Imbued with a mystic aura and tranquility, Sikkim is a land of enchanting natural beauty that attracts tourists from all over the country and abroad. The State is fast becoming a favourite IT destination as it offers good infrastructure and skilled manpower, besides good law and order situation and a proactive Government. In Sikkim, NIC State Centre was established in 1993, which paved the way for spreading computer awareness among the masses. A separate Department of Information Technology (DIT) was created in the state in the Year 2000 - the first of its kind in the North Eastern Region. Today, ICT has become a buzzword here, with people becoming more aware of the benefits accruing with the use of ICT enabled services. Computer equipments and Internet facilities are extensively available in the state as well as ‘surfing’ and ‘e-Learning’ have entered the lexicon of common usage. ž| Community Information Centres (CICs) Forty CICs that have been established across Sikkim, are taking ICTs and related services to the grassroots. Difficult terrain that posed the biggest challenge to IT penetration, has been overcome and IT has become universally accessible in the state. The CICs are equipped with modern ICT peripherals such as computers, printers and a direct satellite link for accessing Internet. The setup has helped in linking remote inaccessible destinations of this mountainous state where even roads don’t reach. In addition to the establishment of ICT infrastructure, this initiative has been further strengthened with extensive computer training programmes to equip people with the know-how of using and deploying ICT. A wide range of people have attended these training sessions including school students, housewives, farmers, monks and youths. The twenty most remote CICs have also been provided with business communication facilities like Photocopiers, Lamination, Comb Binding and PCO facilities with assistance from the North Eastern Council. In line with the Government’s decision to strengthen the Panchayati Raj System, the day to day running of the CICs has been handed over to local committees headed by the respective Panchayat Presidents. ž| Citizen Centric Websites Apart from the official website of Sikkim, http://www.sikkim.gov.in, a number of other citizen centric websites have also been hosted by the DIT that include websites of Sikkim Legislative Assembly, Agriculture and Horticulture Department, Social Welfare Department, Animal Husbandry Department, Health and Family Welfare Department, Rural Development Department etc. The websites are a major step towards e-governance as they act as an interface between the citizens and the government. ž| MIS and Software Development in the Government • Software Cell: An in-house Software Cell has been set up in the DIT to assist the computerization process of government departments. The Software Cell attends to software problems that are faced by various departments as well as rectifies networking faults and co-ordinate implementation of various software packages. The cell also handles development and maintenance of departmental websites. • Check post: For monitoring movement of goods, livestock, passengers and tourists in Sikkim, the interstate border check-posts at Rangpo and Melli have been computerized and linked through V-SAT. • State Library: A customized inventory software (Library Information System) has been developed for the State Library at Gangtok. • Land Records: Sikkim has already computerized Land Records in all the districts and sub-divisions. Now, computerized certificates relating to land records are issued with assistance from NIC and DIT. ž| Trainings and Courses for IT Enabled Services The DIT, since its inception, has supported NIC’s role of spreading computer awareness among government servants. DIT has encompassed a wide spectrum of courses for Government Departments and local unemployed youth, many of which are career oriented. To facilitate the progress of these courses, two multipurpose training centres have been established - one at Gangtok covering East and North districts and another at Namchi covering South and West Districts. The Department has been conducting training courses for call centres too with an aim that ICT should also generate employment on a regular basis. ž| Total Computer Literacy Campaign The Hon’ble Chief Minister launched the total Computer Literacy Campaign on the 17th of September 2004 with the objective to make Sikkim a completely computer literate State. The special feature of this program is the attempt to make even illiterate people computer literate through icon-based programs. ž| IT For the Physically Challenged The Department is also bringing substantial changes to the lives of the physically challenged. A computer centre for the blind has been established at Namchi with four computers, four Braille printers and one Juliet pro. The Department is also working on the use of IT for the people suffering from cerebral palsy. ž| STPI In order to provide high bandwidth connectivity to investors, a Software Technology Park has also been setup at Gangtok, the capital of the State. In a short span, Sikkim has placed itself prominently on the IT Map of India. Steady backbone, spatial database etc. are the future areas, which shall be the focus of the State. Sikkim is committed to keeping pace with the fast-developing world of ICT. This commitment backed up by the ready availability of required infrastructure and the improved human resources make the state a promising IT investment destination. Sikkim stands proud as the perfect example of complete coherence between the IT Department and NIC; the two have joined hands and shared resources to bring ICT solutions not only to Government Departments, but to the entire population of the State.