INDIAN STATE : SIKKIM
General Information
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the foothills of Himalayas. The state borders Nepal in the west, People's republic in China to the north and east and Bhutan in the southeast. The Indian state of West Bengal borders Sikkim to its south. Sikkim is geographically diverse owing to its location on the Himalayas. The climate of the state ranges from subtropical to high alpine.
Fact File
| Geographical Area |
3.42 (lakh sq. km) |
| Capital |
Gangtok |
| Population (2001 Census) In lakhs |
565.07 |
| Gross state Domestic product (GSDP) at current prices in 2004-2005 (as of Feb 2006) |
US$ 23.5958 bn |
| Gross state Domestic product (GSDP) at constant price (1993-94) in 2004-2005 (as of Feb 2006) |
US$ 14.2748 bn |
| Net State Domestic Product at Current Prices (2004-05) |
US$ 20.6604 bn |
| Net State Domestic Product at Constant Prices (1993-1994) for (2004-05) |
US$ 12.6563 bn |
| Per Capita Income at current prices (2004-2005) |
US$ 339.719 |
| Percentage of State Population to All India Population |
5.49 |
| Total Investments (as on Jan 2006) |
53,600 (Rs. Crore) |
| Literacy Rate (2001 Census) |
69.68% |
|
76.73%
61.46% |
| Principal languages |
Nepali, Bhutia, Lepcha, Limboo, Magar, Rai, Gurung, Sherpa, Tamang, Newari |
| Religions |
Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity |
| Annual rainfall |
2000mm to 4000mm |
Advantage Sikkim
- Availability of quality power supply
- Abundant water
- Harmonious labour relationship
- Availability of technical/skilled manpower
- Investor friendly atmosphere
- Excellent transport and communication network
- Attractive package of incentives
- The prospect of opening up trade route through Nathula border provides immense investment potential
Economic Infrastructure
Power
Installed Capacity
During the year 2005-06,the installed capacity of the state stood at 46.10 MW. A detailed statement is given below:-
| Installed capacity (MW) |
2003-04 |
2004-05 |
2005-06 |
| Thermal |
5.00 |
5.00 |
5.00 |
| Hydro |
32.90 |
32.90 |
32.00 |
| Others |
0.00 |
0.00 |
9.10 |
| Total |
37.90 |
37.90 |
46.10 |
Source: Powermin.nic.in
Installed capacity by ownership
| Installed capacity by ownership (MW) |
2003-04 |
2004-05 |
2005-06 |
| State sector |
37.90 |
37.90 |
46.10 |
| Private/Licensee |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
| Total state & private sectors |
37.90 |
37.90 |
46.10 |
| Share in Central Sector stations |
22.90 |
22.90 |
68.08 |
| Total |
60.80 |
60.80 |
114.18 |
Source: Powermin.nic.in
Power supply position
The overall power supply position in the state for the year 2005-06 is given below:-
| Energy (MU) |
Requirement
Availability |
212.00
210.00 |
| Peak (MW) |
Requirement
Met |
47.00
45.00 |
Source: Powermin.nic.in
Road
The total road length of the state is 2,383 km including 41 km of National Highway.Gangtok is connected by roads with Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Siliguri and also with all the district headquarters within Sikkim
Railways
The closest railway stations are Siliguri (113km) and New Jalpaiguri (125km) connecting Kolkata, Delhi, Guwahati, Lucknow and other important cities.
Aviation
There is a helicopter service between Gangtok and Bagdogra heavily subsidized by the state government. The state has also initiated construction of number of helipads to connect the districts and sub-divisional headquarters and important tourist places.
Social Infrastructure
Health
In the capital of Sikkim, there is one state hospital that is Sir Tashi Namgyal Memorial Hospital with a strength of 300 beds and qualified doctors for all the special fields. In the state of Sikkim, there are all together 147 Primary Health Sub Centers, (PHSC), 24 Primary Health Centers (PHC), 4 Community Health Centers (CHC) and 400 bedded Central Referral Hospital cum Medical College in collaboration with medical group. There is one Leprosy hospital at Sajong, Rumtek.
