State Information Technology Policy

GOVERNMENT OF NAGALAND
DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Preamble

In the 21st century and the Information Age, a combination of dramatic sociological, political, economical and technological factors are at play to bring about fundamental and irreversible changes in the entire social system. The scope of these transformations is global. In the times to come, economic power of nations is going to be a function of information technology.

Recent technological advancements like the Internet have digitally broken the geographical, physical, political and even sociological boundaries transforming the world to a ‘Global Village’. Even though all countries shall be competing on a common denominator, its success would be determined by inputs from and to the information technology industry.

Information Technology has emerged as the single most important enabler for improving efficiency and effectiveness of organizations. ‘Electronic Governance’ is the term that is being used as a synonym to describe an IT driven system of governance that works better, costs less and is capable of serving the citizens’ needs. Recognizing the enormous potential of IT, major initiatives are being planned by Government of India and several State Governments.

It is the intention of the Government of Nagaland to consolidate its efforts and to focus its energies to leverage the potential of IT for the benefit of its people. With a view to attain this objective, a comprehensive ‘IT Policy of Nagaland - 2004’ has been prepared. This document also attempts to develop a medium term IT road map of the State.

The Policy shall come into effect from the date of notification.

2. Mission Statement

The Government of Nagaland shall endeavor to develop the State as a preferred IT destination by creating an enabling environment  with appropriate policy intervention and people’s participation.  It shall also endeavour to use IT based technologies to uplift the quality of life of the people of the State particularly in the rural areas.

The Government will also facilitate and support the creation of  sound IT infrastructure and skilled human resource thereby providing the State  a competitive edge in attracting investment in the IT sector to promote an IT led economy  and generate employment opportunities.

The State will promote e-Governance as a tool to deliver a government that is more proactive, transparent and responsive to its citizens.

  3. Policy Objectives

Nagaland has a sizeable English speaking populace, an equitable and salubrious climate and a vibrant social structure making it ideally suited for IT related industries. This greatly enhances the position of the State as an attractive location for development and growth of the information technology industry and related services.

The IT policy of Nagaland shall have the following objectives:

3.1. The Government to play the role of a facilitator; defining standards; providing infrastructure support; interfacing with related institutions within the country and outside and build regulatory mechanisms.

3.2. Creation and systematic enhancement of IT infrastructure in the State through Public-Private partnerships.

3.3. Development of human resource by widening the reach of IT education in terms of quality and spatial coverage with a view to improving  the employability of youth.

3.4. Encourage e-Commerce to overcome the handicap of remoteness.

3.5. Encourage electronic governance for:

a) Bringing transparency in Government operations through Government-citizen interface.(G2C)

b) Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of Government’s service delivery systems.  

c) Faster dissemination of information.

d) Better financial management.

3.6. Encourage and popularize IT Education.

3.7. Grant industry status to all software industries in the State, including IT enabled Services making them eligible for all concessions and incentives applicable under the State Industrial Policy. For the purpose of this clause, accredited/recognised IT training institutions shall be eligible to claim industry status.

3.8. Ensure fast-track decision on IT related proposals by the concerned departments to be reviewed by the State level Committee headed by the Chief Secretary.

3.10. Periodic review of the implementation of this policy shall be carried out by the State IT Council headed by the Chief Minister.

4. The IT Policy

4.1. Providing tax and other incentives in conformity with the State Industrial Policy and quality infrastructure to position the State as an attractive location for development and growth of information technology industry.

4.2. Creation of a statewide Network with a Central Control Center to spread the reach of IT in the State.

4.3. Creating facilities for Electronic and Video communication in all district head quarters with special emphasis on Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOiP) in all sub divisional  head quarters for effective communication.

4.4. Developing human resource with IT competence with special focus on rural areas.

4.5. Adequate Computer training facilities will be established for all government employees.

4.6. Computer training to be imparted progressively in all educational and vocational institutions.

4.7. Creating a functional IT driven system of governance with vertical and horizontal computerization in all State Government Departments by:

a). Each Department,  as per norm of the Planning Commission spending
2 to 3% of its annual plan budget on procurement of hardware, systems software, establishing IT centres, networking, web technology, development of applications software, training and technical consultancy etc.

b). Creating an IT Task force within each department.

