ib project on ttp

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TABLE OF CONTENT

AcknowledgementI

Acronyms and Abbreviations.II

CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................................... 2

1.1 RESEARCHTOPIC: ......................................................................................................................................... 4

1.2 OBJECTIVES OF OUR PROJECT: ............................................................................................................................. 4

1.3 SCOPEOFOURRESEARCHPROJECT ............................................................................................................. 5

1.4 LIMITATIONSOFTHESTUDY: ........................................................................................................................ 5

1.5 EXECUTIVESUMMARY ................................................................................................................................. 6

CHAPTER TWO .......................................................................................................................... 7

2.1 LITERATUREREVIEW .................................................................................................................................... 7

2.2 WHATISANINFORMATONTECHNOLOGYPARK? ........................................................................................ 9

2.3 GOALOFANITPARK ................................................................................................................................... 10

CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................... 11

3.1 INTRODUCTION:WHYINFORMATIONANDCOMMUNICATIONTECHNOLOGY? ........................................ 11

3.2 INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGYINBHUTAN:OVERVIEW .............................................................................. 13

3.2.1 PROJECT DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES .................................................................................................... 14

3.2.2 PROJECT DEVELOPMENT MISSION......................................................................................................... 14

3.2.3 PROJECT DEVELOPMENT VISSION .......................................................................................................... 14

CHAPTER FOUR ....................................................................................................................... 15

4.1 RESEARCHMETHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................................ 15

4.2 RESEARCH DESIGN: ......................................................................................................................................... 15

4.3 DATACOLLECTIONMETHODS: ................................................................................................................... 16

CHAPTER FIVE ........................................................................................................................ 17

5.1 DATAANALYSISANDINTERPRETATION...................................................................................................... 17

5.1.1 RISKS OR CHALLENGES OF THE IT PARK ................................................................................................. 17

CHAPTER SIX ........................................................................................................................... 20

6.1.1 Findings From the data collected: .......................................................................................................... 20

6.1.2 Direct Employment: ............................................................................................................................... 21

6.1.3 Indirect Employment: ............................................................................................................................. 22

CHAPTER SEVEN ..................................................................................................................... 26

7.1 RECOMMENDATIONSANDSUGGESTIONS ................................................................................................. 26

7.2 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................................. 27

BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 28


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Every endeavour is the blend of many individuals hard work. Success is the tireless effort and

unwavering dedication from different sections of people.

We would like to pay our immense homage in thanking each and every individual who have

directly and indirectly contributed their ideas, suggestions and spending their precious time in

our research project and helping us all the way in making this research project a successful one.

We would like extend our heartfelt gratitude to our Module Tutor, Ms. Priya for her insightful

suggestions, unwavering support and guidance throughout our research. Her thought provoking

comments, time and above all patience refined our thoughts and made us see the light at the end

of the tunnel for which, we remain ever indebted to her.

We also want to pay our immense gratitude to Mr. Kezang, National Consultant with the

Department of Information Technology & Telecom (DITT), Ministry of Information and

Communications (MoIC) for his positive communication, insightful suggestions, unwavering

support and guidance and lending us with necessary Information regarding the IT Park project.

And also our heartfelt gratitude to the college management for providing us with library services

and internet facilities service for gather relevant information for doing this project.

I


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ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

ADB Asian Development Bank

ATM Automatic Teller Machine

BICMA Bhutan InfoComm & Media Authority

BPO Business Processing Outsourcing

BT Bhutan Telecom Ltd.

