“Towards a sustainable society: With the use of information and Communication Technology (ICT)with

special reference to e-governance in India”

Author:Satya Prakash Patel

G.I.MBA-Student

ICPE/Josef Stefan IPS –Ljubljana(Slovenia)

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TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY: WITH THE USE OF INFORMATION& COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO E- GOVERNANCE IN INDIA:

Abstracts-

Science and technology development is crucial. Sustainable development only becomes a

reality through innovation& innovation distribution mechanism. Technology must be made to

work for human development, everywhere. The dynamics of information& communication

technology (I.C.T) will contribute general wealth, reduce poverty, empower and integrate

people , even in the poorest countries .ICT offers new access of education, information, and

knowledge even in the remote regions help to eradicate poverty and build sustainable-

communities. Without them, it may simply add to the enormous investments and

environmental burden of centralised industrialisation. Indian government launched(2006-

2013) an e-governance plan(National e Governance Programme :NeGP) with vision of

providing all government services at the doorstep of rural citizen through 1,00,000 internet

connected Common Service Centres(CSC) on honey comb model(one center cover six

villages) to cover 6,00,000 villages of country. These CSCs will empower the rural

community and catalyse social changes through ICT.

Key- Words----Sustainable society, sustainability sustainable development, sustainable society index, innovation and technology, I.C.T digital –divide, e-governance, common service center (c.s.c.’s,), honey comb model, ICT for all,

Introduction-. Through time, we have built a society which requires far more

resources than nature can offer on a continuous basis. This is not sustainable. Mahatma

Gandhi has said, "Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's

greed." The Earth had vast resources to satisfy our needs. The only reason we are running

on a resource deficit is that we did not keep our greed in check. Living sustainably

depends on accepting a duty to seek harmony with other people and with nature. The

guiding rules are that people must share with each other and care for the Earth. Humanity

must take no more from nature than nature can replenish. This in turn means adopting

life-styles and development paths that respect and work within nature's limits.

Sustainability comprises three element---depletion of resources in order not to leave

future generations empty-handed; environmental and ecological aspects in order to enable

present and future generations to live in a healthy environment in harmony with nature;

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the quality of life in order to ensure human well –being for present and future generation.

All three elements are important for developing towards a sustainable society. It is for this

reason that the IUCN, UNEP and WWF defined sustainable development as ‘Improving

the quality of life of humans while living within the carrying capacity of supporting

ecosystems’. On the basis of above mentioned definition of sustainability, the sustainable

society can be defined in following way---“ A sustainable society is a society-- that meets

the need of the present generation;that does not compromise the ability of future

generation to meet their own needs and that in which each human being has the

opportunity to develop itself in freedom, within a well-balanced society and in harmony

with its surroundings[1] To support a sustainable way of life on our planet a clear

definition of sustainability is required. This need was clearly recognized by Hales and

Prescott-Allen (2002) when they stated: ‘Achieving sustainability requires defining its

components in measurable terms and clearly fixing the responsibility to assess progress

comprehensively . For that purpose a Sustainable Society Index (SSI) developed. It is a

suitable yardstick to measure the level of sustainability of a country, it integrates the

most important aspects of sustainability and quality of life of a national society in a

simple and transparent way. Consisting of only 22 indicators, grouped into 5 categories.

[2]

Table1.1SSI-Category&Parameters----

Category Indicators Standard

Weight

World-Wide

sore of category

Remarks

Personal

Development

Healthy life;

Sufficient food;

Sufficient to

drink; Safe

sanitation;

Gender equality

1/7th 7.5

Healthy

Environment

Air quality;

Surface water

quality; Land

quality

1/7th 5.6

Well-Balanced Good 1/7th 5.1

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Society governance;

Employment;

Population

growth; Income

distribution;

Public debt.

Sustainable Use

of Resources

Waste cycling;

Use of

renewable water

resources;

Consumption of

renewable

energy

2/7th 4.3

Sustainable

World

Forest area;

Preservation of

bio-diversity,

Emission of

green house

gases;

Ecological

footprint;

International

cooperation

2/7th 6.4

Role of ICT towards a sustainable society—

Above mentioned table of SSI parameters& indicators clearly reveals the fact that improving

of quality of human life have vital role towards establishing a sustainable society. Science

and technology plays crucial for sustainability of a society. Technologies must be made to

work for human development everywhere. The dynamics of information and communication

technology (ICT) will contribute general wealth, reduce poverty, empower and integrate

billions of people , even in the poorest country. It bridges the digital- divide. ICT offers new

access of education and knowledge sharing, access to public services and convergence in

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citizen-government, employment and business opportunities, information and knowledge

even in the remotest regions ,helps to reduce poverty& builds sustainable society. Without

them it may simply add to the enormous investments and environmental burden of

centralised industrialisation. ICT is only means not end .Some important thumb rule must be

taken in care before discussing the role of ICT

Focus on CITIZEN not on COMPUTER; Focus on SOFTWARE not on HARDWARE; Focus on PEOPLE not on SYSTEM Focus on transforming on the process not on translation of process.