Achievements in Health Care Services
Here are some of the achievements made by the Department in the delivery of health care services to the people-
- De-addiction-cum-treatment Centre for drug addicts and alcoholics is under construction at STNM Hospital, Gangtok.
- School Health Programme that was initiated in the year 1979 was made more comprehensive in nature and coverage. It covers students from class I to V with services like immunisation, health check up, health education and teachers training. Every year primary school teachers are also trained under this programme. Similarly, 15 schools under Rangpo PHC have been taken up under National School Health Programme
- Under the programme, free distribution of oral dehydration salt packets are also done for severe cases through all the hospitals, PHCs and PHSCs. These packets are taken even to the doorsteps of the rural people through trained health guides. About 30,000 packets are distributed annually.
- To bring about a better health status among mothers and children, nutrition programme is being implemented throughout the state. There are two components of the programme viz. Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) and Mid Day Meal Programme. Under the SNP, pre-school children and pregnant & nursing mothers are provided with food.
- Under the National Programme for control of blindness, free cataract operations are performed at STNM hospital.
- Family Planning Services are provided free of cost to all the eligible couples through the Hospitals, PHCs and PHSCs. Teams of doctors and paramedical staff have been trained for laproscopy operations. The team caters to all the four districts.
- Sophisticated equipment have been received free of cost under the German Community Grant for the use of STNM Hospital, Gangtok.
- Successful free Cataract Eye Camp and Intraocular lens implantation were organised at Singtam and Namchi in collaboration with the Foundation Eye Care, Himalaya, and Netherland, Nepal.
- Free medicines and free diet in all the hospitals and PHCs have been a great incentive for the rural people to avail of health services.
- Treatment for ailment for which facilities do not exist in the State are referred for treatment outside Sikkim and financial aid provided by the government. This is a unique feature of the state.
- Although greater stress has been given to primary health care, curative aspect of health has not been neglected. To ease the congestion in the OPD Clinics, new emergency cum OPD complexes has been added to the old building. For better diagnostic and treatment facilities, sophisticated equipments like Gastroscope, Ultrasound, Omniscope have been provided. Specialised services in the field of medicine, surgery anesthesia, orthopedics, paedritics, ophthalmology, dental, dermatology and psychiatry have been added. Super-specialty in Cardiology with intensive coronary care unit has also been introduced. A state level Blood Bank and Transfusion unit with facilities for HIVF screening has also been set up.
Education
Sikkim has a literacy rate of 69.68 per cent (2001 census) against all India literacy rate of 64.8 percent.The male literacy rate is 76.73 per cent and female literacy rate is 61.46 per cent.
The state has 531 primary, 118 middle (junior) schools, 77 secondary schools, 43 senior secondary schools and 2 public schools. Apart from this there are 2 degree colleges, 1 each of engineering college, medical college, law college and sheda. Also it has 50 monastic schools, 12 Sanskrit pathshala and 1 each of madarsa, teachers training institute and industrial training institute.
For higher education the state has following educational Institutes, which are the specialized for giving the city a base of highly educated manpower and which will enable the state to move rapidly into the information age
| Sl. No. |
Institution |
Constituency |
Affiliated To |
| 1 |
Sikkim Govt. College, Tadong, Gangtok |
Rumtek |
North Bengal University |
| 2 |
Sikkim Govt. College, Namchi, South Sikkim. |
Damthang |
North Bengal University |
| 3 |
Sikkim Govt. Law College, Kazi Road, Gangtok |
Gangtok |
North Bengal University |
| 4 |
SHEDA (Buddhist Education) Institute of Tibetology, Deorali, Gangtok |
Rumtek |
S.S.V, Varanasi |
| 5 |
Research Institute of Tibetology, Deorali, Gangtok |
Rumtek |
S.S.V, Varanasi |
| 6 |
Loyola College of Education, Namchi, South Sikkim. (Missionary Institute) (Now. Govt.) |
Damthang |
North Bengal University |
| 7 |
Damber Singh College, Deorali (Now. Govt.) |
Rumtek |
North Bengal University |
| 8 |
Manipal Institute of Medical Sciences, Tadong, Sikkim |
Rumtek |
Manipal University of Health, Technology and Medical Sciences |
| 9 |
Manipal Institute of Technology (MIT), Tadong, Sikkim |
Rumtek |
Manipal University of Health, Technology and Medical Sciences |
| 10 |
Institute for Handicrafts, Gangtok |
Gangtok |
- |
| 11 |
Industrial Technical Institute, Rangpo. |
Central Pendam |
- |
Major Industries
Liquor industry
The liquor industry is a major source of excise revenue for the state. The state possesses a very efficient excise collection machinery. Excise (Abkari) Department is one of the single largest revenue earners of the state government.