4.8. Networking of all State Government Departments in the capital and  District head quarters by the year 2004-05 and progressive computerization of their functioning.

5. IT in Government

The State will develop an e-Governance Plan that will focus on making Nagaland a SMART (Simple, Manageable, Approachable, Responsive and Transparent) State. In order to achieve this, the following shall be initiated by the Government:

5.1  The Government shall constitute an IT Task Force in each department under the Chairmanship of the Secretary concerned along with the Director/Head of Department as Member Secretary. The IT Task force shall be responsible for the implementation and monitoring of the I.T. policy in the department and will submit quarterly reports to the State Level Committee for IT Applications (SLC) headed by the Chief Secretary.

5.2. Each Department shall prepare a Five-Year IT Plan. This plan will address the degree of computerization of its core activities, requirement for hardware, software, technical manpower and training of employees. Each department shall endeavor to develop and train in-house technical manpower to the extent possible.

5.3. Considering the importance of the Internet as a communication medium, all Government Departments shall create their web sites under the umbrella of the Government of Nagaland’s web site www.nagaland.nic.in. All general circulars, notifications, Annual Administrative Reports, replies to Assembly questions, tender notices, examinations & recruitment notifications, selection results, various application forms   etc. shall be published and updated on the web site regularly.

5.4. Computer training will be compulsory for all government employees and appropriate training facilities will be provided. Basic training of all Govt. employees in use of computers shall be completed by the year 2007. Further, to the extent possible, two or three officials with the required aptitude from each department shall be identified and trained for in-house Systems Administration. The officials shall be sponsored by the respective departments for short-term courses. The Dept of IT shall facilitate all such trainings depending on the need, in collaboration with ATI, NIC, Polytechnics, private institutions within the State and reputed IT training institutes/IT Industries outside the State.

5.5. All departments shall make some basic qualification in computers as a desirable qualification for all  direct recruitment from 1^st April 2005.

 5.6. Linking of all Directorates in the State Capital through high speed data communication facilities to provide Intranet/Internet access and e-mail links and all District Headquarters by video conferencing and all RD Blocks by VOiP  by the year 2005. The Community Information Centres (CICs) and the VSATs in the administrative headquarters will form the backbone of reaching the benefits of IT to the rural masses.

5.7. State-of-the art   GIS solutions in the fields of land record management, watershed and forest management, master plan preparation, revenue collection, registration of documents, tourism facility management,  agricultural input management, hospital and health management, State plan preparation, Power distribution system, Road Transport planning, law and order administration etc. will be procured, developed and applied in the State Government. departments. Assistance and technical expertise from GOI agencies such as NIC, ISRO etc will be solicited  in this regard.

5.8. The activities of Planning and Finance Departments shall be largely computerized and networked with suitable interface between them and other departments.

5.9. Multiple use SMART ID card will be issued to all government employees which will be linked to a Centralized Personnel Information System regulating salaries, pensions etc. including access control wherever necessary. Efforts will be made to introduce bio-metric access control in the State Secretariat and other important buildings.

5.10. All Government departments shall be encouraged to implement at least one citizen-oriented IT enabled service by the year 2005. All such IT enabled services shall be made web-centric so as to enable accessibility on the net.

5.11. The Government shall participate and organize in IT ‘Fairs’ to attract IT investment in the State and demonstrate the capabilities and benefits of IT to the people.

5.12. The Department of Information Technology shall be the nodal agency for computerization in the State. It shall be further strengthened so that it becomes the strategic vehicle to implement the IT policy initiatives envisaged here. The department shall act as a high-end technology consultant and training facilitator. Towards this end the government will consider creating a pool of IT professionals who will be posted in different departments with a common cadre on the lines of Treasury & Accounts Service etc.

5.13. The IT policy aims at putting Nagaland on the IT map of India in the fastest possible manner. In the implementation of this policy and achieving the stated goals,  the State Government will require generous assistance from the  DIT GOI and will heavily depend on technical support from the NIC,  New Delhi and its offices in Nagaland. This policy reaffirms the resolution of the State to be the avant garde of Information technology in improving the quality of life and empowering every citizen of the State.