Information Communication Technology in Development

 

Ambika Sharma     ambi@sdalt.ernet.in

 

In the years since the development of the world wide web, an increasing number of people (mostly in developing countries) have been using information communication technology (ICT) to bring about changes in their work methods and environment and to speed up the development process.

Development organi-zations, NGOs, media houses, government agencies, educational institutions and many individuals make use of ICT in one way or another.

The relationship between ICT and Development

l Information Commu-nications Technology (ICT) is a tool that can help build social networks and contribute towards a progressive social change.
l Increased access to information goes hand in hand with socio-economic and overall human development.
l Though the right to seek, receive and impart information is a basic human right, many people in the developing world are deprived of this very basic right. Using ICT for Development can be an effective way of reaching out to rural and remote ‘unconnected masses’.

As the technology advances, the gap between the information haves and have-nots is widening. The digital divide becomes more and more apparent.

ICT for Development in that context means facilitating communities to define their needs in terms of:

l Communication (who wants to communicate with whom, why, how),
l Information (what information is needed, by whom, when, where, for what purpose, etc.) and
l Education and training (who needs what, when, where and how would they prefer to have it delivered to them)

 

The Catchword or Buzzword

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has become a catchword with different interpretations and viewpoints even among experts. As the name suggests, ICT encompasses all the technologies that facilitate the processing and transfer of information and communication services.

In principle, ICT, has always been available. The only difference is that in this era, rapid advances in technology have changed the traditional ways in which information used to be processed, commu-nications conducted, and services that are available. For example, advances in open systems technology have led to the convergence of communication services on one platform, and through unified communications, e-mails, voicemails and faxes are being provided using one platform, and can be accessed with even ordinary telephones, including payphones.

These technological advances, i.e., ICT have changed business operations and the way people communicate. It has introduced new efficiencies in old services as well as numerous new services. Through this new role, ICT has assumed an important place in the development of businesses, countries, and in the quality of life of people around the world.

From the standpoint of countries, business and people, their interest is not in the technology per se but more importantly, in the services they can enjoy and the impact they will make on their lives or businesses. The focus should be on how to create an environment that will allow information and communication services to be available and accessible at affordable prices to the people at large.

Types of ICT Applications

ICT applications can be broadly categorized into the following types:

l Decision-making support to public administrators;
l improving services to citizens; and
l empowering citizens to access information and knowledge.

Each of these types of applications may have different objectives, require different types of technologies to build and, therefore, have different sets of critical success factors.

Decision support systems for public administrators focus on improving planning and monitoring development programmes. Examples of such systems include the use of GIS to plan the location of facilities or to identify disaster prone areas.

The second type of applications focus on automating the process of delivering services to citizens, and, in the process, bring in transparency. Examples of such systems are the use of ICT for collecting a variety of payments that citizens need to make to government agencies. The use of ICT can shorten the queues and waiting time at collection counters, improve accuracy in billing and provide immediate proof of payments to the citizens. Computerization of land records, which have been undertaken in many districts in India, is another example.

The last type of application is concerned with empowering citizens through access to information and knowledge. Access to information is the power to make intelligent informed choices. The use of ICT can provide up-to-date information on markets to producers, thus increasing their bargaining power and reducing the role of the middleman. Inspite of a plethora of developmental programmes, citizens are often unaware of the free and priced services that institutions are expected to offer them.

Information Communication Technology (ICT) has ushered in an era of informed citizenship. It is a powerful tool and needs to be used most effectively.

Reality Check

An Indian Scenario/ Perspective

It is only when theories are visible on the ground that they gain en masse acceptability and more so in the case of technologies that are not easily accessible to one and all.

8 Technology Making a Difference

http://www.allyoz.com/muslifarm/

In the neglected tribal district of Dhar near Indore in Madhya Pradesh (India), the 100-acre farm of the Patidars seems to be a survivor. The farm is equipped with telephones, fax, e-mail and even has its own website. All this is courtesy the Patidars’ decision to tread new paths, and thanks to their innovative cultivation ideas, many farmers in the surrounding areas are prospering.

Shridhar Patidar and his three sons – one of them an engineer and another a law graduate – were not content with growing the usual crops of the area: soyabean, cotton, tomatoes and seasonal fruits. After attending a training programme organized by the MP centre for Entrepreneurship Development, the Patidars got interested in medicinal plants. They began a period of experimenting and settled with safed musli (Chlorophytum borivilianum) and lemon grass. The white Musli has more than 300 varities available all over the world, the Borivilianum is almost extinct and therefore it’s very difficult to get it in pure form.

That’s where the Patidars step in. In India, till about 10 years ago, the plant was found only in the forests, where it was collected by the tribals aware of its importance. Now, after Patidar’s lead, the valuable plant is being cultivated.

And that opened a whole new market for this product.

8 The Future Beckons

http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/fg7/case_library/documents/mah001.html

Maharashtra (India) has become the first state in the country to implement a comprehensive Disaster Management Plan (DMP), complete with a state-of-art satellite-linked computer network connecting various civic bodies, collectorates and blocks in the state. The project was conceived after a massive earthquake devastated the districts of Latur and Osmanabad in September 1993. In this case ICT was used effectively to provide a co-ordinated response strategy for the state.