The excise department offices along with required manpower are situated at Sikkim Distilleries Ltd. Rangpo, Yoksum Breweries Ltd. Melli and Warehouses at Gangtok, Rangpo, Melli and Jorethang.
The state excise act provides manufacture, possession, sale, transport, import and export of liquor, imposition of excise duty, etc, is collected by the state government on liquors under the provision of the Sikkim Excise Act '1992.
Tea Industry
Tea grown in Sikkim is famous by its brand name 'Temi Tea'. Temi Tea estate is located in Temi, south Sikkim and is one of the best tea producing tea estate in the country. It was established in the year 1969 with an estimated area of 435 acres. It employees a total number of 406 workers and 43 staff members. It produces about 100 MT tea annually. During this year a total revenue of Rs. 2.18 crores was credited to the state exchequer.Temi tea garden received All India Quality Award; from Tea Board of India for two consecutive years (i.e.1994 and 1995).
The orthodox variety of tea of Temi Tea is very rich in flavour and has high export potential. To its credit, Temi Tea fetches one of the highest prices at the Kolkata Tea auction. Under the assistance of Temi Tea Board, tea growers society like Sang-Martam Tea Growers' Cooperative society has started flourishing which will further increase the products. Efforts are underway to source direct buyers in foreign markets for Sikkim's tea and the field is open for investors interested in increasing Sikkim's tea production capabilities.
Sang - Martam Small Tea Growers:-
The Sang Martam Small Tea was established in 1998. This is a society where small farmers merge the land holdings together to start tea plantation. The total area of land under the cultivation of this society is around 75 acres. The society has a total of 140 members. Since the gestation period is long, tea plucking has started only recently; the green leaves are sent to Temi Tea factory for processing. However, a regular tea factory is being proposed. The tea produced is of orthodox variety.
Large Cardamom
Sikkim produces 80 percent of India's cardamom (large). The main export markets are Pakistan, Singapore and the Middle East. The large cardamom can hence be converted into value added product.
Large Cardamom is grown as an important spice crop in the state of Sikkim and West Bengal spread over about 26,437 hectares of land. The demand for large cardamom in the export market is bound to increase steadily. However, the internal consumption of cardamom is also increasing day-by-day.
Agriculture
Eighty percent of the population lives in rural Sikkim and agriculture plays a dominant role in the state economy. The total cultivable land is around 70,000 hectares and, the per capita availability of land is 0.18 hectares.
The main crops produced are rice, wheat, maize, large cardamom and ginger with potential for the commercialisation of large cardamom, ginger, fruits, tea, medicinal herbs and exportable flowers. There are large areas of fallow land available, which can be converted into productive farms for cash crops.
Food processing
The food processing industry in the state specializes in mandarin oranges, ginger, tea and cardamom. In terms of prospect, medicinal and aromatic herbs will face an ever-expanding market both nationally and internationally. The varieties of medicinal plants available in the state are taken care. Wool and silk reeling, weaving and processing, and rabbit farming, all these activities may be carried out at the farm level and they may be treated as the primary or secondary sources of livelihood. Apart from this, Fruits can be processed for value addition. Exotic flowers can be cultured for export, Honey and tea are other agro-based products that have high potential
Information Technology
Information Technology has been placed high on the state government's agenda. Several initiatives have been taken by the state government to boost Information Technology sector in the state.
