Full coverage: Asia and the Pacific

29.11.2007 The XI National Conference on e-Governance in India, to be held on February 7-8, 2008, will focus on the national awards for e-Governance 2007-08. The event will be organised by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DAR&PG) in collaboration with the Department of Information Technology.

26.11.2007 The fatal cyclone of November 15 has seriously affected seven out of the nine working districts of the Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC), while completely destroying one of its Rural Knowledge Centres.

23.11.2007 Moving money will soon be easier, cheaper and user-friendly, once mobile phone money transfer becomes operational. Over 200 million mobile subscribers in India will be among the first beneficiaries of this facility.

22.11.2007 A Global Dialogue Seminar will be held in New Delhi, India on November 29-30, 2007. Organised by the World Bank e-Development Thematic Group/GICT, IT SLC in partnership with eGovWorld, Mobile Government Consortium International, IIS-Russia, eGov Monitor and the Development Gateway, the seminar will discuss a variety of mobile services being developed and deployed around the world.

22.11.2007 A Global Dialogue Seminar will be held in New Delhi, India on November 29-30, 2007. Organised by the World Bank e-Development Thematic Group/GICT, IT SLC in partnership with eGovWorld, Mobile Government Consortium International, IIS-Russia, eGov Monitor and the Development Gateway, the seminar discuss a variety of mobile services being developed and deployed around the world.

22.11.2007 In an innovative way to address several issues plaguing higher education, the lecture videos and course material of the seven prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology and the Banglore-based Indian Institute of Science will soon be made available online to the students and faculty members.

21.11.2007 The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) will soon launch a ‘Talking Book Library’ as also other skill development training in the northeastern states of India. Once started, this will enable the blind to listen to books of their choice in English or in the regional languages.

19.11.2007 Seven NGOs have been approved by the Ministry for Information & Broadcasting to set up community radio stations in India. This follows the Ministry’s year old decision to broadbase its policy to include non-governmental organizations apart from educational institutes and agricultural groups.

19.11.2007 YES (Youth Employment Systems) Fund – the Global Fund for Youth Entrepreneurship – has announced its ICT Business Plan Competition for year 2007-2008. Winners will be judged on the basis of most innovative ideas and business plans in India and Kenya.

16.11.2007 Microsoft India, the International Development Research and the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation have set up a rural innovation fund. The fund will encourage entrepreneurs to develop software solutions for the needs of rural communities.

14.11.2007 Mobile television will soon be a reality in India. It will open up opportunities for government to enhance services to citizens ranging from education to healthcare to safety and security, apart from providing business users with latest information on stock market and entertainment to the masses.

13.11.2007 Kehitysmaiden lapsille suunnattu tietokone löytää tiensä vielä tämän vuoden puolella myös Peruun, Meksikoon, Etiopiaan, Ruandaan, Haitiin ja Intiaan. Käyttöönoton lähestyessä alkuperäinen sadan dollarin kannettava on hinnaltaan jo lähes kaksinkertainen.

13.11.2007 Delhi based Centre for Science, Development and Media Studies (CSDMS) in partnership with GKP will host the second i4d Film Festival at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on December 9-10, 2007, before the start of the third global knowledge event, GK3.

13.11.2007 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide technical assistance, funded by the Republic of Korea e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund, to the state of Assam in India. The objective is to promote innovative ICTs to make e-rural investments financially sustainable.

07.11.2007 Tamil Nadu State Government in India has made school text books available online. Readers can access the text books on the government website.

06.11.2007 A 500-miilion dollar deal has been signed today between Microsoft and Reliance Communications to launch India’s first Internet Protocol Television. It will be launched early next year in 30 Indian cities.

02.11.2007 Symbol of India’s liberty – Charkha is now e-charkha. Now not just the yarn, but also electricity can be produced from it. Two hours of spinning gives back-up for 6-7 hours of power for basic lighting and for playing radio.

01.11.2007 Far smaller in diameter than a human hair, world’s smallest radio is 100 billion times smaller than the first commercial radios.