Information Technology Policy - 2004

The Information Technology (IT) vision, mission, objectives, plans and strategies of the Government of Meghalaya as enunciated below has been formulated keeping in view the desirability for accelerating the State’s economic development and maximizing the people’s benefits through its widespread application in various spheres.

1. The Vision:

The Government envisages (i) to make Information Technology as a tool for attaining all round development in the State and (ii) to fully participate in the IT revolution to bring prosperity to our people. The goal is creation of wealth, employment generation and IT led economic growth.

2. The Mission:

The Government would (i) use Information Technology based applications to manage development programmes for all round development of the State. (ii) take necessary steps to make the State a favoured destination for IT business, industry, education and services. (iii) apply Information Technology tools and infrastructure to aid the process of good governance and efficient administration.

3. Objectives:

In order to actualize the vision and mission, the Government’s thrust is to make Information Technology the vehicle for productive growth in the State. Productive growth will be classified into three categories (i) IT for all round developmental growth (IT as an aid for Development) (ii) Developmental activities leading to IT related growth (Development of IT Sector) and (iii) Improved performance in governance and administration.

3.1 IT for economic and all round developmental growth: In order to make IT an engine for the growth and economic development in the State, the Government will strive to:

• use IT to effectively manage the implementation of development programmes in the State
• make use of IT to enhance the performance and effectiveness of development programmes in the context of economic development
• facilitate and promote usage of IT to attain economic, productive and developmental growth.

3.2 Development of IT Sector:

3.2.1 Creation of an environment conducive to IT related activities:

The State Government would make an effort to create the right environment and atmosphere conducive for promoting the IT Industry in the State by way of the following :-

• Making Meghalaya a favoured Information Technology industrial destination in the country, attracting investments from within and outside the country.
• Promoting the growth of e-commerce and software exports.
• Facilitate the establishment of IT Enabled Service Centres in the State.
• Use IT to increase the employment potential for the educated youth of Meghalaya.
• Provide special incentives to the entrepreneurs and investors and to remove bottlenecks, problems encountered by them.
• Take steps to create a condu cive environment for development of IT Sector.
• Endeavor to establish basic infrastructure for the development of IT industry in the State through its own resources or with the help of the Government of India, financial institutions and other IT organizations.

3.2.2 Human Resource Development: In order to provide quality manpower for the growth of the IT industry in the state and also for the support of various services:

• The Government will facilitate and play a pro -active role in ensuring professional and quality IT education in the State. In doing so, Government would take steps to ensure that organizations/institutions imparting IT education meet the standards and certifications requirements.
• With the help of the IT industry, Government would encourage setting up of IT institutions of repute in the State.

3.3. IT in governance and administration: Providing good governance and efficient administration in the fast growing and competitive world is a challenge. Information Technology infrastructure and tools would be utilised in overcoming the challenge by :-

• applying IT to the process of attaining good governance through e-Governance and related concepts .
• providing quality and speedy services to the citizens of the State.
• addressing and managing security issues, cyber crimes, formulation of IT related rules & procedures and other matters relating to effective implementation of this policy.
• evolving an effective model for process re -engineering which will guide and drive the future development of e -governance projects and applications.
• Ensuring that a robust e-governance backend is established including establishing an integrated e-government systems.
• Establishing a data hub and a data center for facilitating data exchange between Departments in a structured manner.

3.4. IT for masses:

· Making Information Technology as a tool to play a pivotal role for uplifting the citizens through digital unite and bringing economic prosperity to all sections of people. The Government will use IT to the extent possible, for providing quality services to the citizens in the following areas:

• Basic Citizen Services Interface
• Basic Citizen Utilities Billing Payment Interface
• Basic Business Services Interface
• Government-Government internetworking Interface

The objective is to make SMART (Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive, Transparent) Governance a reality, which will bring transparency, accountability and responsibility through the use of IT and achieve the following benefits:

• Better Government Citizen services facilities.
• Better Government Citizen transactions facilities.
• Better Government Office automation facilities.
• Better Government Communication facilities.