Mission ss
In order to facilitate Information Technology sector in the state, government has identified certain missions
- Empowering citizens and making life easier for them through E-Governance.
- Facilitating income and employment generation in the private sector.
- Improving productivity in the Government Departments through Computerization.
- Introducing MIS and DSS in the Government.
- Training all Government employees in the use of computers and capacity building.
- Reducing the digital divide.
Initiatives being taken to meet the above objective
The following initiatives have been taken in right earnest to achieve the objectives outlined in the Mission Statement.
- A Department of Information Technology was established in 2000
- 40 Community Information Centers (CIC) have been set up across the remotest of regions in the Sikkim. These have been done with an aim to bring Information Technology to the grass root level of people. These centers have also been instrumental in taking Information Technology to the remotest part of Sikkim.
- A CIC is essentially a computer centre equipped with 6 computers and peripherals and a direct satellite link for Internet access. Community Information Centres would ultimately evolve into a single window delivery facility where citizens can pay their taxes, electricity bills, water and even get births and deaths registered online.
- The Department of IT hosts and maintains the official website of the Government of Sikkim www.sikkimgovt.org. The Website boasts of a rich repository of information useful for the government employees as well as the common masses, ranging from the latest news, employment opportunities in the government, tenders being floated by the government to the latest Promotions and transfers taking place in the government. The day-to-day prices of agricultural commodities like cardamoms etc can also be found in this site. Government gazettes, Sikkim government service rules,important Schemes being undertaken by the government are few of the facilities provided. Forms that are necessary on a daily basis for use by the people of Sikkim can also now be downloaded and submitted. Materials for Prevention and cures of common diseases can also be accessed in Nepali.
- Computer training is being imparted to government employees with an aim to train them all in the next three years. Career oriented courses like training in multimedia are being held by CRTI which is an autonomous body under the Information Technology Department.
- A software Cell has been set up in the IT Department to assist other Departments in the computerization. The cell also attends to any software problems being faced by the Departments, rectifying networking faults, co-ordinating implementation of various software packages and development and maintenance of departmental websites. Software packages are being for various Government Departments developed.
- CD ROM'S on prevention of AIDS, TB and other diseases have been developed in Nepali for viewing by the public at the CICs.
- All the Government Department in the state capital are in the process of being networked through optical fibre and RF.
- A Software Technology Park providing bandwidth facilities to potential investors has been functional for the last 6 months.
- The Land Records, Electrol Rolls, Registration of vehicles, driving licences, the treasury have been computerized
Tourism
Tourism is considered as the backbone of Sikkim's economy. It has brought economic prosperity in the state. With the salubrious climate, the natural beauty and the fine cultural heritage of Sikkim, the growth in tourism sector has immense possibilities. There are large number of places of tourist attraction particularly the snow-clad mountains, the lakes and unspoiled forest areas and valleys of flowers. Sikkim has the advantage of having very fine that attracts Buddhist tourists from countries like Japan and the southeastern countries.
Small but beautiful, Sikkim is situated in the eastern Himalayas. Spread below the Mount Khanchendzonga (8534 mts), the third highest mountain in the world, and revered by the Sikkimese as their protective deity. With an area of 7,300 sq kms and measuring approx. 114 kms from the north to south and 64 kms from east to west, the elevation ranges from 300 mts to over 8540 mts above sea level.
Amidst the grandeur of the mountain peaks, lush valleys, fast flowing rivers, hills, Sikkim offers her visitors a rare and singular experience. Within a matter of hours one can move from the sub tropical heat of the lower valleys to the cold of the rugged mountain slopes that reach up to the area of perpetual snow.
