs IN SIKKIM 

Out of 40 CIC sites allotted to Sikkim, two of the 

centers were covered under a pilot project 

implemented during 2000 at Gangtok and Namchi 

of Sikkim. Hon'ble Chief Minister, of Sikkim on 6 

September, 2000 inaugurated the pilot project. 

The Hon'ble Ministers/ Deputy Commissioners/ 

Block Development Officers inaugurated many CICs 

in Sikkim. With the establishment of CICs in NE 

States, these states have become the first to 

have the latest IT infrastructure at block level. In 

total there are 40 CICs in Sikkim. 

ROLES OF VARIOUS AGENCIES: 

The process of setting up of a large number of 

CICs in a very short time in remotely located blocks 

in Sikkim was a tough task and various agencies 

were assigned different roles to play. The State 

Governments also set up District and Block-level 

Committees to co-ordinate CIC operations. 


1. Training 

- Basic Computer Awareness Programmes 


- Useful software tools like Windows and MS 

Office. Courseware is presently designed 

by the local CIC. 

- Childrens’ courses 

- 36 hours computer course 

- Sunday Special training for Panchayats 


66 




- Imparting Computer awareness by going to 

schools, villages and inviting them to CICs 

for demonstrating the technology and 

imparting practical knowledge. 


- "Janta mela" organised by the ruling 

Government for the general public to make 

them acquainted with the new technologies 

on farming and to make the public aware 

of issues that are important for them. 

- Government gazettes, Government service 

rules, Government TA rules 

- BPL survey, Panchayat elections etc. 

- Project reports prepared, Meetings conducted 

among panchayats of the surrounding areas 



- Quiz competitions 

- Night training for Government employees 

- Information on the prevailing prices of 

agricultural commodities in various markets 

- Latest issue of the Sikkim Herald, the weekly 

newspaper published by the Government of 

Sikkim available at the CIC with information 

on tenders, employment news etc 

- CBSE/ICSE results 

- Prevailing price of agricultural commodities 

in the Gangtok and Siliguri market 

- Health care Information 

- Status of Railway reservation 

- Sell and buy products by advertising on the net 

- Various activities such as newspaper 

reading, Railway enquiry and reservation, 

Airline enquiry and reservation, hospital 

enquiries, games, e-entertainment and so 

on. Many foreign visitors also come to CICs 

for getting web related information. 

4. IT Support 

- Giving support to Block Administration for 

staff training and record computerization. 

5. Downloadable Forms 

- From official state website of the govt. of 

Sikkim, www.sikkimgovt.org 

- For registration of Fair Price shops 

- For small family schemes, for Employment 

Card 

- For Medical certificate for the Deaf/Blind 

- For Scholarships for the Physically 

- 

Handicapped 

For ration cards 

CIC building at Samdong (East Sikkim District) 

- For Medical certificate in respect of an 

orthopaedically handicapped 

- For annual progress report of the physically 

handicapped 

- For grant of subsistence allowance for 

disabled persons 

- For Application for leave or extension of 

leave (for Government employees only) 

- For Widow remarriage form 

- Application forms for registration of Fair 

Price shops, application forms for small 

family schemes, application form for 

Employment Card, scholarships for the 

physically handicapped, application forms for 

ration cards, various forms for Government 

Employees. 

10.8 STATUS OF CICs IN TRIPURA 

Tripura is bound on the North, West, South and 

South-East by Bangladesh whereas in the East it 

has a common boundary with Assam and Mizoram. 

Administratively it is divided into 4 Districts, 15 

Subdivisions, 40 Rural Development Blocks, 31 

Revenue Circles, 183 Tehsils, 874 Revenue 


Moujas, 962 Gram Panchayats, 3 Zila Parishads, 

18 Notified Areas and 1 Municipal Council. In 

Tripura, 29 CICs have been established and are 

functional since August 2002. 

NIC-Tripura State centre has played a crucial role 

in motivating the State Government to make use of 

the latest state-of-art IT tools in their day-to-day 

activities by acting as a total IT solutions provider. 


