Centre for Development of Imaging Technology

Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (C-DIT) is a unique institution with diverse skill sets and achievements in the areas of Information and Communication Technologies and their applications. Founded in December 1988 as an offshoot of Kerala State Film Development Corporation, C-DIT started its operations with two projects funded by the Government of India- one in the field of research and development in film and electronics technology and another in the area of science and development communication using video. Subsequently, C-DIT diversified into Information Technology applications including software development and to providing IT enabled services. C-DIT has been functioning as a Total Solutions Provider in IT and Communication fields mainly in the Government sector for the last decade and a half. We have also made our mark in the areas of education and training by offering a stream of courses in communication, new media production and I.T. Initially located in a corner of the Chitranjali studio complex of KSFDC, C-DIT set up its own campus in 1998 in three acres of land leased from KSFDC in Thiruvallam. When the activities expanded we had to hire many buildings in and around the city. Our search for more space within the city was rewarded when the Government of Kerala allocated 15 cents of prime land at Pattom. Since the formal land transfer got delayed due to various reasons, the construction could not be started. Now the formalities have been completed and the construction is ready to begin. The new campus will house the head office divisions as well as Technology and Communication divisions of C-DIT. The new building will use green technologies with scientific energy saving methods. It will be perhaps the first public building in the city to use a dome structure built in steel. During the last 24 years of existence, C-DIT has achieved many national and international laurels. The video productions of C-DIT cover different genres of development communication, science popularization, education, environmental awareness etc. Several of them have won the state and national awards as well as top recognition at the international festivals. The innovative TV reality show series produced by C-DIT in collaboration with Doordarshan on the achievements of local self governments and on the success stories in school education have won wide acclaim. C-DIT has planned similar series on health care. C-DIT has been hosting and maintaining the Kerala government web portal - kerala.gov.in, as well as the websites of over 200 government and autonomous organizations. Sutharyakeralam programme produced by C-DIT for the Government brings the Chief Minister interactive sessions with the general public providing instant relief and speedy decision making cutting red tapism. Kerala Chief Minister has opened new path of transparency in governance by making his office visible to the public round the clock through the live video streaming of his office done by C-DIT. Similarly, the mass contact programme of the Chief Minister which attracted tens of thousands of people in each district was also brought live to the public by C-DIT. Similar online grievance redress portals are being planned for other ministers and departments also. Incidentally, the live web streaming of Karnataka CM's office was also successfully taken up and executed by C-DIT. E-grantz software, a web based application developed by C-DIT for SC/ST department got the national award for e-governance. This is one of the several software development and application projects undertaken by C-DIT for the Government departments and other agencies. The high security hologram labels produced by C-DIT have helped the State Excise Department to keep a check on the counterfeiting of liquor bottles. C-DIT has also been supplying security holograms to the universities in the state for affixing on the degree certificates issued by them to prove their authenticity. C-DIT had undertaken the printing and delivery of the computerized rations cards for the consumers in the state at record speed, with over 6 lakh ration cards issued as part of the 100 days programme of the state government in 2011. C-DIT has taken up many ambitious programmes in the field of IT applications for implementation in the coming months. These include Digitization of old manuscripts and palm leaf documents for the state archives department, setting up of a Professional skills academy for providing advanced IT training courses of international standards, a massive awareness and control programme on cyber security to check the rising threat of cyber crimes, expansion of IT education programmes through Cybersri for marginalized sections including SC and ST students, entrepreneurship training and skill building for women based micro enterprises etc. The Governing Body of C-DIT headed by the Chief Minister of Kerala as its Chairman and the Minister for Information and Public Relations as its Vice Chairman, have been guiding the activities of C-DIT. We hope to develop C-DIT as a premier communication and IT solutions provider in the state by leveraging our strengths and core competencies as well as by ensuring constant capacity building through skill up-gradation of our internal talents and by forging collaboration with our partners.