DITT Department of Information Technology & Telecom

DHI Druk Holding and Investments

FDI Foreign Direct Investment

FIs Financial Institutions

GNH Gross National Happiness

IT Information Technology

ITES IT Enabled Services

ICT Information and Communication Technology

MoIC Ministry o f Information and Communication

PPP Public Private Partnership

PSD Private Sector Development

RGoB Royal Government of Bhutan

RUB Royal University of Bhutan

SEZ Special Economic Zone

SMEs Small and Medium- sized Enterprises

USD United States Dollar

II


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CHAPTER ONE

1.1 RESEARCH TOPIC:

IT PARK IN BHUTAN: POSSIBLE PROSPECTS AND PROBLEMS

Master Plan of IT Park: Source MoIC Website

1.2 Objectives of our Project:

a) To find out how IT Park will help in the development of the Bhutanese economy(Employment Opportunities).

b) To find out how the architecture and the goals of an IT Park is in compliance withthe GNH concept of Bhutan.

c) To find out what are the risks and challenges of IT Park in Bhutan.


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1.3 SCOPE OF OUR RESEARCH PROJECT

As the Information Technology (IT) Park is a new concept to Bhutan, so the main results of the

study in this research project is to find out what actually means the IT Park in the Bhutanese

context and also to find out how the architecture and the goals towards enhancing Gross National

Happiness. The most importantly to find out what are the possible prospects that the existing IT

Firms / Sectors will enjoy and benefited and what are the problems they are going to face

because of this new concept IT Park.

This project is going to be of great usefulness to the youths of Bhutan as a whole in

disseminating the information and knowledge about the IT Park as it is a new concept in Bhutan

and to make them aware of the importance of Information Technology in our country. And most

importantly this project is going make the youths of Bhutan aware of the scope of IT in the job

market and the vital role that the IT Park concept will play in the development our countrys

economy.

1.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:

Sources of Information and InterpretationThe information and data we collected are all of secondary data such as browsing from

the internet, Bhutan news papers, magazines and journals and all and all those

informations are one to two years old and we could not get the latest informations. Had

we used the primary source for the collection of data than we could have provided latest

information and data but due to lack of time we could not. And moreover, the datas and

the informations we have studied and analyzed and then interpreted in the results and

findings would be out of track in the sense that we would have interpreted in a wrong

way.


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1.5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

With people at the centre of development, Bhutan will harness the benefits of ICT, both as an

enabler and as an industry, to realise the Millennium Development Goals and towards

enhancing Gross National Happiness. From the ICT White Paper, October 2003 (Source: MoIC

Website)

Businesses around the world are realizing that addressing environmental concerns can also

benefit the bottom line. They arent jumping on the bandwagon in an effort to save the planet,

though this sentiment is certainly expressed in many cases. Rather, businesses see an

opportunity: By adopting initiatives that have a positive effect on the environment, they save

money, and at the same time, use technology more efficiently. Great opportunities lie in the IT

sector, where reducing the environmental footprint of technology is now top of mind for many IT

leaders. Bhutan, having adopted Gross National Happiness as its development philosophy,

conservation of environment being one of its pillars, the IT Park is built on the concept of Green

IT.

This research project was mainly carried out for the academic purpose. IT Park in Bhutan:

Possible prospects and problems, we chose this particular topic since the concept of IT Park is

new to Bhutan and we wanted to further explore what actually is meant by IT Park and wanted to

gain a broad knowledge about it. But most importantly, we wanted to find- out what are the

possible prospects and problems that the existing IT firms in Bhutan will have from this IT Park

and also to find out how this IT Park is going to help in the development of Bhutanese economy

especially in terms of employment opportunities.

For the collection of relevant data and information, we have adopted collection of secondary data

in our project. Secondary data means data that are already available i.e., they refer to data which

have already been collected and analyzed by someone else. To get relevant data and information

we have gone through books, magazines, newspapers and browsing through the net.

This research project highlights the brief description of the overall IT Park project development,

their objectives and their challenges and risks.

From the secondary data collected through that we have highlighted the results and findings s

and we have also done the analysis manually.


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CHAPTER TWO

2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW

Similar to industrial parks or estates, Information Technology Park is an area where buildings

and facilities are designed for housing information science and technology related firms, and

which provides an infrastructure for very high speed telecommunications.