8 Shape of things to come

ICT uplifting the rural economy

www.tarahaat.com

Information and communication technologies, the Internet, genetic engineering, robotics, space age materials, nano-technologies – these recent innovations have an extraordinary potential to change the lives of people – and transform our nation. If they evolve in a manner to promote the public good, they could well be the first instruments we have had in five thousand years for reducing the gap between the haves and the have-nots of our world. Indeed, they can be the source of a totally new future for billions of people, a future without hunger, disease, deprivation or ignorance.

The rural economy in India is still virtually untouched by modern technology. It is a classical example of market failure: despite the existence of vast and real human needs, there is little actual demand; although a huge capacity exists to generate products, yet there is no supply.

There appears to be a plausible solution for all this: information technology and, particularly, the emerging possibilities offered by the Internet.

There is no instrument more effective than the Internet for bringing both jobs and information to the rural economy – and thus setting it to work.

This truly transformative technology provides the first and best chance to bootstrap the village economy and leapfrog even the most remote and forgotten communities directly from the 19th century into the 21st.

ICT adapted for Rural India

To change this dismal scenario, Development Alternatives and its marketing arm, Technology and Action for Rural Advancement (TARA), have launched a new service, TARAhaat.com, that brings relevant information, products, and services via the Internet to the underserved rural market.

Starting August 2000, in the districts of Bundelkhand surrounding the historical city of Jhansi (a region widely known for its poverty and harsh living conditions), TARAhaat became the first major "portal" designed from the ground up for the needs of village users. TARAhaat is a gateway that connects the village user to information services, government agencies, and, above all, to all kinds of markets. (A "haat" is the colorful, festive weekly village market common throughout India.)

TARAhaat works quite simply. Even small children, village housewives, and illiterate people can use it from day one. The computer displays information in the local language of each region. For those who cannot read, it uses animated pictures, self-explanatory diagrams and voice-over. The villager talks to the computer by clicking a mouse or, soon, by a simple voice command.TARAhaat is the portal to a better future in the villages of India. It is about to bootstrap the village economy, leap-frogging even the most remote communities directly from the 19th century to the 21st. q

The Changing Face of Development Alternatives Information NETwork (DAINET)

With the onset of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), and particularly the Internet, information is now exchanged and transferred in a manner never before imagined. The Internet has become a growing global network of people that can converse, teach, argue, learn, hold meetings, buy and sell things, and send and receive information of virtually all types.While part of humanity is cruising on the information superhighway, many remain isolated, equipped only with outdated technology and limited means of access to the required information. On the one side of the coin, there is a widening gap between the ‘information haves’ in the North, and especially the ‘haves nots’ in the South. On the other side of the coin, ICTs have a tremendous potential for helping make ‘knowledge connections’ within and among developing countries – a potential Development Alternatives Information Network (DAINET) has been exploring since its inception.

Catering to a broad spectrum user community

Development Alternatives Information Network (DAINET) was established in 1993 to make relevant information available and accessible for sustainable development efforts, especially by the independent sector. DAINET, besides clearly identifying its niche and role has been able to formulate a strategy within the rapidly changing information and communication technology situation in the country.

The initial cautious approach and interactions with a variety of stakeholders enabled DAINET to identify its niche and role in the rapidly changing information and communication technology scenario in India. Appreciation and interest from the corporate sector, governments, development agencies, academic institutions, NGOs, local entrepreneurs and rural communities is very encouraging. DAINET now needs to consolidate and build its operations from a position of strength.

The changing face of DAINET

Opportunities exist for DAINET, through strategic partnerships, to prove that the Internet revolution can reach and empower rural India.

Currently most of the Internet based services are primarily geared to larger urban-based NGOs. More emphasis was laid to address the connectivity and content related needs of grassroots NGOs, households and individuals.

New kinds of institutional forms are required to respond to the growing opportunities being unfolded by electronic commerce. Development Alternatives recognized this in the field of appropriate technology over fifteen year’s back. Hence, TARA was thus setup as the business affiliate of the group while Development Alternatives focuses on innovation. Similarly, a new institutional mechanism - TARAhaat.com, in collaboration with business corporations, NGOs, Government Agencies and other institutions has been established as the internet-enabled rural market place.

DAINET, like the rest of the Development Alternatives Group continues to play its role in information systems innovation, especially for the public domain environment and the development community.

DAINET has a very important role to demonstrate how a combination of technologies can be utilized to reach the ‘last mile’ effectively. Essentially there are two types of technologies. Terrestrial systems will for a long time to come remain the prime backbone. However, they are subject to high Infrastructural, bureaucratic and contractual hurdles, and hence will take a long time to reach the remote Indian village. On the other hand, the potential of satellite based systems especially for far-flung villages, though initially expensive, is an interesting proposition.

A combination of technologies will be adopted to demonstrate that the Internet services can reach rural India and meaningfully empower local communities.

As a first step, the TARAhaat model is being field tested in the Bundelkhand region of Central India. Over a period, the learnings from this field test have provided insights into what it takes to provide full Internet services in remote rural areas. From the lessons of Bundelkhand, TARAhaat.com has moved to Bhatinda, Punjab to further test its efficacy in an entirely new setting where the people are more familiar with ICT and e-commerce.

Content generation for the environment and development has and will remain the prime focus of DAINET. After collaborations with several National Programmes and institutions the work is progressing smoothly and has been directed towards an accelerated mode.

The primary purpose of this module under the Development Alternatives Information Network (DAINET) programme is to experiment and demonstrate that a combination of technologies can be adopted to provide Internet services in rural India and meaningfully empower local communities. q

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