1. Training 

- Computer Fundamentals course 

- Training program on “Basic Computer 

Awareness”. Students, teachers, government 

officials, businessmen, elected 

- 

representatives of 3-tier Panchayati raj 

institutes, and para-military personnel are 

main beneficiaries. 

Computer Literacy Program (CLP) of IGNOU 

and CCC of DoEACC in all CICs of Tripura 

shortly. 


- Information on different centrally sponsored 

schemes like SGRY, SGSY, Total Sanitation 

Campaign, and Indira Awas Yojana, Sector 

Reform project for Drinking water provision. 

- Developing CIC Web site for Karbook RD 

Block 

- Health Booking Information System 

Rural patients are now getting facility of 

advance booking for different healthcare 

services being provided by the Government. 

Hospitals in Agartala (http://tripura.nic.in). 

- Participated in the Election Result Data 

transmission process to DD during the State 

Assembly Election 2003. 

- Election Result data transmission process 

to DD during the General Election 2004 

- Government Services Status 

Simply pressing a button from CICs, citizens 

receive status of their petitions / cases 

relating to Land Acquisition and Awarding, 

Revenue Case, Group insurance, Character 

Antecedence /Verification report, Extremist 

Violence Relief Case, Passport etc. 




- Gramoday 

It is a tool to help peoples’ participation at 

grass root level to plan developmental work 

based on local resources. A huge web 

enabled database application (in local 

language) has been implemented at Gram 

Panchayat level on different types of 

resources for decision support. Elected 

representatives of 3-tier Panchayati Raj 

Institutes and administration at different levels 

are main beneficiaries. 


- E-mail/ Internet 

- NGOs come to CIC to know more about 

NGO's scope and activities 

- Security Personnel from the T.S.R (3rd Bn) 

and other para military forces also visit CICs. 

- Officials like SDPO, SDM, DM ADM, MLA 

and District level officers, Sub-Division level 

officers are frequent visitors as well. 

- Local people participate in share market 

through ICICI and regularly purchase shares 

of different companies 


- Created 3 Multimedia Presentations on Total 

Sanitation Campaign and Rural 

- 

Development, Compilation of Block level 

Master Plan 

Websites of Financial Institutions 

- Information on Seat availability of Indian 

Airlines and Railways 

- Tender Notices 

- Job Advertisements 

Directorate of Employment Exchange, 

Government of Tripura offers guided and 

relevant information to unemployed youth 

through a portal 

Future Plans: 

- Determined to achieve 100% IT awareness 

in the schools of the Block area 

- IGNOU affiliated Computer Literacy 

- 

Programme to be implemented 

Access to the Health Booking Information 

System introduced by the State Government 

and Websites of Hospitals outside the state 


68 




Visitors at Kadamtala R.D. Block in North Tripura District. 


- Newspapers online (local and national dailies) 

- Farmers’ Tips 

- 

Tips for seasonal crops, diseases and 

market prices are made available by the 

Agriculture Department to farmers through 

CICs. Information is being made available 

in local language for the benefits of rural 

farmers 

Educational Information: 

Education Department offers guided 

information related to different courses, fees 

and admission procedure etc. through a 

portal to rural students 

5. IT Support 

- CICs are providing Informatics support to 

the BDOs in computerizing their different 

activities 

6. Downloadable Forms 

- Application Forms (Job, Stipend & Tender). � 





FUTURE PLANS 


CHAPTER – 11 

FUTURE PLANS 

Presently, CICs are mostly used by the educated 

segment of the North-East viz., students, teachers, 

businessmen, officials etc. The utilization by the 

common rural masses is yet to pick up. And the 

fact is well understood that the CICs objectives of 

putting the North-East on the IT map of the world 

would not be fulfilled unless the benefits of the 

CICs percolate to the masses. 