As, Bhutan is on the verge and in the process of building the countrys first ever Information

Technology Park to facilitate technological innovation and attract foreign investments, in Babesa

at Thimphu, Bhutan has taken the first concrete step towards achieving its aspirations of

becoming a major regional Information Technology centre. Taking into account and

consideration of coming up of the IT Park in Thimphu and the planning to be operational by June2, 2011 (stated in the article, Bhutan gets its first IT Park published by Kuensel, online), we

the group of two members in International Business Module are here to study and analyze on our

research topic, IT Park In Bhutan: Its Prospects and Possible Problems with the following

main objectives of our research:

1. To find out how IT Park will help in the development of the Bhutanese economy(Employment Opportunities).

2.

To find out how the architecture and the goals of an IT Park is in compliance withthe GNH concept of Bhutan.

3. To find out what are the risks and challenges of IT Park in Bhutan.

Technology Park would enable the access of large number of Internet Service Providers that

would offer services from basic e-mail and browsing through to the provision of services capable

of supporting other Internet Service Providers. By establishing information Technology Park,

many businesses would use high-speed Internet links where they can connect to distribution

channels overseas across the international countries.

IT Park is a boom for IT related business. It would contribute to the overall development and

growth for IT firms in the country. The IT Park is a creation of a dedicated IT base, which will

help in getting a due share of growing International Market in software and enabled services. The

IT Park will be the main catalyst in the development of information and communication
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technology (IT Park, Kavre, Nepal)

Many global IT parks are facing acute problems in recruiting quality manpower resources since

it largely determines the success of IT firms in the IT Park. To mitigate such kind of Human

Resource problems, IT parks as far as possible with feasibilities studied are established near tovarious prominent universities, centers of learning (International Good Practices for

Establishment of Sustainable IT Park, InfoDev/World Bank 2008).

IT Park designs and delivers technology-enabled business solutions that help Global 2000

companies win in a Flat World. Infosys also provides a complete range of services by leveraging

their domain and business expertise and strategic alliances with leading technology providers.

Their offerings span business and technology consulting, application services, systems

integration, product engineering, custom software development, maintenance, re-engineering,

independent testing and validation services, IT infrastructure services and business process

outsourcing. (Source: http://www.infosys.com).
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2.2 WHAT IS AN INFORMATON TECHNOLOGY PARK?

What is a technology park? "Technology Park" is a vague term by all accounts, used to describe

a variety of efforts to stimulate the development of "entrepreneurial, knowledge-based small and

medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within a country.

Technology parks have been in existence in the United States since at least the early 1950s and

have since spread around the world, with new technology parks continually arising. Originally,

the term "technology park" had a very limited definition, focusing on the real estate aspect of the

park concept, in which universities typically leased real estate, office space or research facilities

to businesses.

In a simpler and specific word, a technology park can be defined and described as one that: -

1. Is linked with educational or research institutions2. Provides infrastructure and support services for businesses, particularly real estate

and office space

3. Performs a technology transfer function4. Performs an economic development function

In the late nineties, developing countries increasingly started to establish similar parks as a

preferred tool for promoting their information technology (IT) industry. Given that these

countries were often constrained by severe infrastructure limitations, it was easier to provide

state-of-the-art physical, communication, and social infrastructure within a designated area to

enable IT companies to operate. This is the working definition of an IT Park.


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2.3 GOAL OF AN IT PARK

While each country or municipality may have different reasons for creating technology parks,

generally the primary goal of a technology park arrangement is to increase the number of

"entrepreneurial, knowledge-based small and medium-sized enterprises" (or SMEs) in an

economy. SMEs have been described as "the backbone of the private sector as they help

diversify the economy." Developing countries with no local expertise in technology may use

technology parks to attract foreign direct investment to create jobs and increase tax revenues.

The role of IT Parks has been to:

Recruit and co-locate new and established knowledge-based companies; Promote innovation based on smart technologies; Provide an interface or shared research environment for research organizations and

private industry; and

Leverage local knowledge.


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CHAPTER THREE

3.1 INTRODUCTION: WHY INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

TECHNOLOGY?

The phenomenon of globalization is underpinned by innovation, information and enterprise. It islargely supported and driven by the development and use of Information and Communication

Technology (ICT). Without ICT, it is increasingly difficult to take advantage of the opportunities

and as well as minimize the threats of globalization. There is a real and growing fear of being

caught on the wrong side of a global digital divide, disconnected from global markets,

knowledge and ideas, or alternatively of being swamped by waves of global culture undermining

ones own identity.

ICT has the potential to assist Bhutan overcome its geographic challenges. The traditional

geographic barriers that confront Bhutan - a dispersed population divided internally by high

mountain passes, being landlocked - can be lessened by the smart application of ICT.

Additionally ICT can be used to create business, jobs, tap international markets, preserve and

promote cultural heritage and support good governance. In its entirety, ICT can help create a

knowledge-based society.

So the Government of Bhutan realizing the importance of Information and Communication

Technology, the Ministry of Information and Communication (MoIC) was established in July

2003 as the lead government agency for the formulation and implementation of policies and the

drafting of ICT legislation in the country. The MoIC is mandated to:

i. Develop an efficient and reliable information and communication systems to helptransform Bhutan into an information society;

ii. Promote ICT in the country as an enabler of national development; andiii. Develop a safe and progressive national transport system.In order for the MoIC to carry out its mandate, the Department of Information Technology &

Telecom (DITT) was established as the lead department for the development, promotion, and

coordination of all ICT-related activities in the country. The department has three divisions. The

application division researches and recommends appropriate software applications and operating

systems for adoption and use, and drafts guidelines for the development of software applications


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3.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN BHUTAN: OVERVIEW

With the establishment of Information Technology Park, Bhutan has achieved its aspiration of

becoming a major regional IT centre. The park, named Thimphu TechPark, is being built on a

five-acre plot in Babesa by Thimphu TechPark Pvt Ltd, a joint venture of Druk Holding and

Investments (DHI) and Assetz, a property development firm headquartered in India and

Singapore. The main aim of the project is to encourage private sector development in Bhutan,

which will reduce poverty and diversify the economy beyond the current main-stay of

hydropower exports.

But what exactly is an IT park?

Its the same concept as countries like Singapore, where the government provides liberal

economic laws and ancillary features (water, sewerage, electricity and fiber connectivity) toattract foreign companies to operate within its borders, said Deputy Director of DITT, Mr.

Kezang (Source: Bhutan gets its first IT Park dated 18th September, 2009, published in

Kuensel). In the first phase of the project, it is the construction of the main building for IT and IT

enabled services (ITES), with over 50,000 square feet of office space and utility services like

ATM, Travel desk, shared services and cafeteria while the overall project entire project is valued

at about Nu. 1000 million and the first phase is estimated to absorb Nu.300 million. In the second

phase of the project development, it is the construction of buildings for BPO, Data Center,

Convention Center, Central Amenities, Food Court, Retail, Government Business Center, Hotel

and Services. The park is also a special economic zone (SEZ), where economic laws are more

liberal than the rest of the country. For instance, global IT companies that use the park will get a

10 year tax exemption, 100 percent foreign equity ownership, free entry of experts and skilled

workers are some of the incentives the government is offering to entrepreneurs interested in this

project or to those organizations who are into IT consolidation. The Park caters to develop

entrepreneurship skills, facilities for video conferencing whereby the lecturers from abroad will

come and give the video conferencing from Thimphu to various colleges and schools in the

country.

The project is of a high profile, anchor scheme as part of the overall IT strategy for the country,

with all aspects of the design being sympathetic to the environment and cultural sustainability

objectives of Bhutan.


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3.2.1 PROJECT DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES

The objective of the project is to increase productive employment in Bhutan through promotion

of enterprise development in the Information Technology/Information Technology Enabled

Services (IT/ITES) sector, enhanced IT skills, and improved access to finance. The projectpursues this objective by supporting interventions in three complementary areas:

1. Development of IT/ITES Sector:This component focuses on the development the IT/ITES sector in Bhutan, using an

integrated approach that includes (i) Establishment o f IT Park and related infrastructure

and (ii) IT promotion services.

2. Development of IT/ITES Skills Program:This component focuses on development o f skills, through collaboration with

international institutions at the following three levels (i) Generic Skills for the IT/ITES

Sector; (ii)Distance learning facilities/CMS for IT Skills development; and (iii)IT

Entrepreneurship Development Program.

3. Strengthening Financial Sector through IT Use:This component aims at achieving greater efficiency in the financial sector through IT

use, comprising the following three activities: (i) IT system up-gradation in the Bank o fBhutan; and (ii) developing a Financial sector IT development strategic plan; and (iii)

developing a financial inclusion policy, financial literacy program and upgrading the

Royal Securities Exchange of Bhutan.

3.2.2 PROJECT DEVELOPMENT MISSION

To develop a world-class Green IT Park and a model National ICT Hub in Babesa under

Thimphu municipality

3.2.3 PROJECT DEVELOPMENT VISSION

To make Bhutan a globally significant player in the IT/ITES industry


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Selecting the sample (how much material will be needed?) Collecting the data (where can be the required data be found?) Processing and analyzing the data. Reporting the findings.

We have specified our objectives of our project study to ensure that the data collected are

relevant and have provided the desire information.

4.3 DATA COLLECTION METHODS:

In order to have appropriate and relevant information we have collected data from secondary

source.

We have collected data from the secondary sources, i.e., browsing from the internet, e-mail and

telecommunication. Secondary data are those information where already other have collected at

source, given in net, magazine and books etc. Secondary sources informations are be ing

acknowledged and we have taken out the information which are related to our project and which

are supporting.


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CHAPTER FIVE

5.1 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

5.1.1 RISKS OR CHALLENGES OF THE IT PARK

As one of the objective of our project study is to find the risks and challenges the IT Park will

face so the major potential risks, identified by the personnel concerned, that will influence the

sustainability of the project, and their mitigation measures are flagged below:

1. Failure to attract reputable IT infrastructure developers to BhutanRisk Mitigation Measures:

Leading national and international developers would be identified in advance, andcontacts made with them so as to factor in their perspectives while fine-tuning the

design o f the project.

A draft RFP for the bidding process for the IT Park would be tested through initialcontacts with potential investors.

To manage the entire process o f identifying a suitable developer for the IT Parkproject, as well as to market Bhutan as a destination for IT companies, MoIC shall

assume the main responsibility, with the lead coming from a high powered MoIC

official.

Local Bhutanese partners would be encouraged to team up with reputed ITinfrastructure developers, to facilitate understanding of local conditions and

encourage ownership.

Identification and allotment of appropriate land site for the IT Park

2. The cross- sectoral nature of project involves working with different stakeholders whichmay delay decision making and implementation

Risk Mitigation Measures:

Establishing a high-powered mechanism for dealing with cross-sectoralclearances for the IT Park - either through the Finance Ministry or Prime

Ministers office; (ii)Financial Sector IT Task force, at inception stage to


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encourage collaboration, expedite decision- making, and undertake one-stop

clearances. Where possible, capacity building TAs shall be explored with

IFC/SEDF and other donors to support the preparatory work o f the taskforces.

3. Telecom connectivity infrastructure not strengthened up to international standardsRisk Mitigation Measures:

First, the Bhutan Telecom is in negotiation with Reliance in India for establishinga more competitive rate; (ii) the MoIC- RGoB is in negotiation with Videsh

Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL) in India for establishing a more competitive rate;

and (iii) Tashi Group - one o f the largest private sector enterprises in Bhutan and

that has been licensed to establish a mobile phone company -- i s currently

negotiating directly with an Indian gateway provider for international

connectivity, and have received indications that they will be charged regionally

competitive rates for accessing connectivity. Domestic and international

competition shall bring down connectivity costs in the near future.

Given that the capital cost o f fiber optic connectivity upto the Indian border i s asunk cost and the marginal cost o f using the network i s minimal, bringing in

such international competition is most likely to result in lower leased line prices

in the foreseeable future.

If at the time o f the expected operationalization of the PSD project the leased linerates for companies in the IT Park are higher than prevailing regional rates, RGoB

is committed to bearing the differential cost in the short term.

4. Skills gapquantity and quality - not in step with the demand from IT companiesRisk Mitigation Measures:

Establishing an IT Skills Task Force to undertake preparatory work includingcontacting academic institutions and forging collaborations at all three levels o f

ITATES skills development.


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5. Unsatisfactory IT system upgrade and usage to lead to operational efficiency in selectedFinancial Institutions (FIs)

Risk Mitigation Measures:

Strengthening IT training in FIs in collaboration with IFCBEDF to enhanceunderstanding on the importance o f financial IT, and to improve IT skills to

efficiently operate embedded IT systems;

And IT supervisory function o f RMAis to be ensured for the quality assurance of IT development at institutional level.

In brief, the challenges and risks of the Information Technology Park can be summarized as

follows into two categories:

Primary:

Lack of redundant international telecom connectivity Attracting graduates to pursue career in the ITES/BPO industry Attracting a proper mix of globally reputed and credible IT/ITES companies as anchor

tenants

Lack of entrepreneurial culture Limited air connectivity

Secondary:

Lack of modern educational facilities Lack of modern healthcare facilities Customs and immigration issues Lack of double taxation avoidance treaty Other unforeseen developments


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CHAPTER SIX

6.1 RESULTS AND FINDINGS

6.1.1 Findings From the data collected:

As one of the main objectives of this research project is, to find out how IT Park will help in thedevelopment of the Bhutanese economy (Employment Opportunities), the results and findings

from the information we got through from the internet source and the power point we received

through e-mail from the MoIC Deputy Director is presented below:

1. Employment Opportunities:

Information and communications technology (ICT) - along with other export oriented

industries - is one such sector which has been recognized as an unmatched

developmental tool as well as an area of new business and employment opportunities for all

Bhutanese people. ICT plays both to Bhutans strengths and avoids the countrys major

constraints. In addition, the development of this sector would help create jobs for the

increasingly unemployed youth, and would be gender-sensitive in impact.

According to the 2006 Labour Force Survey, 96.9% of the total economically active

population is employed. This employment rate however, has been decreasing over the

years, with a drop from 98.2% in 2003 to 96.9% in 2006. The geographic distribution of

employed persons shows the densest concentration in Chukha district followed by Samtse

and Thimphu. Approximately 71% of employed persons worked in the agricultural, hunting

and forestry; and public administration and defense sectors, in 2006. The 2009 Labour

Force Survey data suggests that there is an overall growth in non-agricultural employment

over the last two years. Agriculture and forestry still lead the way employing 204,400 or

65.37% of the labour force.

The 2009 survey results show that majority of the employed, 51.77%, are within the family

business or profession and around 22.47% as self employed workers, indicating that small-

scale enterprises are the biggest job generators. The latest study also shows that there is a

higher rate of unemployment in the urban areas at 7.5%, compared to 3% in the rural areas.

The unemployment rate in Bhutan has increased to 4% in 2009 from 3.7% in 2007,

according to the 2009 survey. The increase translates to 13,000 unemployed people.


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With the increase in the number of students graduating from many different universities

(from inside and outside the country), some not qualifying and some dropping out from the

higher secondary level, the unemployment rate has been increased. But now with the

establishment of the IT Park it is going to help the country in reducing this unemployment

trends by providing job opportunities.

We have found out through telephone conversation with the Deputy Director of

Department of Information Technology and Telecommunication under Ministry of

Information and Communication based in Thimphu, the capital city of Bhutan that for

every one direct employment of IT Professional, 2 to 3 indirect employments will be

created. The employment trend of the IT Park is presented:

6.1.2 Direct Employment:

N

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R

O

F

E

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P

LO

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N

TYEARS FOR EMPLOYMENT


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6.1.3 Indirect Employment:

From the above two employment trends, obtained from the DITT, it can be clearly seen that

the Information Technology Park is going to be a employment generator for the Bhutanese

youths and it is going to help the Bhutanese economy develop and reduce the problem of

ever increasing unemployment rates by providing great number of employment

opportunities. But to grasp this opportunity, the youths of Bhutan should recognize the

importance of IT in this ever increasing technology oriented world and should take interest

in the field of IT.

As IT Park is a new concept in Bhutan, there is scarce of IT labour force and creating an IT

labour force of Bhutanese nationality is one of the biggest challenges recognized by the

management of the IT Park and the MoIC.

2. Gross National Happiness:

If happiness is among the cherished goals of development, then it does matter how this

happiness is generated, what causes it, what goes with it, and how it is distributed

whether it is enjoyed by a few or shared by all.

As it is known throughout the world that GNH is the overall guiding principle for the

development of Bhutanese society and the economy, now the whole world knows Bhutan

as a name, GNH Country. Whatever the economic development activities are carried out

N

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YEARS FOR EMPLOYMENT


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it is based on the Four Pillars of development philosophy, i.e., Gross national Happiness.

The Four Pillars are:

1) Preservation and Promotion of Traditional and Cultural Heritage.2) Conservation of Natural Environments.3) Equitable and Sustainable Socio Economic Development, and4) Good Governance.The Government of Bhutan is guided by this Four Pillars of Gross National Happiness.

Even with the IT Park development project this Four Pillars are implemented. Through the

information we gathered, we came to know that, TTP aims to correspond with GNH

values, promoting equitable and sustainable socio economic development, by generating

jobs locally and drawing inward investments to Bhutan, preserving and promoting cultural

values, by having an architectural design that blends with the cultural and ethnic

sensibilities of Bhutan, conserving environment through its sustainable design, and

establishing good governance by focusing on strong work ethic and corporate social

responsibility. The main structure has been designed to be environmentally friendly and

incorporating traditional architectural characteristics.

3. 100% Foreign Equity Participation (100% Foreign Direct Investment):

FDI is the movement of capital across national frontiers in a manner that grants the investor

control over the acquired asset. Thus it is distinct from portfolio investment which may

cross borders, but does not offer such control.

As the Government of Bhutan has offered and granted 100% foreign equity participation,

which means that the international organization can invest 100% into the IT Park of Bhutan

and they can take 100% of their profits back to their home country.

But one important thing to be noted here is that the international organization will just beallowed to invest in the infrastructures of the IT Park and should operate their business with

the organizations of Bhutan on a partnership basis. They will not be here to capture the

market share of Bhutan but to help in improving the services. Also, at least 80% of the

IT/ITES services in the IT Park must be exported.


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4. Infrastructure is key in IT/ITES businesses:

Bhutan faces geo-demographic constraints for the roll-out of ICT infrastructure, including

harsh terrain and small scattered populations. ICT vies with other development priorities

for funds; Bhutans limited resources have meant that the roll-out of ICT equipment in

schools and businesses is not far advanced. The small size of the country means that there

is limited ability to build a critical mass of telecommunications engineers and other ICT

professionals to adopt and implement infrastructure; Bhutan continues to rely substantially

on outside technical assistance. (Source: MoIC Website).

The infrastructure activities will be focusing on implementing the liberalized and

competitive infrastructure market, and increasing co-ordination between infrastructure

providers, and ensuring that there is affordable, fast, secure, sustainable and appropriate

ICT infrastructure throughout Bhutan. The IT Park will be providing a high level of

mechanical, electrical, data management and storage and cooling facilities. And it will also

enable IT and ITES.

The IT component will be generating employment opportunities, while the ITES sector will

be producing BPOs (business process outsourcing) and KPOs (knowledge process

outsourcing). Bhutan is primarily targeting the ITES component. ITES is about bringing

international and local experts together for the exchange of knowledge.

