The experience from the Pilot project has been very encouraging. Many of the CICs receive over a 100 visitors every week who use e-mail facilities, word processing applications, browse the Web, attend Training sessions and generally improve their familiarity with computers and awareness of IT. The public and state governments have appreciated the CIC concept. Most of the CICs are able to generate modest revenue by charging nominally for these services. The CICs are eventually expected to become self-sustaining.

One of the Pilot CICs is in the Raha block of Assam. This CIC is providing path-breaking services to the local community through Web access, E-mail, Word-processing, etc. A user received information over the Net from the Neurological Research Institute, Guwahati for treatment of his father’s illness. Another user used the Internet to order medicines from Apollo Hospitals, Chennai. A third accessed the Web to obtain a comparative price list of computers in order to purchase one. A bank officer received the result of his correspondence course in Banking. A filmmaker planning to register his entry for the film festival received the entry rules from the Web.

Tourists seeking directions for traveling from Imphal to Mandalay in Myanmar visited a CIC in Manipur and got details on the route for traveling by bus to their destination on the Indo-Burma Road. The CIC operators downloaded the information from the Internet. CIC, Khowai, Tripura has organized special Training programmes for students from various local schools and colleges. This effort has been undertaken in many other CICs as well.

Earlier this year, the school Board results were disseminated over the Web and could be accessed by users at the CICs in the states of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland. In addition, the All India Entrance Examination results for various Engineering and Medical colleges were accessed at the CICs. State Bank recruitment results were also searched at several CICs.

The CICs constitute a unique opportunity for the North-Eastern region of India to avail of cutting-edge Information Technology to give a fillip to the development of the region.

The State Government started the implementation of the CIC Project in two pilot Blocks viz. Mylliem Development Block in the East Khasi Hills and Umsning Development Block in the Ri-Bhoi District. The CICs have now been established in all the Blocks of the State. Efforts are also being made to create the required content in the CICs, which would be interactive with the rural masses. E-governance applications would also be incorporated in the CIC Project for the benefit of the people in the rural areas.

Currently, the State Government is implementing the CIC Project through the Community & Rural Development Department and technically assisted by the National Informatics Centre, Meghalaya State Unit.

Some of the G2C services, which are proposed to be disseminated from the centers, are: