Full coverage: Asia and the Pacific

27.06.2006 With the news to have the smart card compulsory by next month, Bahrain is just one step away from a completely digitised economy. The law making smart card mandatory will make the Kingdom ahead of many countries in the region to switch over to the new digital economy.

26.06.2006 The Unesco has expressed willingness to support Akshaya, the State's IT dissemination project, in the field of women empowerment.

26.06.2006 Many who have only experienced face-to-face education in an institutional setting believe that the quality of education provided through distance education is inferior. However, this is far from true, according to Naveed A. Malik, rector of the Virtual University of Pakistan.

26.06.2006 Technology bellwether, IBM has signed an MoU with the Uttar Pradesh Government to give impetus to e-governance by providing quality training to IT students under an ambitious programme titled Project INVITE.

23.06.2006 ADB today signed an agreement to establish a knowledge hub on clean energy at India's Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

22.06.2006 The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved on Wednesday a US$ 200 Million loan to help address the declining quality and accessibility of elementary and secondary education in the Philippines.

22.06.2006 Eight people with disabilities have an opportunity to voice their issues using the Community Multimedia Centre (CMC) in Nepal after a recent training workshop on audio production and new technologies. Of the eight participants, five were visually impaired and the remaining three were physically challenged. Read more about this innovative project by UNESCO.

21.06.2006 In 1991, the Government of India and the World Bank expanded their collaboration on infectious disease control programs and by 1992 the first National AIDS Control Project was launched with a World Bank credit of US$84 million.

21.06.2006 Speakers at a workshop on "SMB revolution and the new roadmap for technology" stressed the need for the small and medium businesses to invest in Information Technology.

20.06.2006 The Ministry of Justice has decided on its shortlists for two infrastructure projects, which could be worth as much as $500 million over seven years, industry sources suggest.

19.06.2006 E-governance enhances the efficacy of citizen and government interaction. This has been made possible by public-private sector partnerships leading to the availability of more affordable and rugged PCs to suit operating conditions in the hinterland and deepening Internet penetration. With the realisation of e-governance projects in India, the time has come to review the role of the public sector as well as private sector to speed up the process of implementation of different projects related to e-governance.

19.06.2006 In the silent world, life in certain situations can be rather difficult. Here's how the deaf are trying to help themselves in the world of ICT.

19.06.2006 The World Bank has canceled more than seven million dollars in aid to Cambodia after finding evidence of fraud and corruption in three development projects.

19.06.2006 How far have the billions of ringgit gone to make students and teachers savvy in information and communication technology? The Government has appointed a group of auditors to find out.

19.06.2006 Bahrain's government moved into the hi-tech age yesterday with the launch of Bab Al Bahrain website. It will link all government ministries and help speed up services to citizens via the Internet.

19.06.2006 The World Bank has approved a US$111.5 million credit to strengthen the country's network of about 4,500 Union Parishads to respond to community needs and deliver services through a transparent fiscal transfer system.

15.06.2006 Poverty is subjective, complex, and multidimensional. While poverty is primarily about income, limited access to the necessary natural resources for agricultural production is a major constraint to poverty alleviation in the dry areas.

15.06.2006 The trial transmission of programmes for Radio Alakal, the first community radio for fisherfolk, commenced in 15 coastal villages on Monday, through a network of radio kiosks.

15.06.2006 Orissa today unveiled two e-governance roadmaps here to ascertain the present capacity and potential for improvements through information communication technology (ICT) intervention.

15.06.2006 In the first step towards e-Governance, the State government has launched its own indigenous special software called 'Office Procedure Automation Software', developed by the State’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) cell.