5. Human Resource:

As human resource is one of the biggest assets in any organization, Bhutan does not have

adequate ICT and knowledge-workers. It is estimated that there are less than 400 ICT

professionals in Bhutan. This is partly due to the small size of the population, but also can

be ascribed to the ability of the training institutions. With the Government of Bhutan

realizing the importance of IT in this modern technology oriented world, the Government

has taken necessary steps to develop a larger pool of IT personnel.

Now with the coming up of IT Park, it is found out that there is lack of skilled IT

personnel to be enrolled in the Park and also it is sad to know that some of the Bhutanese


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citizens who are doing IT course abroad has refused to come and work in the Bhutanese

IT Park.

Eventhough, there is scace of skilled IT Professionals, and there being every chance of

losing IT professionals of existing IT institutions still than if we look on the brighter side,

with the IT Park being established, the human resource capacity of their firms will

develop since they will get chance to work and communicate with the highly educated IT

Professionals which will help their employees to develop themselves which in turn willl

benefit their organization.


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CHAPTER SEVEN

7.1 RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

Increase Human Resource in IT Related Fields:As it is found out that one of the main drawback and the challenge of the IT Park is the

scarce of Bhutanese labor in Information Technology fields, it is of vital importance that

the government should take necessary measures to increase the Bhutanese Human

Resource in the IT related fields by providing and identifying the youths of Bhutan

interested in IT fields and also all those who have got IT qualification and sending them

for further specialisation in IT fields to the outside country. And also one of the measure

that can be taken by the government of Bhutan is that by making IT as one of the major

module in all of the universities under Royal University of Bhutan in the college levels.

Bhutanese Youths in IT Educational Qualification:The Bhutanese youths are found to take less interest in IT related fields and even if they

have taken the IT course in their college levels they possess only the surface knowledge

of information technology. Whereas what the IT Park looks for is those IT personnel who

are well specialised in the IT field with depth knowledge about the IT. So for the

bhutanese youths to grasp the opprotunities of employment that are going to be created in

the coming future, it is necessary that te youths should take keen interest in IT related

fields and further specialised themselve.


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7.2 CONCLUSION

This project is an effort of the group of two members to find out the possible prospects of the

first ever Information Technology Park in Bhutan which is a new concept in the Information and

Communication Technology existing in Bhutan. Apart from this we have touched many areas

regarding the new concept of Information Technology Park and also the brighter side of the IT

Park that the Bhutan as a whole will face in terms of the employment opprtunities for the youths

of Bhutan and the development of the world class IT Centre in the coming future.

The only thing that the youths of Bhutan should realise is the importance of having IT

knowledge and skills in this fast tecnology advanced developing world and consequently should

take interest in IT related fields in order to grasp the opprtunities that the IT Park will create. As

it has been found that the IT Park ensure with large creation of employment opportunities both

directly and indirectly it is crystal clear that the unemployment rate is definitely going to fall

down.

It also has been found out that the concept of IT Park is implemented and is in compliance with

the development philosophy of our country Bhutan i.e., Gross National Happiness.


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1 An InfoDev publication (June 2008). INTERNATIONAL GOOD PRACTICE FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF SUSTAINABLE IT PARKS, PriceWaterHouseCoopers, Seth Ayers,

infoDev, India.

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1B3. Toll-Free: 1-888-670-8889

3 Jigme, Sonam (2006). Determinants Affecting Foreign Direct Investment in Bhutan:Perception of Government Officers in BIMST-EC Member Countries. Department of

International Business Graduate School. The University of the Thai Chamber Of

Commerce. ISBN 974-677-577-4

4 Kezang &Whalley Jason. Demand, skills and infrastructure: investigating the potentialimpacts of an IT park in Bhutan, Culture, communication and the cutting edge of

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5 Sabapathy Ashwin & Rajarathnam Uma. Environmental Impact Assessment andEnvironmental Management Plan Thimphu Tech Park, Bhutan, Enzen Global

Limited, Bangalore, India.

ib project on ttp

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