(I) ICT and Poverty Reduction – Creating Wealth--

ICT can reduce poverty by improving poor people’s access to markets. It is clear that in

rural India -as well as in much of the developing world- realization of this potential is not

guaranteed. Attacking Poverty identifies three priority areas for reducing poverty :

(i)increasing opportunity, (ii)enhancing empowerment, (iii) improving security. Opportunity

makes markets work for the poor and expands poor people’s assets. Empowerment makes

state institutions work better for poor people and removes social barriers. Security helps poor

people manage risk[3] The use of ICT applications can enhance poor people’s opportunities

by improving their access to markets, health, and education. ICT can empower the poor by

expanding the use of government services, and reduce risks by widening access to

microfinance. Although most of the rural poor in India are isolated from the information

revolution, there are several examples in rural India where ICT is used to contribute to

poverty reduction in the areas of opportunity, empowerment and security. The following case

studies highlight ICT applications that are attempting to realize the potential of ICT .

Supporting pro-poor market development: Computerized milk collection centres in

Gujrat-- Small farmers and artisans living in rural areas typically lack access to information

about prices, data on crops, weather conditions, credit facilities, and market opportunities.

ICT can remedy such information asymmetries and stimulate poor people’s entrepreneurship

by better connecting them to markets[4] In Gujarat, computerized milk collection centers

with integrated electronic weights, electronic fat testing machines and plastic card readers

are ensuring fair prices for farmers who sell milk to dairy cooperatives. Computerized milk

collection centers have increased transparency, led to faster processing, shorter queues and

immediate payment to farmer.Furthermore, the Dairy Information System Kiosk (DISK)

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software developed by the Centre for Electronic Governance at the Indian Institute of

Management, Ahmadabad (CEG-IIMA) provides relevant information to farmers through a

data base that contains complete histories of all milk cattle owned by members of the

cooperative and a dairy portal connected to the Internet. The 50,000 dairy farmers who use

the computerized system benefit is the example of improving the opportunity of poor’s from

a more transparent and efficient cooperative system .[5]

Similar example of improving opportunity of poor’s is National rural employment guarantee

act (NREGA) successfully implementing in India to reduce poverty. ICT is successfully used.

Employment Guarantee Scheme Act (NREGA) and enacted on 2nd February 2006. In this

Scheme government assured to provide 100 days employment in an year to rural poor people

Initial without ICT, there was big problem in terms of wage distribution, Identification card

(Employment card), records etc. As most of the people are illiterate, then there were chance

for middle man, who paid low wages to poor people and enforced them to signed on actual

wages.ICT is used in this programme.Smart cards issued to worker which depicted their work

detail,and wages payment position-Worker,Work and Wages(WWW).Bio-metric ATM cards

are issued them, they are user friendly. Bio-Metric ATMs with secure finger print readers are

hitting the rural villages in Cuddalore District. Transaction of labour wages in NREGA

scheme through biometric ATM is an example of use of ICT to secure poor’s financial risks.

IT enable tools and it also bring transparency, credibility and accountability in effective

manner in NAREGA scheme.[6]

Security to poor’s - Microfinance is an important tool for poor people to reduce, mitigate

and cope with risk. Computerisation, Smart Cards, and software systems providing loan

tracking, financial projections And branch management information can reduce costs and

help microfinance institutions reach clients more efficiently.Smart Cards with an embedded

microchip containing information on clients’ credit histories are helping SKS, a microfinance

institution operating in the Medak district of Andhra Pradesh to reduce transaction cost.

ICT&UIDN-Government of India launches a massive programme-Unique Identification

Number to every people of country on 25June 2009.It is an ICT tool to reduce poverty&

development of country. On June 25, 2009 the Cabinet approved the creation of the position

of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The scheme will, besides facilitating

financial inclusion, ensure better governance and improved service delivery so that the

targeted group of people is actually benefited by center and state.[7]. The UIDAI envisions

full enrolment of residents, with a focus on enrolling India’s poor and underprivileged

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communities The Registrars that the Authority plans to partner with in its first phase – the

NREGA, RSBY and PDS – will help bring large numbers of the poor and underprivileged

into the UID system.The UID method of authentication will also improve service delivery for

the poor the schemes implemented by the Centre and States.