The masses can be drawn into the fold once 

CICs are in a position to offer them what they 

need. Government to Citizens (G2C) services will 

be the ideal route. As of now, people have to visit 

the District Collector's office situated remotely to 

avail of several free government services. (See 

Table below). 

The Community Information Centres will be used 

as e-entertainment centres in the future, beaming 

crowd pullers like TV programmes, local news 

etc. To make the most out of this, efforts will be 

made for providing connectivity to schools, 

hospitals and post offices in major areas. The 

G2C Services - Sky Is The Limit 

S No. Delivery Header Delivery Details 

1 Computerisation ● Citizen Database 




network will be used to implement e-commerce 

applications and promote rural artisans, and a 

land records application to help land registration 

is currently underway. Training content will be 

enhanced. 

By common consensus, it is agreed that a publicity 

programme promoting CIC is the need of the 

hour wherein facilities on offer will be made known 

to a wider audience. Once the target audience is 

aware of the services available for them they will 

utilize them for their own benefit. Customized 

computer awareness programmes for Gram 

Panchayat and villages are in the priority list and 

plans are being made to ensure that they are 

provided efficiently. 

The North East is tribal-rich with more than 20 

major tribes and approximately 100 sub-tribes in 

Arunachal Pradesh alone. CICs will be able to 

create a perfect platform for them to interact on a 

regular basis besides buiding a Digital warehouse 

archiving their unique culture, customs, art & crafts, 

music and dances and valuable information on 

local medicines. 

● Pay Roll Creation for Elementary Schools 

● BPL Census 

● High Court Bench Cause List & Magistrate Court 

● Employment Exchange 

● Land Records 

● DRDA (Rural Soft) 

● Electoral Rolls (Assembly, Panchayat Elections) 

● Database on Roads, Bridges, Healthcare Centres etc. 

2 Certificate Service ● Registration of Birth & Death 

● Issue of SC/ST Certificate 

● Issue of Record of Right (RoR)/ Patta of land for landholders 

● Electronic Submission of Application Forms for various Certificates 

issued by District Administration 

● Issue of Succession Certificate 

● Issue of Marriage Certificate 

● Issue of Inner Line Permits 


72 




Sl. No. Delivery Header Delivery Details 

3 Licensing ● Issue of Motor Vehicle License 

● Issue of Gun License 

4 Info-sharing/Display ● Details of beneficiary-oriented Government Schemes with 

Downloadable Forms 

● Allotment & Lifting of Public Distribution Items by Fair Price 

Shops 

● Market Price of Agricultural Commodities produced by farmers 

● National Old Age Pension Scheme & National Family Benefit 

Scheme 

5 Online Programme ● At Block level after proper empowerment of Panchayati Raj 

Monitoring Institutions 

● DRDA Schemes 

6 Schedules ● Visit of Doctors, Auxillary Midwife Nurses, Agricultural Extension 

Officers, Village Level Extension Workers, Veterinary Doctors at 

Local Primary Health Centres/Sub Centres/Dispensaries 

● Distribution dates & centres of fertilizer & pesticides to farmers 

● Vaccination Camp Dates & Centres 

● Visit Dates & Centres of Land Record Officials 

Providing news in local language is another service 

that is being explored. The idea is to create such 

a news capsule with text, audio and video 

elements and provide them to CICs. In the 

beginning, the daily AIR news bulletin can be 

digitized and kept on CIC website for access by 

local population. Studio-based discussions with 

experts drawn from agriculture, health, forestry 

etc with video conferencing facility can be 

generated and broadcast to CICs at regular 

intervals. Wherever there is no telecommunication 

infrastructure, internet telephony can be 

implemented. 

Some CICs are already providing some of these G2C 

services. All these and similar services can be 

provided in a web-enabled manner and the 

effectiveness of these services will be improved 

because these services will be in regional languages. 

Other future prospects include the provision of 

connectivity to Schools, Hospitals and Post Offices in 

major habitats. 