4. Strategy:

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the Government proposes to take up the following measures: -

• Facilitating the creation of basic and related IT infrastructure, a pre-requisite for attracting the private sector to invest in the State.
• Expediting the setting up of a Software Technology/ IT Park in the State and improving the communications network and internet bandwidth.
• Take steps to provide last mile connectivity to the villages of the State to participate and leverage IT revolution.
• Facilitating entry of the private sector in areas like creation of IT infrastructure, creation of bandwidth, setting up of IT Enabled Services, software exports, etc in furtherance of the objectives of this policy subject to rules and regulations in force.
• Forging strategic partnerships with global leaders in specific thrust areas of IT like IT infrastructure, IT education and so on.
• Spreading mass awareness about IT in the State through use of mass media such as internet, radio, television, newspapers, workshops, exhibitions, etc.
• Giving overriding importance to Human Resource Development by investing adequately on quality training and education and by collaborating with reputed educational private sector firms within and outside the country for enhancing the marketability/ employability of the IT manpower of the State.
• Promoting the use of IT in distance education and the growth of virtual classrooms and widening of opportunities for undergoing IT related vocational courses apart from strengthening the existing computer literacy programme in the schools.
• Quickening the pace of bringing about e-Governance which should ultimately lead to SMART (Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive, Transparent) Governance through:-

Encouraging an integrated government system for the purpose of grants management, budget preparation and execution and government accounting in order to enhance efficient use of resources.

Preparation of a plan to make Government services citizen-friendly and capable of being transacted through the internet, including setting up of a mechanism for electronic delivery of citizen services in lines of e-Seva and other applications.

Earmarking of up to 5% of the budget by each Government Department for back office automation, training and capacity building etc.

Introduction of web enabled citizen centric services by government Departments.

Making computer literacy a desirable qualification for recruitments in Government.

Making all the existing staff of the Government computer literate at the earliest, preferably within the next three years.

Encouraging functionaries in the Government to play a pro-active role in the implementation of this policy, through constant upgradation of their IT awareness and skills using IT enabled learning tools.

Creating appropriate forum for regular interaction among the Government, the academia, the industry/ business and other key players in the field of IT promotion and development.

Setting up of an IT Implementation Committee in each Department for drawing up a suitable IT plan for the Department, examining the problems faced during implementation and suggesting remedial action with a view to propagating IT. The IT Implementation Committee will work within specified target implementation and deadlines in order to ensure that actual solutions get implemented in a desirable timeframe.

Designating one senior officer in each Department as a Nodal Officer for I.T. for more effective liaison on all IT related matters with the IT Department.

Encouraging functionaries in the Government to play a pro-active role in the implementation of this policy, through constant upgradation of their IT awareness and skills.

Putting in place mechanism for removal of hurdles and bottlenecks.

5. Incentives & Investment Promotion:

In pursuance of the goals and objectives enunciated in the foregoing paragraphs, th e State Government has decided to offer investors the incentives as specified in the State Government’s Industrial Policy 1997 as amended from time to time or its successor Policy.

Special Incentives for IT enabled Industries: Over and above the benefits provided to the IT industries in terms of the State Industrial Policy, an additional 10% subsidy would be provided to the IT enabled services in respect of power, captive generating set including non conventional energy generating set, State Capital Investment subsidy and subsidy on rented infrastructure.

Priority for Disbursement: The disbursement of the incentives by the implementing agency would be in accordance with the chronological order of approved claims. Priority would, however, be given to 100% export oriented units.

Interpretation: The decisions of the Department of Information Technology, Government of Meghalaya as regards to interpretation of this policy including the incentive schemes shall be final.

Inter-connectivity of International Call Centers / IT Enabled Services:

The Government would permit inter-connectivity between call centers or other units of IT Enabled Services. This includes Load Sharing between the Centers for optimum utilization of expensive resources (International Bandwidth), Interconnecting two facilities through fibre optic cable to help companies to establish customer / expertise specific centers of excellence, International call center, etc.

Single Window Clearance:

To facilitate and expedite the various clearances and Government approvals required by entrepreneurs, as also to promote investments in the State, the Government would set up a single window agency for all IT related investments in the State.

Working Capital from Banks:

Government will encourage lead Banks to set up special cells to provide working capital to Information Technology enabled services units.

6. Role of the IT Department:

The Information Technology Department would perform a nodal, catalytic and facilitating role in all matters relating to IT and also in the implementation of this IT policy. The policy shall come into effect from the date of notification and until further orders. The Government reserves the right to make any amendments to the policy. All Departments would consult and inform IT Department in IT related matters.