(II) Creating General Wealth Through ICT--

The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector has undergone a revolution

over the last decade in all developing countries. Around $30 billion was committed to

investments in telecommunications Networks in IDA countries between 1997 and 2007 .[8]

According to ITU’s World Telecommunication and ICT Development Report -2010 in 2000

world wide mobile phone subscriber were only 719 million but in 2010 it reaches up to 5.2

billion(In developed countries=1.4billion& in developing countries=3.8 billion); now 90% of

world population covered with telephone network.[ 9] This growth in access to information

and communications technology in developing countries is boosting economic productivity,

raising incomes of families and small businesses, and providing an important source of

government revenue. The adoption of information and communications technology has also

been broad-based, with mobile phones reaching many low-income families and those living

in rural areas. Kerala fishermen’s success story through use of ICT.[ More than 70 percent of

adults in the Indian state of Kerala eat fish at least once a day, and more than 1 million

people work in the fishing industry. Fishing is done primarily by small enterprises, working

near home markets and traditionally selling their catches to a specific market. This causes

large geographical disparities in market prices, according to local conditions of supply and

demand. Mobile phone services were introduced in Kerala in 1997 and expanded 20–25

kilometers out to sea. Fishermen to find out the prices in different markets along the coast,

decide where to land their catches, and agree on prices before landing their fish, effectively

conducting auctions by phone. Mobile phones have resulted in an increase in fishermen’s

incomes. On average daily revenues have risen by205 rupees, while costs (including the cost

of buying the phones) have increased by 72 rupees. of fishermen have jumped by 133 rupees

a day a nine percent increase.]”[10]

The information and communications technology sector’s contribution to economic

growth

widely recognized. It is estimated that a 10 percent increase in tele density contributes to 0.6

percent of GDP growth[11]and the consulting group McKinsey has estimated that- It is

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estimated that every ten percentage points increase in broadband penetration results in1.38

percentage points additional GDP growth in developing countries.[12]

The ICT sector is a major generator of revenues for government .The ICT sector is a major

generator of revenues for the government through taxes, sector levies and, in some cases

revenue-sharing arrangements. On average, the revenue generated by the ICT sector is

equivalent to about four percent of GDP and a significant proportion of this is passed on to

the government through sales tax, sector levies, and corporate taxes. The process of market

reform itself also generates significant government revenues. Private investors transferred

approximately US$7.1 billion to governments of IDA countries through privatizations and

license awards between 1997 and 2007 September 2009 [13]

(III) Enhancing empowerment to poor’s through access to government

information/public services(e-governance) ICT can be used by government agencies to

transform relations with citizens and businesses. In India, as in much of the developing

world, it is not uncommon for rural villagers to travel long distances to government district

headquarters in order to submit applications, meet officials, obtain copies of public records,

or seek information regarding prevailing prices in commodity markets. This involves the loss

of a day’s income as well as the cost of transportation [14] In fact, compared to middle or

upper classes, the poor end up paying a disproportionate share of their income on bribe.With

ICT, it is possible to locate service centers that provide documents, land records and other

Public services physically closer to citizens.

Government agency, or a service kiosk located close to the client. Potential benefits include

Increases transparency, less corruption, better delivery of government services and greater

Information disclosure and the possibility of interacting with public officials also build

pressure for government responsiveness ,Government accountability, the poor become

empowered because they feel they are getting a service rather than a favour. In the light of

above observation many states of India launched such type of ICT based Citizen centric

citizen-government convergence public service delivery systeme.g.GYANDOOT ( Madhya

Pradesh state of India), LOKVANI&Jan Suvidha Kendra (govt. of Uttar Pradesh state of

India), Nemmadi project (Karnatka state of India) Tathya Mitra (West Bengal state of India),

Jan Sew Kendra (Uttar Pradesh of India) Lomita (Himachal Pradesh state of )& e-Dish Equal

Sew Kendra(Haryana state of India) Nemmadi project in state of Karnatka is one of the most

successful project among them.

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E-Governance in India, has steadily evolved from computerization of Government

Departments to initiatives that encapsulate the finer points of Governance, such as citizen

centricity, service orientation and transparency A large number of initiatives have been

undertaken by various State Governments and Central Ministries to usher in an era of e-

Government. Sustained efforts have been made at multiple levels to improve the delivery of

public services and simplify the process of accessing them. The National e-Governance Plan

(NeGP)---.The Government approved the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), comprising of

27 Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) and 8 components, on May 18, 2006.NeGP of India is

an e-Governance Plan with the vision of providing all government services in an integrated

manner at the doorstep of the rural citizen, at an affordable cost has been formulated. This is

expected to bring an empowering change in citizens of rural India through the power of

Information and Communication Technology (ICT). This plan seeks to lay the foundation

and provide the impetus for long-term growth of e-Governance within the country. The plan

seeks to create the right Governance and institutional mechanisms, set up the core

infrastructure and policies and implement a number of Mission Mode Projects at the center,

state and integrated service level to create a citizen-centric and business-centric environment

for governance[15] The National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), takes a holistic view of e-Governance

initiatives across the country, integrating them into a collective vision, a shared cause. Around this

idea, a massive countrywide infrastructure reaching down to the remotest of villages is evolving, and

large-scale digitization of records is taking place to enable easy, reliable access over the internet. The

ultimate objective is to bring public services closer home to citizens, as articulated in the Vision

Statement of NeGP--.