Tourist Arrival
Tourism sector has also seen a robust growth during 2004-05 in tourist arrival (both domestic and international). The growth is clearly defined in the following table:
| Tourist |
2003-04 |
2004-05 |
| Domestic |
201108 |
234394 |
| International |
12389 |
14774 |
Eco-Tourism, Mountain Tourism & Horticulture innovations
Eco-tourism, mountain tourism and horticultural innovations are other areas that hold enormous potential in the tourism sector of the state. Sikkim draws attention due to high altitude mountain trekking and climbing and pilgrimages to hill top monasteries.
The state is endowed with some of the rare varieties of orchids, flowers, fruits, rhododendrons, butterflies as well as the rarely sighted snow leopard, bears and many bird's species. According to Department of Information and Public Relations, more than one- third of the 5,000 flowering plants found in the country, are located in Sikkim. Similarly, almost fifty percent of 1400 butterflies, recorded in Indian subcontinent, have been identified in the state.
Also, Sikkim is the state, whose Chief Minister was adjudged as the most eco-friendly (the greenest) head of the administration among the Indian states some years back. The state has identified Dendrobium Nobile as the state flower, rhododendron as the state tree, red panda as the state animal and Blood Pheasant as the state bird.
Thrust Areas
- Eco-tourism including hotels, resorts, spa, amusement parks and ropeways.
- Handicrafts and handlooms.
- Wool and silk reeling, weaving and processing, printing, etc.
- Floriculture.
- Precision engineering including watch making.
- Electronics including computer hardware and software.
- IT related industries.
- Food processing including agro-based industries, processing, preservation and packaging of fruits and vegetables.
- Medicinal and aromatic herbs- plantation and processing.
- Raising and processing of plantation crops i.e. tea, oranges and cardamom.
- Mineral based industry.
- Honey
- Biotechnology
Investment Incentives
- Special promotional measures for rural and traditional industries
- Special promotional measures are undertaken by the state government to strengthen potential areas such as flower processing, herbal processing, sericulture, spices and oilseed processing, cane and bamboo products, power looms, brick manufacture, pottery, rural tourism, etc.
- Traditional industries such as handloom and handicrafts, cottage and khadi are encouraged.
- Establishing industrial estate and growth centre to facilitate integrated development of state
- The Government encourages the setting up of self contained industrial estates and growth centers to facilitate an integrated approach towards optimization of available resources and infrastructure, including creation of infrastructure, marketing facilities and communication networks.
- Revamping the public sector undertakings
- The government is poised to undertake business ventures only in core sectors.
- The state public sector undertakings in the core/ thrust areas are to be revamped to improve their efficiency and functioning.
- Sikkim Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (SIDICO) plays an active role in the industrialization process of the state.
- SIDICO provides escort services to entrepreneurs who propose to set up projects valued at rupees fifty lakhs or above.
- Creation of appropriate organizational arrangements
- Developing of market support system
- Single window clearance
Policy Framework
Information Technology Policy for the state of Sikkim
The Government of Sikkim is aware of the transformational changes in IT technology and would like to harness its capabilities for the welfare of the state by having up to date citizen services, ensuring greater accountability through e-governance and also promote IT investments in the state.
The Government of Sikkim has placed Information Technology high on its agenda. The Information Technology Policy has been formulated to put Information Technology on a firm footing in the state. The Department of Information Technology is determined to play the role of an enabler and catalyzing agent.
Objectives and Mission statement
The IT policy of Sikkim is centered around the following premise and the Mission Statements:
- Empowering citizens and making life easier for them through e-governance
- Facilitating income and employment generation in the private sector
- Improving productivity in the government departments through computerization
- Use of information tools in the administrations to improve governance.
- Making Sikkim a totally computer literate state
- Reducing the digital divide
- Using Information Technology to map the resources of the state
- Using Information Technology to bring succor to the disabled.