With a clear vision and the determination to make 

a change where it matters the most, the CICs will 

be successful in achieving their set targets. � 





ANNEXURES 





Annexure I 

List of CICs in the 

North East 





I. ARUNACHAL PRADESH 

Sl. No. DISTRICT CIC 

1. Changlang Bordumsa-Diyum 

Changlang 

Khagam 

Nampong-Manmao 

2. Dibang Valley Anini 

Hunli-Kronli 

Roing 

3. East Kameng Bameng 

Chayang-Tajo 

Pakke Kessang 

Seppa 

4. East Siang Ramle Bango 

Mebo 

Pangin 

Pasighat 

5. Kurung Kumey Chambang 

Damin 

Koloriang 

Nyapin 

Palin 

Tali 

6. Lohit Hawai 

Hayuliang 

Namsai 

Tezu 

Wakro 

7. Lower Subansiri Raga 

Ziro-I 

Ziro-II 

8. Papum pare Segalee 

Yupia 

9. Tawang Lumla 

Tawang 

Thingbu Mukto 

10. Tirap Namsang 

Niausa 

Pongchau-Wakka 

11. Upper Siang Jengging 

Mariyang 

Tuting 

Yingkiong 

12. Upper Subansiri Daporijo 

Total number of CICs - 56 


78 





Upper Subansiri Dumporijo 

Giba 

Nacho-Siyum 

Taliha 

13. West Kameng Dirang 

Kalaktang 

Nafra Buragaon 

14. West Siang Along 

Basar 

Gensi 

Kaying-Payum 

Liromoba 

Mechuka 

Rumgong 

II. ASSAM 


1. Barpeta Bajali 

Barpeta 

Bhabanipur 

Chakchaka 

Changa 

Gobardhana 

Gomaphulbari 

Jalah 

Mondia 

Pakabatbari 

Rupshi 

Sarukhetri 

2. Bongaigaon Boitamari 

Borobazar 

Dangtol 

Manikpur 

Srijan Gram 

Tapatari 

3. Cachar Barjelenga 

Baskandi 

Binkandi 

Borkhola 

Kaatigorah 

Kalain 


Lakhipur 






Cachar Narsingpur 

Palangghat 

Rajabajar 

Salchapra 

Silchar 

Sonai 

Tapang 

Udharbond 

4. Darrang Bachimari 

Bhargaon 

Dalgaon Silmari 

Kalaigaon 

Khairabari 

Majbat 

Pachim Mangaldai 

Pub Mongaldoi 

Rowta Chariali 

Sipajhar 

Udalguri 

5. Dhemaji Dhemaji 

Gogamukh 

Machkhowa 

Murkak Chellak 

Sisiborgaon 

6. Dhubri Agomoni 

Bilashipara 

Birsing jarua 

Chapar Salkocha 

Debatoli 

Fekamari 

Gauripur 

Golokganj 

Jamadarhat 

Mahamaya 

Mancachar 

Nayar Alga 

Rupshi 

South Salmara 

7. Dibrugarh Barbaruah 

Joyapur 

Khowang 

Lahowal 

Panitola 

Tangakhat 

Tingkhong 

8. Goalpara Balijana 


80 





Goalpara Joleswar 

Kharmouza 

Kochdhowa 

Krishnai 

Lakhipur 

Matia 

Rongjuli 

9. Golaghat Gamariguri 

Golagaht Central 

Golaghat North 

Golaghat East 

Golaghat South 

Golaghat West 

Kokodonga 

Morongi 

10. Hailakandi Algapur 

Hailakandi 

Katlicherra 

Lala 

South Hailakandi 

11. Jorhat Jorhat Baghchung 

Jorhat Central 

Jorhat East 

Kaliapani 

Majuli 

North West Jorhat 

Titabor 

Ujani Majuli 

12. Kamrup Bezera 

Bihdia Jajikona 

Boko 

Bongaon 

Chamaria 

Chandrapur 

Chayani Borduar 

Chaygaon 

Dimoria 

Goraimari 

Goreswar 

Hajo 

Kamalpur 

Rampur 

Rangia 

Rani 

Soalkuchi 

13. Karbi Anglong Amri 






Karbi Anglong Bokajan 

Chingthong 

Howraghat 

Longsomepi 

Lumbajong 

Nilip 

Rongkheng 

Rongmongway 

Samelongso 

Sochey 

14. Karimganj Badarpur 

Durlacvherra 

Lowaiirpowa 