“Make all government services accessible to the common man in his locality, through

common service delivery outlets, and ensure efficiency, transparency, and reliability of such

services at affordable cost to realise the basic needs of the common man”[15 ][1]Around this

idea, a massive countrywide infrastructure reaching down to the remotest of villages is

evolving, and large-scale digitization of records is taking place to enable easy, reliable access

over the internet.

NEGP’s goal is the provision of improved, more convenient government services

countrywide through on-line delivery at local service centers. Will be implemented over an 8-

year period (FY2006-2013) at a cost of roughly USD 4 billion. All services supported by 3

infrastructure pillars to facilitate web-enabled Anytime, Anywhere access-

Connectivity: State Wide Area Networks (SWANs)/NICNET; National Data Bank/ State Data Centres ( SDCs);

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Common Service Centres (CSCs) primary mode of delivery.

Fig: 1.1,source:upgov.nic.in(Web site of Department of IT&Electronics ,Govt. of Uttar Pradesh, India)

Table 1.2:India’s NeGP:Scope of Output

Services Central State Integrated

Services to Citizens Income Tax Land records Common Services

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(G2C) Passport, visa and immigrationE-Posts

Property registrationRoad transportAgricultureMunicipalitiesPanchayatsPoliceEmployment ExchangeEducationHealth Food Distribution & other welfare programs

Centers: Single-window public service delivery points eventually reaching all the 600,000 villages in India State Wide Area Network SWAN: fiber optic connectivity up to block levelCountrywide State Data CentersAll India PortalNational E-Governance Gateway

Services to Business (G2B)

ExciseCompany affairs

Commercial Taxes -EDI-Custom &foreign trade-E-Biz-E-Procurement

Other National IDNational GIS for planning

Treasuries E-Courts

Common Service Centres(C.S.C.)----The CSCs are meant to provide high quality and cost

effective video, voice and data content, in the areas of E-Government, Education, Health,

Tele-medicine, Entertainment as well as possible government and private services. The goal

of the CSC Project is to empower the rural community and catalyse social change through

modern technologies.[16 ]The purpose of Common Service Centres is to create a low cost

vehicle for Government institutions so that easy, direct and cost-effective delivery of e-

Governance services to the rural citizen is possible. The aim is to create 1,00,000 CSC across

the Country. The Government has approved a Common Services Centres (CSCs) Scheme for

providing support for establishing 100,000 Common Services Centers in 6,00,000 villages of

india on “honey –comb model” i.e. each c.s.c. will cover six villages. [17]

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Fig:1.2 Honey-Comb Model of CSC

CSC’S will help lay a solid foundation for economic prosperity of rural India It will link rural

India to a basket of information , knowledge, skill etc. under one roof through demonstrative

model. These CSC’s will shift rural India from IN-LINE to ON-LINE & e-BHARAT will

soon be a reality.ICT enable CSC services will be provided on bottom-up model. : The CSC

envisages a bottom-up model for delivery of content, services, information and knowledge,

that can allow like-minded public and private enterprises - through a collaborative framework

- to integrate their goals of profit as well as social objectives, into a sustainable business

model for achieving rapid socio-economic change in rural India.[18]

End-to-end Services : The key driver for the selection of content and services would be their

end-to-end applicability. This means that a specific content/ service should be in a marketable

format for it to be selected as a part of the service network in the CSCs. Broadly, the services

selection would be on their ability to impact the consumer through saving cost, helping

Income Generation and enabling socio-economic development. Services under umbrella of

CSC will be—Government Services(G2C)e.g.[land record, registration of vehicle, ration

cards etc.];E-Government Services[e.g. Market linkage, education ,health ,agriculture

etc.];Business to customer services(B2C)[e.g. digital photo, e-mail, web surfing ,railway

ticket, computer education ,DTH etc.];Business to Business (B2B) Services[e.g. Insurance,

distribution of services and goods, advertisement etc.]

