Introduction

Information Technology (IT) has undoubtedly emerged as an important driving force in today’s global economy. IT has completely transformed the way of human life. Information Technology is increasingly regarded as a "key" technology. India's natural resource lies in its abundant technically skilled manpower and this natural resource easily transforms India into a software superpower.
Recognising the enormous potential of IT, the Himachal Pradesh Government has chalked out a multi-pronged strategy to herald the benefits of this technology for its citizens and for the State as a whole. Accordingly, the State Government has created an IT friendly environment for integrated participation by all in the development process of the new digital economy. This journey into the information age has brought improvement in the quality of every aspect of human life, emergence of a competitive society and a vibrant economy of new age technologies through transparent governing systems, sound infrastructure and skilled human resources.The aspirations of the IT policy of Himachal Pradesh are based on 7 E’s i.e. Education, Employment, Entrepreneurship, Electronic Governance, Economy and Equality.

Objectives of Policy

Investment in IT Sector: To encourage and accelerate the investments and growth in IT hardware, software, training, IT enabled services, telecom, e-commerce and related sectors in the State.
IT in Education: Encourage the use of Information Technology in schools, colleges and educational institutions in the state of Himachal Pradesh, so as to enable students to improve their skills, knowledge and job prospects and enable them to obtain employment in this sunrise industry. (Note: Hundreds of middle, high and senior secondary schools have already been computerised and computer aided learning is being provided besides imparting basic skills in operating computers).
IT in Industry: To use IT effectively in industries especially where the State has competitive advantages, for making such industries more global and help them to generate additional revenues; to diversify the local industries into being web-enabled and attract IT companies from elsewhere in the country and the world.
E-Governance: To use IT in the process of Government functioning to bring about Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive and Transparent (SMART) governance to its citizens.
IT for Social Equity: To utilize the power of Information Technology in the overall goal of improving healthcare; empowering women, rural & tribal communities as well as economically weaker sections of society. The ultimate aim is to enhance social equity and justice.
IT for Employment: To use Information Technology for generating additional employment for the new digital economy and governance.
IT for Infrastructure: To provide adequate infrastructure in the state, so that the IT sector can flourish and also to facilitate citizens of the state to use IT for a better quality of life.
Localization: To facilitate localization of software, so that benefits of IT could percolate not only in the English language, but also in Hindi.
E-Tourism: To use IT for heralding world class E-Tourism in the State.
Venture Capital and Incubation Engine: To unleash the Himachal Pradesh incubation engine thereby promoting entrepreneurship, increasing foreign exchange earning and increasing IT’s contribution to the State GDP.

The Himachal Pradesh Government has taken the following policy decisions to facilitate the growth of IT in the State

Ease of doing buisness
• Department of Information Technology (DoIT) acts as a single point interface for setting up an IT unit in the State. Applications for setting up an IT Industry are put up for one time approval of State Level Single Window Committee headed by the Chief Minister. A dedicated set of officials in IT Department assists the entrepreneurs in getting all statutory and other clearances.
• IT based units have been given the status of thrust industry as per the Rules Regarding Grant of Incentives, Concessions and Facilities to Industrial Units in Himachal Pradesh.
• All promotional and liberalized policy instruments available to the IT Software and IT Services are also made available to the IT Enabled Services including the Information Content Industry.
• All IT software and service industries including Services and Training Institutions in IT are entitled to "Industry" status. Such units are eligible for all concessions and incentives applicable to Industries. For the purpose of this clause, accredited Training Institutions will also be eligible to claim industry status, subject to certain norms which enable them to obtain Term Loans and Bank Finance at industry rates.
• Interest subsidy scheme available to other industries is applicable for both computer hardware and software sector.
• IT Software and Services industry is treated as industrial consumers. Industrial power tariff and all other admissible incentives and concessions applicable to industries in respect of power shall be applicable to the IT industry.
• The State Government encourages flow of investments including FDI and provides full support wherever required. The State Government can offer customised package of incentives for prestigious investment proposals i.e. projects where total investments are more than Rs. 10 Crore or a Fortune 500 company is implementing the project. All such proposals are received by Department of Information Technology for approval on case-to case basis on merit. For Mega Projects, with investment exceeding Rs.100 crore, the Government may consider Special Package of Incentives, on a case to case basis, based on the gestation period of projects, pioneer nature of projects, locational aspects, state-of-the-art technology, profitability, scope for further related investments, etc. Such special incentives may inter alia include exemption from registration and stamp duty.
• Though there are hardly any power cuts in Himachal Pradesh, HPSEB still ensures uninterrupted supply of power to IT units treating it as a continuous process industry. All IT Units with a connected load exceeding 100 KW shall be charged a concessional rate of Electricity Duty at the rate of 10 paisa per unit for a period of 5 years from the date of commencement of commercial production out of turn preference and top priority is given to sanction power concession to all Information Technology Projects. Despite easy and reliable availability of good quality power through H.P. State Electricity Board, IT units can create unlimited back up power and also seek permission for captive power generation.
• It will be the endeavour of the state Government to rationalise the property tax in respect of the buildings housing IT units.
• Subject to a negative list to be brought out by the State Pollution Control Board (e.g. generator sets of very high capacity, effluent discharge in case of manufacturing units), there shall be no need of obtaining consent to establish and consent to operate.