North Karimganj 

Patharkandi 

Ram Krishnanagar 

South Karimganj 

15. Kokrajhar Dotoma 

Gossaigaon 

Hatidhura 

Kachugaon 

Kokrajhor 

Siddli Chirring 

16. Lakhimpur Baginodi 

Bihpuria 

Dakhuakhana 

Ghilamara 

Karunabari 

Lakhimpur Block 

Narayanapur 

Nauboicha 

Telahi 

17. Marigaon Bhurbandha 

Kapili 

Laharighat 

Mayang 

Moirabari 

18. N.C.Hills Diyang valley 

Diyangmukh 

Harangajaw 

Mahur 

New sangbar 

19. Nagaon Barhampur 

Batadrava 

Baziagaon 

Binakandi 


82 





Nagaon Dhalpukhuri 

Dolonghat 

Jugijan 

Juria 

Kaliabor 

Kathiatoli 

Khagorijan 

Lowkhowa 

Lumding 

Pachim Kaliabor 

Pakhimoria 

Raha 

Rupahi 

Udali 

20. Nalbari Barama 

Barkhetri 

Baska 

Borbhag 

Borigog Bonbhag 

Dhamdhama 

Madhapur 

Nagrijuli 

Pachim Nalbari 

Pub Nalbari 

Tamulpur 

Tihu 

21. Sibsagar Amguri 

Demow 

Gaurisagar 

Lokowa 

Nazira 

Sapakhati 

Sibsagar 

Sonari 

West Abhayap 

22. Sonitpur Bagamara 

Balipura 

Bihaguri 

Bihali 

Biswanath 

Borachala 

Chaayaduar 

Dhekiajuli 

Gabharu 

Naduar 

Pub Chayduar 

Ranga para 

Sakumatha 






Sonitpur Sootia 

23. Tinsukia Guijan 

Hapjan 

Itakhuli 

Kakapathar 

Margherita 

Sadiya 

Saikhowa 

III. MANIPUR 



1. Bishnupur Bishnupur 

Moirang 

2. Chandel Chandel 

Machi 

Tengnoupal 

3. Churachandpur Churachandpur 

Henglep 

Shamulamlan 

Singhat 

4. Imphal East District Imphal East District HQ 

Imphal East-1 

Imphal East-2 

Jiribam 

5. Imphal West District Imphal West District HQ 

Imphal West-1 

Imphal West-2 

6. Senapati Kangpokpi 

Mao-Maram 

Paomata 

Purul 

Saikul 

Senapati Block 

7. Tamenglong Nungba 

Tamei 

Tamenglong 

Tousem 

8. Thoubal Kakching 

Thoubal 

9. Ukhrul Chingai 

Kamjong 

Kasom-khullen 


84 





Ukhrul Phungyar 

Ukhrul Block 

IV. MEGHALAYA 


1. East Garo Hills Dambo-Rongjeng 

Resubelpara 

Samanda 

Songsak 

2. East Khasi Hills Mawkynrew 

Mawphlang 

Mawryngkneng 

Mawsynram 

Mylliem 

Pynursla 

Shella-Bholagang 

3. Jaintia Hills Amlarem 

khliehriat 

Laskein 

Thadlaskein 

4. Ri Bhoi District Umling 

Umsning 

5. South Garo Hills Baghmara 

Chokpot 

Ronggara 

6. West Garo Hills Betasing 

Dadenggiri 

Dalu 

Rongram 

Selsella 

Tikrikilla 

Zikzak 

7. West Khasi Hills Mairang 

Mawkyrwat 

Mawshynrut 

Nongstoin 

Ranikor 





V. MIZORAM 



1. Aizawal Aibawk 

Darlawn 

East Lungdar 

Khawbung 

Khawzawl 

Phullen 

Serchhip 

Thingsul 

Tlangnuam 

2. Champai Champai 

Ngopa 

Lawngtlai 

Tuipang 

3. Kolasib Kolasib 

Thingdawl 

Chawngte 

Sangau 

4. Lunglei Hnahthial 

Lunglei 

Lungsen 

5. Mamit Bunghmun 

Mamit 

Reiek 

West Phaileng 

Zawlnuam 

6. Saiha Saiha 

VI. NAGALAND 


1. Dimapur Dhansiripar 

Kuhuboto 

Medziphema 

Nuiland 

Chiephobozou 

Jakhama 

Jalukie 

Kohima 

Peren 

Tenning 

Tseminyu 




86 





2. Mokokchung Changtongya 

Kobulong 

Longchem 

Mangkolemba 

Ongpangkong 

Ongpangkong(N) 