Services Analysis of CSC-- Successful implementation of CSC Scheme would offer

economical and instantaneous access to key information and services to rural villages across

India. Information in the form of agricultural inputs, weather, commodity prices, e- Dark,

health, as well as Services in the form of e-Government, tele-medicine, bill payments &

bookings, data entry, digital pictures, entertainment, education & e-learning, micro-finance,

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etc. can not only save precious monetary resources but also provide an ideal platform for

betterment of quality of life in rural India. 1,00,000 small businesses for rural entrepreneurs:

The CSC Scheme, essentially, will set up 1,00,000 small businesses in rural India that would

be run by trained and empowered rural youth as social entrepreneurs.1,00,000 direct& about

3,00,000 jobs will create through these C.S.C.,s. They will be tool of unlocking the potential

of rural India. An analysis of four G2C service (land record, domicile, caste and income

certificate) done in a sub-division (tehsil) Anoopshahar, district Bulandshahar,U.P. in

India.30,000 such certificate issued(from01-01-2010 to31-12-2010) at tehsil office. People

travel around 15 to 20 kilometre to receive these documents, they loss their one day wages,

travel cost and other incidental charges cost around 200rupees.There are 140 villages in this

tehsil. It means on an average one village spent around 42,800 Rupees annually on these

services. CSCs are covering 6,00,000 villages in India.It means India is going to save

25.68billion rupees only on these four services .CSCs will provide around 35 such services,

So one can imagine the multiplier benefits of these CSCs.

Improved governance at cheaper costs-The CSC Scheme would allow State and Central

government agencies to directly link up with citizens without a long chain of intermediaries.

Such a system would not only save huge costs but also reduce systemic red tape as well as

service delays, thereby leading to better quality of governance. Establishing e-governance at

lowest level i.e. at Panchyat level(local self government at village ).The President of India, in

her address to both Houses of Parliament on 4th June 2009, mentioned the government agenda

for expanding broadband coverage to connect every Panchayat to a broadband network in the

next three years[19]. The system of e- Panchayat can provide tangible benefits to people of

rural India in many ways: Efficient Public Service Delivery; Monitoring &Evaluation of

Development Programmes; Information Dissemination of internal functioning of Panchyats

to local people; Facilitating Planning at the Grassroots level; Addressing New Development

Challenges: New emerging challenges, such as climate change, water scarcity and natural

disasters (i.e.Think Global and Act Local).

New channels of distribution for products and services in rural India -The CSC Scheme

would open up new channels of distribution in rural India for products and services. Since

CSCs would lead to cost savings and provide income enhancement opportunities for rural

villagers, a substantial portion of rural income would be available for consumption of such

products and services, thereby giving boost to retail marketing and rural economies.

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(IV)ICT Bridges the Digital –Divide--

Means first "digital divide" between the technology "haves" and the “haves not”. The concept

of the digital divide is becoming more and more complex as access to computers and the use

of computers, changes over time. The high cost of computers create a large divide between

people who could afford them, and who had access to all the advantages of a computer, and

those who could not. As more people gain basic access to computers, the term “digital

divide” has grown to encompass technological literacy and the total cost of running a

computer. The digital divide now takes into consideration access, or lack of access, to the

Internet, as well. In an ever more globalized world, communication and access to information

is not a luxury, but a basic right that people must have for human development.

Scenario of Digital-Divide- Internet accessibility in the world is very clear from these data

that shows the internet accessibility. Digital divide in access to internet, internet user&

household internet user is clearly reveals through these data--

Internet user—The world wide internet user world’s 75.8%internet user comes from

top 20 countries while rest internet user24.2% comes from rest of countries(mostly

are developing countries). Internet user’s distribution shows that most of the user

from developed world in 2005 but in 2010 developing countries share gradually

increasing.China on top position, followed by Amarica,Japan,Brazil&India(81 million

user till 2009).[20]

Internet user per 100 inhabitants is in world in 2010 is (30) while in

Europe(65),Amarica(55),CIS(46),Arab states(24.9),Asia-Pacific(21.9) and in

Africa(9.6).This data in developed countries is (71.6) while in developing

countries(21.1) [21]

Proportion of house hold internet user per 100 inhabitants in 2010 is (71.1) in

developed countries and in developing.(21.1 )[22]

Data of internet penetration in 2009 of world is 23.8%,49developed& having high

GDP countries(>50%),rest 57 middle range GDP Countries(49.9 to 23.8%) and less

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120 developing countries(<23.8%)[23].[World Internet Stats -2010]

Fig:1.3

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clearly reveals the digital- divide scenario of the world. In India accessibility of internet

expanded fastly in recent year with supportive policies, broadband subscribers grew from 0.2

million in 2005 to 6.2 million by end-April 2009 and about to7.98 million by end-

