Mizoram to become most IT literate state by 2010

Aizawl, Mar 5 (UNI) The Mizoram government has chalked out a comprehensive four-year vision plan to achieve the status of the most Information Technology (IT) literate state in the country by 2010.

The project comes within months of the state reaching the status of being the most literate in the country.

The project aims at promoting IT Industry, IT software, IT Products, and IT Services within the state.

Generation of IT-skilled manpower, IT capacity-building in the state and enabling the youth to engage in gainful self-employment in IT related activities is the objective of the project.

Besides this, the project includes dissemination of knowledge to farmers, agriculturists and rural population of the state and proliferation of internet, e-governance, e-commerce and e-education.

According to the blueprint, the government would constitute a task force with members from various organizations and experts that would conceive and oversee the implementation of the programs envisaged under the new IT policy.

The government would examine the possibility of creating the Department of IT to entrust the works of coordinating IT matters and implementing any IT projects.

The department of IT shall be the nodal agency and till such a time industries department will head the IT related projects.

''Our department has already started taking initiatives for the effective implementation of the government's IT policy in a phased manner,'' Joint director of industries Malsawmdawngliana told UNI.

According to the IT policy decision, the government would make a special budget allocation every year to complete its IT program.

Each department in the state may consider setting aside a budgetary allocation of two per cent for the development of IT in their respective department, he added.

The blueprint further stated that IT literacy would be made compulsory for recruitment to government services.

In case a person has to be recruited without IT literacy, they should cumpulsorily acquire it within one year.

All the existing staff of the government must be asked to attain IT literacy in the next five years, according to the blueprint.

The government would revamp and strengthen the state-owned Zoram Electronics Development Corporation Ltd (ZENICS), which will play the role of facilitator and assist various government departments in selection of appropriate hardware, software, and training programs in accordance with their needs.

Government would also set up State Level Information Technology Co-ordination Committee (SLITCC) under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary, Government of Mizoram.

IT industries in the region would also be exempted from state sales tax for a period of seven years. Various subsidies would be granted to the local IT industry which includes power, investment, infrastructure, lease line connection and manpower development.

The government would be setting up Community Information Center (CIC) at the selected 22 blocks and 5 additional districts. The CIC would have VSAT connectivity along with state-of-the-art computer systems. With the help of this center, the local people will be able to surf the internet and access information from the outside world.

Setting up information kiosks at public places like bus stations, the airport and in every district and block headquarter to enable the common man to interact with the government is also in the pipeline.

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