3. Mon Chen 

Mon 

Phomching 

Tizit 

Tobu 

Wakching 

4. Phek Kikruma 

Meluri 

Pfutsero 

Phek 

Sekruzu 

5. Tuensang Chare 

Chessore 

Kiphrie 

Longkhim 

Longleng 

Noklak 

Noksen 

Pungru 

Samator 

Sitimi 

Tamlu 

Thonoknyu 

Tuensang 

6. Wokha Bhandari 

Chukintong 

Sanis 

Wokha 

Wozhuro-ralan 

7. Zunheboto Akuluto 

Ghathashi 

Sataka 

Suruhoto 

Tokiye 

Zunheboto 




VII. SIKKIM 



1. East Disrict Assam Lingzey 

Duga 

Gangtok 

Pacheykhani 

Pakyong 

Penlong 

Rhenock 

Rongli 

Rumtek 

Samdong 

Sang 

Sichey Busty 

2. North District Chungthang 

Hee Gyathang 

Kabi 

Lachen 

Lachung 

Mangan 

Phodong 

Tingbong 

3. South District Chakung 

Damthang 

Jorthang 

Namchi 

Namthang 

Ravongla 

Sumbuk 

Temi 

Wak 

Yangang 

4. West District Daramdin 

Dentam 

Gyalshing 

Ilee Yangthang 

Kaluk 

Mangalbarey 

Okhray 

Soreng 

Tashiding 

Yuksum 



88 




VIII. TRIPURA 



1. Dhalai Ambassa 

Chawmanu 

Dumburnagar 

Manu 

Salema 

2. North Tripura Dasda 

Jampui Hills 

Kadamtala 

Kumarghat 

Pacharthal 

Panisagar 

3. South Tripura Amarpur 

Bagafa 

Karbaok 

Killa 

Matabari 

Rajnagar 

Rupaichari 

Satchand 

4. West Tripura Bishalgarh 

Dukli 

Jampuijala 

Jirania 

Khowai 

Mandai 

Melagarh 

Mohanpur 

Teliamura 

Tulashikhar 






Annexure II 

CICs offering DOEACC 

Courses 






1. Changlang Changlang 

Khagam 

2. East Kameng Chayangtajo 

3. Lohit Tezu 

Wakro 

4. Lower Subansiri Ziro-1 

5. Papum pare Yupia 

6. Tawang Tawang 

7. Tirap Khonsa 

8. West Kameng Kalaktang 

Nafraburagaon 

II. ASSAM 



1. Barpeta Bhabanipur 

2. Bongaigaon Borobazar 

Dangtol 

Tapatari 

3. Cachar Barjelenga 

Binakandi 

Kaatigorah 

Lakhipur 

Narsingpur 

Palangghat 

Rajabajar 

Salchapra 

Silchar 

Tapang 

Udharbond 

4. Darrang Khairabari 

Pachimangaldai 

5. Dhubri Bilashipara 

Jamadarhat 

Nayar Alga 

6. Dibrugarh Barbaruah 

Joyapur 

Panitola 

Lahowal 

Tangakhat 

7. Golaghat Golaghat East 


92 





Golaghat Golaghat North 

Golaghat South 

8. Hailakandi Algapur 

Hailakandi 

Katlicherra 

Lala 

South Hailakandi 

9. Jorhat Jorhat Baghchung 

Jorhat Central 

Jorhat East 

Kaliapani 

Majuli 

North West Jorhat 


Bongaon 

Chandrapur 

Dimoria 

Goreswar 

Hajo 

Kamalpur 

Rangia 

Rani 

11. Karbi Anglong Bokajan 

Chingthong 

Longsomepi 

Lumbajong 

Nilip 

Rongmongway 

12. Karimganj Lowaiirpowa 