Tax Related Incentives

• There is no Central Sales Tax (CST) for the new IT industrial units till March 31, 2013, for inter State transactions against From C and Form D. The existing units shall also be eligible for similar exemptions provided that total exemption period does not exceed 6 years 8 months .Rate of Sales Tax on production of Form CC (as notified by the Government of Himachal Pradesh) by the end customer is 1% without any outer limit.
• Subject to the provisions of VAT Act and Rules, there is no General Sales Tax on IT products up to 31.03.2007. There is also an enabling provision under the VAT Act for extending this benefit. An attractive provision for set- off also exists.
• As per special package of incentives granted by the Government of India for Himachal Pradesh, there is 100% outright exemption on Central Excise Duty for 10 years from the date of commencement of commercial production (for units coming in production by 31.03.2010).
• There is 100% Income Tax exemption for initial five years and thereafter a rebate of 30% is given for a period of five years from the date of commencement of commercial production.
• All other industrial incentives of thrust industry as per the Industrial are also available to IT units.
• It is pertinent to mention here that the above mentioned tax incentives are available for all industries irrespective of their market. While in case of SEZ, tax incentives are given only for exports, even domestic sales are eligible for tax incentives in case of Himachal Pradesh . Thus, in one sense, entire Himachal Pradesh is a ‘virtual SEZ’.
While there is a sunset clause of March 31,2009 for availing Income Tax exemption under STPI(Software Technology Park of India ) scheme elsewhere in the country, there is a general exemption/concession on Income Tax under section 80-IC of Income Tax Act in Himachal Pradesh for a period of 10 years for IT companies commencing their operations by March 31,2012.

Creation of state of Art - IT infrastructure

Software Technology Park and Earth Station: A modern Software Technology Park (STP) and an Earth Station has been established in Shimla under the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) scheme of Ministry of Information Technology. This Park has modern facilities including high-speed communication facilities, plug and play built up modules etc. The STP is functional since 2001 and would be later co-located with the Hi-Tech city to be built near Shimla. The Earth Station meets the high-speed telecommunication needs of the IT sector and provides international bandwidth for Internet.

Hi-Tech Habitats: In order to promote the growth of IT all over the State, it is imperative that hi-tech habitats are built in and around all major towns. Such space is extremely useful to promote the growth of IT enabled services - a sector that is providing jobs to millions. The State Government has identified locations for hitech habitats at Shimla, Solan, Hamirpur, Baddi, Parwanoo, Kullu, Mandi and Dharamshala. Hi-tech habitats.
Himachal Pradesh Government propose to establish an international convention centre at Waknaghat with facilities to host international IT exhibitions, seminars and conferences as a part of the Hi-Tech City.
The State Government encourages private sector to become ISPs in the districts and set up international gateways in the State. Some local private companies also have started wired and wireless providing internet access in the State. The government has persuaded BSNL to extend earth stations/ optical fibre links to remotest areas in the State. Today more than 65 % of the metalled road length has optical fibre connectivity, which is among the highest in the country.

