The NIC District Unit of Lahaul & Spiti District was established in the year 1988 and since then it had been instrumental in providing ICT solutions and services to the District Administration. NIC has always ensured that its officers are posted at this remote district to provide necessary ICT support for the district administration and other departments to facilitate efficient e-Governance.

The Lahaul & Spiti is one of the remotest districts with extreme living conditions. Because of its geographical position, the region remains snowbound and landlocked for about six months (November to May) every year. During this period, the district remains almost cut off from rest of the world. One of the distinctive facts about Lahaul & Spiti is that, though it is the Himachal Pradesh’s largest district, spread over an area of 13,833 Sq. Kms, it has a population of just 31,528 citizens which is lesser than 0.5% of the State’s total population and averaging to a population density of about 2 persons per Sq. km. This is primarily due to the extreme climatic conditions of the region, which makes the living of people difficult and challenging.

The administrative centre of the Lahaul & Spiti district is Keylong, which is located at 115 Kms ahead of Manali in the highway between Manali and Leh. The National Informatics Centre Lahaul & Spiti District Unit, which was established at Keylong in 1988, had been instrumental in providing ICT solutions and technology services to the district administration and other departments. NIC has always ensured that its officers are posted at this remote district to provide continuous ICT support to facilitate efficient e-Governance.

“The District Unit of NIC has always played a pivotal role in channeling the powers of e-Governance to the masses in this remote and hard District. Such initiatives not only streamline the processes but also bring efficiency and transparency in Government functioning. It is pertinent to mention here that when the entire District remains cut off from the rest of the World for 6 to 7 months, the only means of communication available within the valley is through the NIC satellite link. I sincerely appreciate the efforts put in by the NIC District Unit officials.” H.R. CHAUHAN, IAS DEPUTY COMMISSIONER

KEY ICT INITIATIVES

DISTRICT WEBSITE NIC has developed and maintains the official website of the district (http://hplahaulspiti.nic.in) to provide valuable information pertaining to citizen services and e-Governance activities of Lahaul & Spiti. Besides these, the site also has useful information for the tourists and visitors of the district, which includes route maps, details of destinations, accommodation, trekking, adventure tourism activities and important information for tourists from foreign countries.

e-Udaan: e-Udaan is a web based software which is used by district administration especially during the winter season for reservation of helicopter service and management of flight schedules. Helicopter is the only mode of transportation during winter for officials and residents of the district. The components/features of e-Udaan- Application Management System are the following: • Facilitation of application submission for reservation/booking of seats in flight • Generation of challans for the ticket amount • Monitoring and scheduling of flights • Automate the allotment of seats in scheduled flights as per rules • Generation of reports of pending applications, allotted seats and cancelled applications

NICNET AND VIDEO CONFERENCING The NIC District Unit is connected with the State Unit and NIC HQ using a 34 Mbps BSNL link and a 2Mbps VSAT system as back up. The video conferencing services (Point to Point/ Multi Point) are provided to district administration and other departments of district, which keep them connected even during difficult weather conditions.

The Video Conferencing (VC), Internet and Email services provided by NIC addresses the communication challenges, as these are the reliable means of communications during winter. The VC is also beneficial to department by saving time and money.

Following are the various software systems implemented by NIC in the district, which are efficiently supported by NIC District Unit:

FINANCE & ACCOUNTS e-Pension: This software has been implemented in District Treasury for calculation, modification, processing and disbursement of pensions of State Government pensioners.

e-Salary: The software is used to process monthly salary of employees and disburse it directly through banks (ECS) to the employee account.

e-Kosh: e-Kosh is an application software implemented at all the treasuries for budget allocation and online processing of bills.

REVENUE HimBhoomi and Himachal Registration System (HimRIS): HimRIS is operational at all Tehsils and sub-Tehsils. Copies of RoR are being issued to citizens from Sugam centres and Lok Mitra kendras.

Lok Pramaan Patra: This software is used to issue 14 types of Certificates from the Sub Division Office, Tehsils and Sub-Tehsils.

HOME National Database of Arm License (NDAL): This standard software has been implemented in the district to generate Unique Identification Number (UIN) to each arm licence holder.

Immigration, VISA, Foreigners Registration and Tracking System (IVFRT): cFRO, c-Form modules of IVFRT has been implemented at Foreigner Registration Office.

SOCIAL JUSTICE & EMPOWERMENT e-Kalyan: Social security pension to all eligible beneficiaries is prepared through this software and pension is disbursed through postal money orders to all pensioners on a quarterly basis.

ELECTION Electoral Rolls Management System (ERMS): Electoral rolls for Panchayati Raj Institution and Local rural bodies’ elections are prepared through ERMS.

PERSONNEL Manav Sampada (ERMS): Service details of each employee are maintained through this web-based software.

GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL e-Samadhan: This is the online role based system developed for effective monitoring & disposal of grievances in all departments.