Decembe2009. India faces technological and commercial challenges in broadband

penetration, the most important of which are low PC penetration and affordability issues due

to high cost. Indian government launched amassive National e Governance

Programme(NeGP) in 2006, under it 1,00,000 commom service centres(CSC) will connect

6,00,000 villages of india through internet[24]

BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE--

This digital divide can be bridges with more access to ICT in developing world. AMD

company initiated “The 50x15 Initiative”consist of AMD supports to empower 50% of the

world’s population with Internet access by year 2015.ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun

Touré said as he addressed the closing session of WTDC-2010. “Yet, the digital divide

remains — particularly where accessibility to broadband services and the Internet is

concerned. This broadband divide must be addressed by governments and industry as a

priority if we are to fully utilize the capacity of ICTs to meet the Millennium Development

Goals.”[25] Dr Touré earlier this year launched the Build on Broadband initiative aimed at

ensuring that at least half the world’s population will have online access by 2015.Most of the

more than one billion children in the emerging world don’t have access to adequate

education( The XO Laptop(one laptop to one children initiative) . Why have to be

bridged digital- divide? There are some rationale behind it. The AMD Chairman Hector Ruiz

emphasis that-“Technology is only as powerful as it is accessible. Broader access brings

education, information, and a sense of community that can help combat AIDS, malnutrition,

ignorance and neglect. The power of a connected and enlightened world community is just

beginning.”AMD have launched an initiative-“The 50x15 Initiative” to supports the goal by

2015 atleast 50% population have access to internet.Economist have a variety of argument

regarding why closing the digital divide is important.The major rationale are—ICT

Equality(ICT for all),Social mobility;Healthier Democracy;Economis growth;Rural area

access;Remove Desparities.[26]

World telecommunication&ICT development Report-2010[27 ] says that -to achieve the goal to cover 50% world population of the world access to internet following measure must be taken by the states/countries policy makers

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-Increasing competition among market players to lower the cost of hardware&

services .

-Expanding public access to internet.

-Providing citizens with appropriate ICT skills

-Developing locally relevant content in local language.

(V)ICT& ACCESS TO EDUCATION, INFORMATION& KNOWLEDGE-- Governments are increasingly recognizing the multiple benefits of providing access to information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure within education systems. Connectivity provides a platform for Student to obtain information technology and communication skills, and can reduce costs associated with Printing and the distribution of books. Outside school hours, connected schools can also be used to provide connectivity for the community, including marginalized groups, such as the elderly, minorities, the unemployed and people with disabilities. The benefits of integrating ICTs in education can have a multiplier effect throughout the education system by:

• Improving teaching and learning processes and allowing students to acquire new sets of skills required for the information society.

• Providing learners with access to Internet resources and computers as pedagogical tools;

• Supporting teacher training through ICT-enabled distance-education programmes;

• Improving the administration of educational institutions in order to enhance the quality and

efficiency of service delivery. World summit on information society(WSIS) stated in its acion

plan as-“ In the context of national e-strategies, provide and improve ICT connectivity for all

schools, universities, health institutions, libraries, post offices, community centres, museums

and other institutions accessible to the public, in line with the indicative targets .”[28].World

Summit on Information Society (WSIS) stated on its Geneva action plan for capacity building

in education through ICT. Capacity building and ICT literacy are essential for a information

society.

Some countries& regions set their targets to achieve the goal of ICT access to education

system.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, e LAC 2010 established a target to

connect 70 per cent of public educational institutions by 2010, preferably via

broadband, otherwise tripling the current number of public schools connected

to the internet.

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The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) e-Schools Initiative

was announced in 2003 at the Africa Summit of the World Economic Forum,

for implementation until 2013. One of its goals was to equip.

“All African primary and secondary schools with ICT apparatus such as computers, radios

and television sets, phones and fax machines, communication equipment, scanners, digital

cameras, copiers, etc., and to connect them to the Internet”[29]

ICT’s role in Knowledge Exchange and Creation--

ICT’s role in knowledge sharing & creation is vital. Communication technology enforces

this development by supporting the knowledge exchange between people. In our opinion

knowledge is best defined as "knowing how to act". For instance knowing how to make a

product, how to deliver a service or how to communicate with people.[30]People can

exchange knowledge in different ways:

Through face-to-face communication in teams or in workshops.

Through information in documents. The reader must read this information and

internalise it to his/her knowledge. It actually becomes knowledge when the reader

applies it successfully in practice.

Through material products. There is a lot of knowledge creation during the

development of a material product. This knowledge is hidden in the product. Car

manufacturers test their own (and other manufacturers products) to get information

and knowledge about the functioning and construction of the product.

ICT supports all these forms of knowledge exchange: ICT enforces a longer existing trend.