Full text of the policy
Disinvestment Policy 2003 for the State of Sikkim
Objective
The primary objectives for disinvesting/privatising the Public Sector Undertakings are as follows:
- Releasing large amount of public resources locked up in non-productive PSUs, for redeployment in areas that are much higher on the social priority, such as, basic health, family welfare, primary education and social and essential infrastructure;
- Stemming further outflow of scarce public resources for sustaining the unviable PSUs
- Reducing the public debt that is threatening to assume unmanageable proportions
- Transferring the commercial risk, to which the taxpayers' money locked up in the public sector is exposed, to the private sector wherever the private sector is willing and able to step in. The money that is deployed in the PSUs is really the public money and is exposed to an entirely avoidable and needless risk, in most cases;
- Releasing other tangible and intangible resources, such as, large manpower currently locked up in managing the PSUs, and their time and energy, for redeployment in high priority social sectors that are short of such resources.
Other benefits
Other benefits expected from privatisation:-
- Disinvestments would expose the privatised companies to market discipline, thereby forcing them to become more efficient and survive or cease on their own financial and economic strength. They would be able to respond to the market forces much faster and cater to their business needs in a more professional manner. It would also facilitate in freeing such companies from government control and introduce corporate governance in the privatised companies.
- Disinvestments should result in wider distribution of wealth through offering of shares of privatised companies to small investors.
- Opening up the public sector to appropriate private investment would increase economic activity and have an overall beneficial effect on the economy, employment and tax revenues in the medium to long term.
Criteria for disinvestment/privatization
The criteria for disinvestment/privatization:-
- Government would disinvest/privatize public sector undertakings, which are making losses for last three years.
OR
- Government would disinvest/privatize public sector undertakings, which have not paid dividends to the Government of Sikkim for last three years.
OR
Full text of the policy
Industrial Policy of Sikkim
Policy Objectives
The policy envisages:-
- Creation of an atmosphere conducive to industrial growth, taking into consideration the available natural resources and the local socio-economic environment.
- Maintenance of the Green State image while promoting industrial activities.
- Rehabilitation of sick industries with comprehensive assistance and guidance from the Department of Industry, and privatization of select State Public Sector Undertakings.
- Enrichment of the agricultural sector through the establishment of appropriate linkage between agriculture and agro-based industries.
- Ensuring balanced regional development through promotion of Khadi, Village, cottage, and tiny, small and ancillary industries.
- Promotion of the traditional handloom, handicrafts and artisan sector, by providing adequate support in the form of common facilities like service centers cheap raw material, technical inputs, marketing network skill development, etc.
- Development of tourism as an industry.
- Development of Sikkim as a major centre for manufacture & marketing of tea.
- Rapid Development of basic infrastructure so that industrial Growth is facilitated.
- Encouraging self-employment and identification of avenues for the same by providing guidance through data bank of project-profiles and other related information.
- Promote and encourage high-value, low-volume products, in view of the transportation-bottlenecks in the State.
- Human resource development through appropriate skill and entrepreneurship development programmes behavioral training, etc., at district, sub-division and block level, to meet the emergent skill requirements of the State within a stipulated time frame.
- Protection and promotion of interest of the local people especially at the unskilled and semi-skilled levels by defining norms for a minimum percentage of employment to the local people in the industrial units.
- Encouraging joint ventures between local entrepreneurs and industrialist from outside the State for setting up of industries within industrial belt area.
- Simplification of procedures and opening up of Sikkim with a view to attract both internal and outside investors, with respect to prospects whose long-term viability is carefully evaluated.
Strategy for implementation of the policy
The objects set out in the industrial policy are challenging and require a well-defined strategy for implementation. The Government proposes to achieve these objectives by pursuing the following strategies:-
- Identification of thrust areas and effective promotion of industries in these areas.
- Announcement of attractive package and fiscal incentives.
- Special promotional measures for rural and traditional industry.
- Establishing industrial estates and growth centers to facilitate integrated development of industry.
- Development of rehabilitation package for the sick industries.
- Revamping the public sector undertakings.
- Creation of appropriate organization arrangements.
- Development of marketing support systems.
- Development of appropriate training facilities.
- Creation of Single Window Agency.
Full text of the policy
Useful Web links
Government of Sikkim
Commerce and Industry Department, Sikkim