Policy on Right of Way

In order to give fillip to strengthening of telecommunication infrastructure, a Right of Way Policy, 2004 has been formulated.
The facility of right of way is provided to telecommunication service/infrastructure providers for digging of trenches to lay cables in the kacha and untarred portion of the road and filling of trenches, appropriate compaction and restoration of roads to the original shape, design and quality shall be allowed to be done by such infrastructure provider. A performance bank guarantee @ Rs. 30/- per route meter with a validity of one year initially (extendable if required till satisfactory completion of work) shall have to be furnished by such infrastructure provider as a security against improper filling/unsatisfactory compaction/restoration and damages caused to other underground installations/utility services and interference interruption /disruption of any failure caused thereof to any service. Earlier, PWD used to get the restoration work on kutcha portion as a deposit work.
SITEG (Society for Promotion of IT and e-Governance ): In order to give fillip to growth of IT Industry in the state as well as to promote e-Governance, an autonomous Society for IT and E-Governance has been set up under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister. Secretary IT is the Chairman of the Executive Committee of this Society. An Apex Committee on eGovernance headed by the Chief Secretary has been set up to bring about much needed inter-departmental coordination.

Knowledge Corridors: The state government has facilitated the coming up of two knowledge corridors as follows: Baddi-Parwanoo-Solan-Shimla Knowledge Corridor. Shimla-Bilaspur-Hamirpur-Dharamshala-Chamba Knowledge Corridor. Across these corridors, high density Internet / telecom connectivity is provided for schools, colleges, industries etc, to encourage education, employment and investment in the state.
Role of IT in Governance.

E-GOVERNANCE

• Each Government Department of Himachal Pradesh has prepared IT Plan in consultation with IT Department. These plans address the extent of computerisation of its core activities, with special reference to its Citizen Interface, need for hardware and software resources, manpower requirement and training of employees.
• All Districts/Departments and tribal sub-divisions in the State have video conferencing facilities. Video conferences by Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, and Departmental Secretaries and Heads give an important tool for periodic review for administration besides saving of money.
• The existing training centres for Government employees, at the State and District headquarters, are being further strengthened for imparting appropriate training in IT. HIPA and DOEACC are also providing training to the State Government employees.
• All major IT projects have adopted English as the medium. However, for administration to be effective and for the benefits of computerisation to reach the common man, Hindi is being rapidly adopted as the medium. The Government is systematically promoting the local language initiative for information dissemination and for extension of citizen services.
• The creation of data warehouses, having local content, is encouraged in each District. These centres provide government information to citizens through websites. Rapid progress is being to gradually move towards the concept of Data Centres. Standardisation of data structures among various departments is also being done.
• Priority areas with maximum citizen interface have been taken up for eGovernance. It is the endeavour of the State Government to provide all services under a single roof down to the tehsil level in the first instance and then to village level by 31.03.2007. This goal will be achieved in conjunction with HIMSWAN.
• E- governance services like Rural Services such as land records and registration of deeds. Police services such as FIR registration and networking of all the police stations for crime monitoring Social services such as family pension, old age pension, etc Ration cards, Different types of certificates (such as Birth Certificate, Death Certificate, Caste/Tribe certificate etc.), Driving license, Registration of vehicles, Deposit of Token Tax etc.
• Agriculture/Horticulture sector- providing the information about Mandi rates in respect of identified commodities in important Mandis. Utility services such as payment of all kinds of bills under a single roof.
• Electronic Filing of sales tax returns (already made available), networking of barriers (achieved fully), state excise duty, house tax, property tax, road tax, etc.
• Application processing for setting up industries and other business establishments. Online processing of bills in treasuries. Facilities to the farmers and villagers who make queries about latest techniques, advice for their problems, new technologies etc. from a group of experts pertaining to fields of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, health, fisheries etc.
• Better dissemination of information through web portal and online status of applications submitted online or through post or by hand. Updated and latest information regarding public distribution system, list of beneficiaries under different programmes, information regarding government grants given to PRIs and urban local bodies. Reduction in response time in addressing grievances by the concerned departments. Web enabled access to data bases of different departments for providing ‘uncertified copies’ of records.
• Hospital Management Information System is being currently implemented in IG Medical College, Shimla. It will be gradually implemented in all the major hospitals in the State. .
• All departments have established websites which have been put under a unified portal i.e. State Government website. Departments, where databases are already established have upgraded the same to provide dynamic information and use their sites as platforms for Government to Citizen interface.Electronic Kiosks and Public Tele Information Centres: The Government is setting up of Public Tele Information Centres( PTICs )on the lines of public telephone booths to serve the information needs of the citizens and also to provide employment to a large number of educated youth.
• Net Banking: The State Government has encouraged the public sector banks in the State to start Internet based banking. Net-based banking has catalysed increase in use of Internet for e-commerce and also reduced high overhead costs for banks.
• Regional Hub: With an extremely widespread telecommunication system, the State of Himachal Pradesh is poised to emerge as a regional gateway for the "North Indian" Internet, E-commerce and digital services traffic.
• E-TOURISM :E-Tourism Portal: There are currently many Websites providing information in respect of the tourism sector of the State. However, a comprehensive tourism portal for the State of Himachal Pradesh is being set up with the following elements:
• Comprehensive information on the tourism industry, hotels, locations, restaurants, adventure sports, places of religious interests etc. The idea is to not only provide basic information but also provide cyber casting, video clips, graphics etc.
• Cyber casting of major events in the State of Himachal Pradesh. Making the portal e-commerce enabled and selling local handicrafts, agriculture/horticulture and industry products through the website.
• TELE-MEDICINE HP-Telemedicine NET: A comprehensive telemedicine network is being implemented. The objective of the H.P. telemedicine net would be to provide instant medical advice and facilities to the citizens of the State, irrespective of the location. This would cover far-flung and tribal/ backward areas.Tele-monitoring of diseases at State level to achieve higher standards of public is also being implemented.