Better education and more complex products and services have already made knowledge an

important economic resource. Supported by ICT knowledge will become the most important

economic resource in the 21st Century. For knowledge sharing the scientific and research

centres must be connect with ICTs. ”For e-science, which states that stakeholders should :

“Promote affordable and reliable high-speed Internet connection for all universities and

research institutions to support their critical role in information and knowledge production,

education and training, and to support the establishment of partnerships, cooperation and

networking between these institutions.”[31] For modern scientific and research purposes, the

existence of a national research and education network (NREN) is one indicator of the use of

ICTs by the research and education community. A national research and education network

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(NREN) is a specialized Internet service provider dedicated to supporting the needs of the

research and education communities within a country. perform two main functions in relation

to scientific research.

NRENs act as high-capacity ICT infrastructures to support the work of researchers,

promote collaboration, transfer data and share information or confirm experiments;

NRENs can also facilitate new research in their own right, by providing

platforms and experimental test-beds for testing new services and advanced

networking technologies.

A list of 120 known NRENs is presented revealing substantial regional disparities A

total of 14 NRENs located in Africa, 20 in the Americas, 25 in Asia and the Pacific,

12 in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and 38 in Europe. In India’s

three educational networks — the Education and Research Network (ERNET),

BIOGRID (a VPN of the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India)and

GARUDA (grid computing initiative).[32] Each serves its respective client bases —

ERNET is the exclusive provider of international connectivity to all higher-education

institutes.

(VI) Integrating and connecting to people and world becoming flat--Connecting people has always been at the heart of the ICT .Connecting people means giving everyone the power to choose when and how to stay in touch with the things that matter most in their lives, so that they can make the most out of every moment. ICT is a great leveller. Thomas L.Friedman famous American journalist wrote in his famous book “HOT, FLAT&CROWDED”-Global economic field become levelled due to-personal computers ,internet and software and transmission protocol.[33] ICT tools (telephone/internet/radio/T.V. etc.) transformed the world into GLOBAL VILLAGE.ICT reduces distance and time. Mobile phones plays major role in connecting & integrating the people. These data reveals the truth- Table no:1.3

(millions)  Per 100 inhabitants

Fixed telephone lines

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009 2010

Developed 570 565 546 521 511 506* 46.9 46.3 44.6 42.4 41.5 40.9*Developing 689 715 726 719 704 691* 13.0 13.3 13.3 13.0 12.5 12.1*

World 1'259

1'280

1'271

1'240

1'215

1'197* 19.3 19.4 19.0 18.3 17.7 17.3*

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Mobile cellular subscriptions

Developed 1'001

1'139

1'250

1'342

1'409

1'436* 82.3 93.4 102.

0109.

2114.

3116.1

*

Developing 1'216

1'617

2'104

2'670

3'243

3'846* 22.9 30.0 38.5 48.2 57.7 67.6*

World 2'217

2'756

3'354

4'012

4'652

5'282* 33.9 41.7 50.1 59.3 67.9 76.2*

Estimated Internet usersDeveloped 620 654 720 762 821 885* 51.0 53.6 58.8 62.0 66.6 71.6*

Developing 416 505 673 850 1'037

1'199* 7.8 9.4 12.3 15.3 18.5 21.1*

World 1'036

1'159

1'393

1'611

1'858

2'084* 15.9 17.5 20.8 23.8 27.1 30.1*

Note: Rounded values. * Estimates.Source: © INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION, 2010.Updated on 21 October 2010.

5282million mobile phone subscriber&1197 million fixed phone subscriber.90%world population is covered by telephone .Telephony reaches its saturation, now future growth in field of internet.

Till 2010 world wide internet user are-2084million7 Internet penetration at every 100 people is 30.1.Household television coverage in the world is 1350million and household[34] percentage coverage is about 78.5 in year 2009.In India till Dec2009 total number of mobile user were 600 million& total internet user were 81 million.[35]

Conclusion---Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are acting as integrating and enabling technologies for the economy and they have a profound impact on our society. Recent changes in ICT affect as well the environmental sustainability regarding the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) set up to ensure environmental sustainability in this century. Sustainability can be achieved by improving the quality of life of human being.

ICT reduces the poverty by increasing opportunity of job for poor people& securing them from financial setbacks

ICT improving the financial condition of people& create wealth of nation.

ICT empower the people specially in remote rural area. ICT enable them to public service in their locality that way their money& time saved. It also

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converge government &citizens. Functioning of government become more transparent, &accountable to citizen.

India is exploring potential of rural areas through common service centres(CSC .The success stories of improving service delivery, reducing corruption, increasing transparency, increasing revenue, ensuring cost reduction and empowering people apart from other multiple benefits have reinforced citizen confidence in this information technology (IT) oriented form of governance.