North Karimganj 

13. Kokrajhar Dotoma 

Gossaigaon 

Hatidhura 

Kachugaon 

Kokrajhor 

Siddli Chirring 

14. Marigaon Mayang 

Moirabari 

15. Nagaon Batadrava 

Dolonghat 

Jugijan 

Khagorijan 

Pakhimoria 

Raha 

16. N.C.Hills Diyang Mukh 

Diyang valley 






N.C.Hills Mahur 

New Sangbar 

17. Nalbari Borbhag 

Dhamdhama 

Madhapur 

Tamulpur 

Tihu 

18. Sibsagar Sonari 

West Abhayap 

19. Sonitpur Bihaguri 

Bihali 

Biswanath 

Borachala 

Chayaduar 

Dhekiajuli 

Gabharu 

Naduar 

Pub Chayduar 

Ranga Para 

Sakumatha 

Sootia 

III. MANIPUR 


1. Bishnupur Moirang 


3. Churachandpur Henglep 

Shamulamlan 


Jiribam 


Imphal West - 1 

Imphal West - 2 


Mao-Maram 

Paomata 

Purul 


7. Tamenglong Tamenglong 


Thoubal 

9. Ukhrul Kamjong 

Kasom-khullen 

Ukhrul Block 


94 




IV. MEGHALAYA 


1. East Garo Hills Dambo-Rongjeng 

2. East Khasi Hills Mawphlang 

Mawkynrew 

Mawsynram 

3. Jaintia Hills Laskein 

4. Ri Bhoi District Umling 

Umsning 

5. South Garo Hills Ronggara 

6. West Garo Hills Rongram 

Tikrikilla 

7. West Khasi Hills Mairang 

Mawshynrut 

Nongstoin 

Ranikor 

V. TRIPURA 



Chawmanu 

Dumburnagar 

Manu 

Salema 


Kadamtala 

Kumarghat 

Pacharthal 


Karbaok 

Matabari 

Satchand 


Dukli 

Jampuijala 

Jirania 

Khowai 

Mandai 

Melagarh 

Mohanpur 

Teliamura 

Tulashikhar 





Annexure III 

CICs offering IGNOU 

Courses 






1. Papum Pare Segalee 

Yupia 

II. ASSAM 



1. Barpeta Barpeta 

Bhabanipur 

Gobardhana 

2. Bongaigaon Boitamari 

Borobazar 

Dangtol 

3. Cachar Salchapra 

Silchar 

Udharbond 

4. Darrang Pachim Mangaldai 

Sipajhar 

5. Dhemaji Dhemaji 

6. Dhubri Agomoni 

Gauripur 

Golokganj 

7. Dibrugarh Khowang 

Lahowal 

8. Goalpara Kharmouza 

Matia 

9. Golaghat Golaghat Central 

Golghat South 

10. Hailakandi Katlicherra 

11. Jorhat Jorhat Central 

Majuli 

Titabor 


Chandrapur 

Dimoria 

Hajo 

Kamalpur 

Rangia 

Rani 

13. Karbi Anglong Lumbajong 


98 





Karbi Anglong Samelongso 

14. Karimganj North Karimganj 

15. Kokrajhar Gossaigaon 

Kokrajhor 

16. Lakhimpur Karunabari 

Lakhimpur 

Nauboicha 

17. Marigaon Mayang 

18. Nagaon Baziagaon 

Kaliabor 

Khagorijan 

Pachim Kaliabor 

Pakhimoria 

Raha 

Udali 

19. Nalbari Pub Nalbari 

Tihu 

20. N.C. Hills Diyangmukh 

Diyang Valley 

New Sangbar 

21. Sibsagar Nazira 

Sonari 

22. Sonitpur Bagamara 