RECENT INITIATIVES based on IT Policy

• Using IT tools to ensure a SMART (Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive and Transparent) Government.
• Software Technology Park The State Government and Software Technology Parks of India, Ministry of IT, Government of India, has set up a Software Technology Park and High Speed Data Connectivity facility in Shimla. 
• The State Government also is in the process of building of a Hi-Tech city at Waknaghat near Shimla with private sector participation on land measuring 126 acres. In order to promote the growth of IT all over the state, it is imperative that hi-tech habitats are built in and around all major towns. The State Government has set up hi-tech habitats at Shimla, Solan, Hamirpur, Baddi, Parwanoo, Kullu, Mandi and Dharamshala. Hi-tech habitats are being built at more locations in the State in a phased manner.
• In view of the enhancement in concession announced for SEZ in the year 2005, the State Government also intends to set up a SEZ for IT hardware, software and software in collaboration with a private partner.
• In the proposed PPP model for setting up IT infrastructure, the State Government shall select a private investor on the basis of two stage competitive bidding.

Setting-up of Institutes of Information Technology

• Although IT related courses are already been taught in the State in the existing Himachal Pradesh University, 4 Engineering Colleges, 5 Polytechnics, 14 ITIs
• The Jaiprakash Sewa Sansthan has set up a world class Institute of Information Technology in Rachhiana, District Solan, about 22 KMs from Shimla.
• The State Government has introduced IT education in most of the senior secondary schools in the State. The subject of IT education is introduced as an additional optional subject to the students of class IX to Class XII of these schools from the academic year 2001-02.
• The Government of Himachal Pradesh is committed to take the benefits of IT to the general public living in distant rural areas of the State by establishing a H.P. State Wide Area Network (HIMSWAN) and by providing a Citizen-Government Interface through this network.

Citizen-Government Interface:

Extending the concept of "LOKMITRA" to all the areas in the State for ‘anytime anywhere access’ to information.
Integrated Community Services Centres (i-CoSC) : Integrated Community Service Centre (i-CoSC) aims at setting up one stop shop information resource and service centre for the people in the State using simple but state-of-the-art methods of organizing, sharing, and communicating information. This project is unique because the citizen centric services of various levels (viz. District, Sub-Division, and Tehsil) will be available across all tiers of administration. I-CoSC will ensure greater transparency, efficiency, objectivity, accountability and speed that can help overcome unbridled discretion and corruption by providing improved services in a time bound manner.

Conclusion :Govt. endeavour to have transparency in the working of the Government. Responsive and responsible Administration. Easy access to information at the remotest corners of the State. Submission of Applications/Redressal of complaints without physically visiting the Government offices. Facilitating the growth of IT industry by encouraging the setting up of additional information centre in the private sector.