ICT in poverty reduction

28.02.2006 The Government will soon launch the National e-Governance Plan. Twenty five projects in mission mode will be launched in 2006-07.

28.02.2006 The National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) is part of the National Common Minimum Programme for bringing information and government services to the doorstep of the citizens.

26.02.2006 The actual experience shows that the IT revolution can benefit rural areas too. Well known examples in India are the e-choupals of ITC, the Bhoomi land records programme of the Karnataka government, and the e-governance initiatives of many state governments. All these have greatly benefited farmers and other rural folk. Note that all these initiatives are based on computers. I believe that the cell phone, not the computer, will be the real bridge across the digital divide.

25.02.2006 We know how fishermen in Kerala had benefited greatly from cell phones, which enabled them to auction their catch while still at sea, and avoided tragedies where they might land their catch at a shore point where there were few buyers, leading to an unsold catch that rotted in the Kerala sun. There is more interesting story how cell phones enabled landless labourers to find out where daily jobs were available and go to those villages, instead of waiting in vain in the wrong villages.

23.02.2006 The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has earmarked a whopping Rs 20 lakh in its annual budget for starting an FM radio service.

22.02.2006 Arun Mehta (52) is an engineer-activist from India. He moderates various discussion groups in cyberspace and is also CTO (Chief Technical Officer) of the Radiophony.com network. He is known for his work in campaigning to open up radio broadcasting to the Indian citizen. He also works with the issue of ICT-for-disability. Excerpts of interview with him on ICT and Developement.

21.02.2006 Sobeih sets the context by explaining that Egypt has become one of the leaders in the technology sector across the Arab region.

21.02.2006 This work sets out to explore the Brazilian information society and sustainable development programs, in an effort to locate intersection points and to identify how information society polices can collaborate in the reduction of regional inequalities in Brazil.

21.02.2006 Mungai recommends a more significant consideration of environmental issues in the regional and national poverty reduction and ICT discussions in Kenya. Specifically, he recommends addressing poverty reduction as proposed in the
MDGs and resolutions of the WSSD.

20.02.2006 This article argues that collaborative partnerships, social network strategies and the building of social capital at the local level are key issues for the successful adoption of ICT for development. In this article, the authors describe two successful community ICT projects whose success depended on the use of a collaborative methodology involving universities, governments and communities.

20.02.2006 Advances in Information and Communication Technologies have made it possible today to provide a whole range of high-quality and cost-effective services relating to video, voice and data content through a single communication channel using appropriate terminal equipment.

20.02.2006 A new course, the Unlimited Potential course, being initiated jointly by the Government of New Zealand and Microsoft, aims to give computer skills to people who may never have had the opportunity.

20.02.2006 The Science and technology minister of India, Kapil Sibal on Saturday announced institution of a new rural technological development award, recognising contribution in the field of rural development.

17.02.2006 L.J.C. Autrey, S. Ramasamy and K.F. Ng Kee Kwong describe the achievements in the process of introducing precision farming technologies in Mauritius, and the challenges ahead.

17.02.2006 Small-scale coffee growers in the mountains of southern Colombia are capable farmers. They dream of better ways of growing their coffee and profiting from the increasing demand for specialty products. Thomas Oberthür explains how farmers, scientists, food processors and retailers are working together to develop high-quality that will fetch high market prices.

17.02.2006 GKP is pleased to announce the 2nd GKP International Forum on Cross-Sector Partnerships on "", to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 8-9 May 2006.

16.02.2006 The government (Kenya) aims to make Kenya an ICT capital of Africa to support Kenya's objectives of job and wealth creation.

15.02.2006 Internationally acclaimed Harvard Professor Mr. Calestous Juma will head a panel discussion hosted by the Cabinet Office on the topic 'Going for growth and development through ICT' at the OPM Media Centre commencing at 10:00 a.m. on Friday February 17.

14.02.2006 Shri Dayanidhi Maran, Minister for Communications and Information Technology has emphasized the need for bridging the digital divide between tele-density in rural and urban areas. Expressing the concern over this growing gap, Shri Maran said, "We have to take concrete policy measures to address this concern. India cannot truly move forward unless we carry with us 70% of our citizens who reside in rural areas."

08.02.2006 ICT tools for organic women farmers, provides a confluence of interest between women entrepreneurs who need capacity building both in their farming businesses and in their computer skills.