Centre sets up major IT programmes in NE region

Aizawl, Dec 11: In a bid to improve the standards of Information Technology (IT) in the Northeast, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology has chalked to implement an array of new programms.

The IT Ministry has already setup Community Information Centres (CICs) at 487 blocks in the seven NE states including Sikkim to provide connectivity at the block level and thus promote application of IT for accelerating socio-economic development of the region, the official sources here said today.

The CICs will help in tackling the digital divide by providing internet access and IT enabled services and also to facilitate citizens interface with the government.

With the help of the Centre ERNET India has also set up point to point high speed links in ten universities of NE region including states of Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim. These links help students and faculty of these universities to acccess internet, hosting web servers and access E-Journals, distance learning and Digital library.

Apart from this, ERNET India would be setting up campus wide local area network at Arunachal University.

Government has also provided NICNET infrastructure at all state secretariats and 70 districts of NE and Sikkim. In addition, National Informatics Centre (NIC) has provided video conferencing studio at all NE state secretariats.

The officials stated the Software Technology Parks (STPs) have been setup at Guwahati, Impal and Gangtok to provide datacom services to promote software exports. With the aim to help the weaker section of the people, free reimpbursement assistance to the students belonging to ScheduleCaste (SC) and Schedule Tribes (ST) in the NE region in the accredited institutes for DOEACC 'O' and 'A' level IT cources.

A regional institute of E-learning and IT is being setup by DOEACC at Kohima at a total cost of 20 crore over a period of four years to provide education and training in he area of information, electronics and communication in the non-formal sector.

To provide special health services in the NE states, two district level telemedicine centres are being setup in the states of Mizoram and Sikkim with Apollo Hospital, Delhi. The district hospital at Namchi, Sikkim, and Aizawl Civil hospital has already been connected.

The department had earlier facilitated setting up telemedicine system at Naga hospital at Kohima, which is connected with Inderprastha Apollo hospital, New Delhi, for consultations.

Apart from this, implementation of advanced hospital management systems is underway at Regional Institute of Medical Sciences(RIMS), Imphal, in Manipur.

IT Ministy has so far spent Rs 87.67 crore to implement all these projects in the NE region and another new projects such as e-governance, implementing State Wide Area Network(SWAN), Electronics test and development centre at Guwahati and Agartala, is on the pipeline, the officials added.

UNI