Biswanath 

Gabharu 

Pub Chayduar 

Ranga Para 

23. Tinsukia Guijan 

Margherita 

III. MANIPUR 


1. Bishnupur Bishnupur 

Moirang 


Machi 

Tengnoupal 

3. Churachandpur Churachandpur 

Henglep 

Shamulamlan 

Singhat 


Imphal East-1 






Imphal East District Imphal East-2 

Jiribam 


Imphal West-1 

Imphal West-2 


Mao-Maram 

Paomata 

Purul 

Saikul 


7. Tamenglong Nungba 

Tamei 

Tamenglong 

Tousem 


Thoubal 

9. Ukhrul Chingai 

Kamjong 

Kasom-khullen 

Phungyar 

Ukhrul Block 

IV. MEGHALAYA 


1. East Khasi Hills Mawphlang 

Mawsynram 

Mylliem 

2. Ri Bhoi District Umsning 

3. South Garo Hills Baghmara 

Ronggara 

4. West Garo Hills Rongram 

Tikrikilla 

V. MIZORAM 


1. Aizawal Aibawk 

Darlawn 


100 





Aizawal East Lungdar 

Khawzawl 

Serchhip 

Thingsul 

Tlangnuam 

2. Kolasib Kolasib 

Thingdawl 

Chawngte 

3. Mamit Reiek 

West Phaileng 

VI. NAGALAND 


1. Dimapur Kuhuboto 

Medziphema 

Jakhama 

Jalukie 

Peren 

2. Kohima Kohima 

3. Mokokchung Ongpangkong 

4. Mon Mon 

6. Phek Pfutsero 

Ongpangkong(N) 

7. Tuensang Tuensang 

8. Wokha Wokha 

9. Zunheboto Zunheboto 

VII. SIKKIM 


1. East Disrict Assam Lingzey 

Tizit 

Duga 

Gangtok 

Pacheykhani 

Pakyong 

Penlong 

Rhenock 






East Disrict Rongli 

Rumtek 

Samdong 

National Informatics Centre 101 

Sang 

Sichey Busty 

2. North District Chungthang 

Hee Gyathang 

Kabi 

Lachen 

Lachung 

Mangan 

Phodong 

Tingbong 

3. South District Chakung 

Damthang 

Jorthang 

Namchi 

Namthang 

Ravongla 

Sumbuk 

Temi 

Wak 

Yangang 

4. West District Daramdin 

VIII. TRIPURA 


Dentam 

Gyalshing 

Ilee Yangthang 

Kaluk 

Mangalbarey 

Okhray 

Soreng 

Tashiding 

Yoksum 


Chawmanu 

Dumburnagar 

Manu

102 





Dhalai Salema 


Jampui Hills 

Kadamtala 

Kumarghat 

Pacharthal 

Panisagar 


Bagafa 

Karbaok 

Killa 

Matabari 

Rajnagar 

Rupaichari 

Satchand 


Dukli 

Jampuijala 

Jirania 

Khowai 

Mandai 

Melagarh 

Mohanpur 

Teliamura 

Tulashikhar 


For more information, please contact: 



Ministry of Communications and Information Technology 

A-Block, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi 110 003 

Tel.: 011-24305757 Fax : 011-24360982 

E:mail : cic@cic.nic.in 

Website: http://www.cic.nic.in, http://www.nic.in

project implementation & management - Community Information ...

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