:Internet connected rural service delivery outlets. These centres creating jobs 1,00,000 job directly& about 3,00,000 job indirectly& developing village level entrepreneurship. These CSCs are opening new channels of distribution for products &services in rural India.

World’s 90% population is covered with telephone ;its growth is almost reaches at saturation level .Now high growth exist in internet sector in future. There is a huge gap in internet access &number of user in between developing countries& developed countries. In 21st century internet will be as essential as electricity .Internet Access To All should be new slogan in 21st century. It should be declared as human right, so that world can achieve millennium Development Goals(MDG) ,to make a sustainable society.

Satya Prakash Patel,

Student –G.I.-MBA;Josef Stefan IPS-Ljubljana(Slovenia)(E.U.)

References-----[1]IUCN,UNEP&WWF.Caring the Earth:The stategy for sustainable living ,Gland,Switzerland-19http://iisd.ca/sd/principle.asp?=57&display

[2]Sustainable society index ,2009, By-Geurt Van de Kerk&Arthur R. Manuel[3] Can information & communication technology application contribute to poverty reduction?Lesson from rural India By- Simone cchinia&Christopher;Aeclac,United Nation,casillea,Santeago,Chille.[4] World Bank,Information&communication Technology:Aworld Bank group strategy,Washington,D.C.,2002.(www.infor.worldbank.org/ict/ict.ssp)

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[5]World Bank, IT World Development Report1998/99.Knowledge for development , Oxford University Press-1999.[6]NAREGA&ICT for poverty Reduction&Rural people Employment-India by RajKumar[7] The Economic Survey of India -2010[8] www.worldbank.org/ida[9] World Telecommunication and ICT Development Report -2010 [10] (Source: Jensen, Robert. 2007 “The Digital Provide: Information (Technology), Market Performance and Welfarein the South Indian Fisheries Sector”. The Quarterly Journal of Economics; Vol. CXXII August 2007 Issue 3. ) [11)] Lars-Hendrick Roller and Leonard Waverman, “TelecommunicationsInfrastructure and Economic Development: aSimultaneous Approach”, AER (2001) and Leonard Waverman,Meloria Meschi and Melvyn Fuss, “The impact of telecoms oneconomic growth in developing countries,” Vodafone PolicyServices, 2005.)[12)]See Christine Zhen-Wei Qiang and Carlo M. Rossotto withKaoru Kimura, “Economic Impact of Broadband,” in Informationand Communication for Development, 2009. World Bank. )[13]www.worldbank.org/ida[14] A. Sharma and W. Yurcik, The Emergence of Rural Digital Libraries in India: The Gyandoot Digital LibraryIntranet, Proceedings of the ASIS Annual Conference (ASIS 2000), Chicago, 2000. [www.sosresearch.org/publications/asis2000.PDF].

[15]&[15][1]Website of ministry of information technology&communication, government of India(www.mit.gov.nic.in)[16]e-Governance apporoach in India:The National e-Governance Plan ,By-Drupad kumar,sr.consultant,EGPMU,DIT GOI&Piyush Gupta,General Maneger(CB&KM),NISG,A.Sridevi Manager,NISG.[17] ( “Transforming Government – eGovernment Initiatives in India, Editors: R K Bagga and Piyush Gupta, Published by : The ICFAI University Press, 2009.[18] (website of department of IT&Electronics, govt. of u.p.-India ,http://infotech.up.nic.in)

[19]e-Panchayat:ICTfor Rural local Government in India. BY Dinoj Kumar Uppadhya,Center for Science,Development&Media Center Noida,IndiaTelecenter Magzine Oct.2009.

[20]World Internet Stats-2010(21)&22)World Telecommunucation&ICT Development Report-2010(23)Internet World stats(www.internetworldstats.com)(24)The Economic Survey of India-2010(27) ,(28)&(29) World Telecommunucation&ICT Development Report-2010 [28]UNESCO-UIS, 2009, (30)WSIS Genewa Plan of [31]Action,2003,

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[29]ECLAC;E-Africa Commission;Austrailia DBCDE ( Source: ECLAC; E-Africa Commission; Australian DBCDE.)*

[30]Homepage : advanced solution development : the role of ICT in the 21st century by prof.R.B.Daanrijsenbrij[31]&[32[34]]World Telecommunication&ICT Development Report-2010

[33]World is Hot;Flat&Crowded BY-Thomas L. Friedman

[35]The Economic Survey of India-2010

Satya Prakash Patel

G.I.MBA Student,ICPE/Josef Stefan IPS-Ljubljana(Slovenia)

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