INDIA ICT FOR DEVELOPMENT

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INDIA ICT FOR DEVELOPMENT

• UNDP - INDIA

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ICT AGAINST ODDS

• Communication technologies yet to connect
  millions
• Remote areas shrouded in communication darkness
• Inequalities keep the poor/women on other end of
  digital divide.
• Limited Citizen to Citizen (C2C) or Citizen to
  Government communication.
• Technology focus keeps stakeholders out.
• Few community-based business/sustainable models.
• Limited local level capacity

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RESPONSIVE GOVERNMENT?

• A. Setting a sound policy framework
• Tenth Five year Plan (effective communication
  facilities in rural and tribal areas)
• Perspective plan for the 1997-2007 (consolidation
  of the connectivity)
• New Telecom policy 1999 (infrastructure and
  information key to economic and social
  development)
• State level IT policies
• Information Technology Act 2000, Draft
  Communication and Convergence Bill 2000
• National Task Force on IT and Software
  Development (1998) (long term IT plans developed)
• MOCIT working group on IT for masses

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RESPONSIVE GOVERNMENT (Cont.)

• B. Developing an infrastructure base
• Department of Telecommunications plans
• Provisions of Optical fibre in major transmission
  routes
• Upgradation of transmission systems from Analog
  to Digital
• Setting up National internet backbone
• Provision of internet services to all the
  district HQs
• Introduction of the WLL technology
• State Governments efforts
• Connectivity Backbone - Hybrid consisting of OFC
  and VSATs
• Last mile connectivity - LAN or wireless
  connectivity

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Responsive Government? (Cont.)

• C. ICT in Development Sector
• EDUCATION - tele-education
• HEALTH - Telemedicine for delivery of health care
  to remote locations
• E-GOVERNANCE - seamless transfer of information
  between offices dealing with administration in
  the Centre as well as the State, develop suitable
  software package for EG, amendments in Central
  and State Acts, rules and regulations
• DISASTER MANAGEMENT- GIS, remote sensing, cyclone
  forcasting
• Multi functional Converged Applications Community
  Centres

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CIVIL SOCIETY INITIATIVES

• Technological and social solutions to poors
  accessibility to ICT
• Gyandoot Village level kiosks operated by
  panchayats.
• Bhoomi on-line system for land records
• Jal chitra a software for water mapping
• NDDB on-line diary management
• Lokmitra on-line processing of bills/forms
• Saukaryam Municipal Corporation online civic
  services
• VOICES social change communication through
  community radio

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UNDP INDIAs ONGOING ICT INTERVENTIONS

• Access to Information, Transparency in
• Governance, Stakeholder Participation
• A systematic Approach to Decentralized Planning
  for District development in MP and Chattisgarh
• Citizens access to information providing various
  citizen services with Govt. of Chattisgarh
• Creation of Community Info centres for interface
  with citizens with Govt. of Uttaranchal
• Improving Citizens access to information through
  rural/urban kiosks in 5 states
• Post Quake Development of Information System for
  reconstruction in Gujarat
• Post super cylcone information dissemination on
  rehabilitation schemes of government and
  non-government agencies in Orissa
• Community radio initiative
• APDIPs initiative on regional HDR ICT for
  Human Development

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UNDP INDIA AND FUTURE PRIORITIES

• Issues
• Digital divide Who will benefit and who will be
  left out?
• Digital Divide reflection of deeper social and
  economic inequalities gender, caste, literacy
• Who drives the information citizen or
  government?
• To what extent ICTs facilitate peoples
  participation in planning?
• Need for focus on Information and Communication
  who needs to communicate with whom and for what
  purpose.

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EMERGING AREAS (2003-2007)

• Country Programme Outline (2003-2007) ICTs for
  people-centered development under all 4 thematic
  areas
• The promotion of human development and gender
  equality
• Capacity building for decentralization
• Poverty eradication and sustainable livelihoods
• Vulnerability reduction and environmental
  sustainability
• ICT programmes to be innovative, catalytic,
  crosscutting

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Specifically

• Support platforms for policy advocacy on legal
  frameworks
• Support open source software development/centre
• Support innovative field interventions in
  decentralized planning, C2C interface, livelihood
  security, disaster management through community
  radio, ICT kiosks.