Seminar on

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Seminar on
Study of ICT Pilot projects in India
CS671 ICT for Socio-Economic Development
K. Venkateshwar Rao 06427803 Pavan Kumar
Thatha 06927805
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Seminar Plan

• Background of study area
• ICTs in Development Agenda
• ICTs interventions
• ICT Experiments in India
• ICTs role on key issues
• Review of Literature on ICTs
• Conclusion

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Background of the study
Rural India profile at a glance Source
2001-Census of India report. http//planningcommis
sion.nic.in/
Total Population 1.028 billion Households 191.
9 million Districts 593 Sub-districts 5470 To
wns 5161 Villages 638,588 Rural
Population 85 per cent Population
density lt400 per sq km Work Area 75 per cent
in Agriculture Village population lt5000 on
average
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ICTs in Development Agenda

• ICT Tools for Rural development Areas
• Provide decision support to public
  administrators for
• improving planning and monitoring of
  programs.
• Improve services to citizens and bring in
  Transparency.
• Empower citizens through access to information
  and
• knowledge.
• Provide Training to improve the functioning of
  
• developmental organisations.
• Expand employment opportunities in rural areas.
• Attention paying key factors
• for whom?
• what bundle of (multi-purpose) services?
• how well they are managed?

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ICTs in Development Agenda

• ICT enabled Rural development (major)
  Services
• Online services for information, transaction,
  processing,
• education, training and monitoring.
• Market linkages between producers, traders,
  retailers and
• suppliers.
• Facilitation among Researchers, Knowledge
  workers and
• Farm communities.
• Facilitation of Land records and on-line
  registration services.
• Tele-education for rural citizens of all age
  groups and
• gender.

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ICTs in Development Agenda
Functionaries of knowledge transmission
Technologies

• Capturing Technologies Devices that collect
  and convert information
• into digital form. Ex Input devices.
• Storage Technologies Devices that store and
  retrieve information
• in digital form. Ex Memory Devices
• Processing Technologies Creating systems
  applications software for
• the performance of digital ICT. Ex S/W tools.
• Communication Technologies Producing the
  devices, methods and Networks to
• transmit information in digital form. ExLAN,
  WAN.
• Display Technologies Creating a variety of
  output devices for the display
• of digitised information. Ex output devices.

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ICTs in Development Agenda
Spread of ICTs presence in India w.r.to other
Asian neighbours (per 100 persons) Source TRAI
(200410)
Parameters India Korea Malaysia China
No of PCs 0.8 78.6 15.0 2.8
No of Cable TVs 6.0 43.0 -- 9.0
NO of Fixed Telephone lines 3.9 51.0 18.5 18.0
No of Mobile Phones 2.6 75.0 43.9 18.3
No of Internet connections 0.4 26.0 12.0 2.5
No of Broadband connections 0.02 25.0 0.4 1.4
No of Users (Internet) 1.0 65.5 34.0 6.2
GDP (US per capita) 465 10,000 4,000 965
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ICTs in Development Agenda
Development is directly proportional to
Tele-density or Broad-band connectivity spread
As per World Telecom development report (2003).
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ICTs in Development Agenda
Connecting rural people through ICTs

• Existing process implications to be
  eliminated,
• such as NO
• loss of Time
• loss of Income
• loss of Opportunity
• non-availability of Information in-time as
• per need, requirement to the rural livelihoods

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ICTs in Development Agenda
Bridging the divide through ICTs
In New Economy Metcalfes formula states
that, The value of a network (nxn) n2
, where n -gt no of people connected. Kellys
New law states that, The value of a Network nn
, where n-gt people make multiple, simultaneous
connections between groups of people. Example
B2B where buyers and sellers come together,
communicate and trade with each other.
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ICTs in Development Agenda
Steves SIX-Cs for on-line services (with
respect to Marketing)

• Content trading data, pricing, product
  info, etc.
• Context specialization on a vertical.
• Community value added services that hold
  attract users.
• Communication the ability for members to meet
  communicate each other on-line.
• Connectivity use of open, web-based
  applications so that members connect to each
  other.
• Commerce the Centralised marketplace.

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ICTs interventions

• ICT kiosks interventions Initiator based
• National Government initiated Projects
• Ex CICs in NE and JK states.
• State Government promoted Projects
• Ex e-Seva of AP, Bhoomi of Karnataka, Setu of
  Maharastra.
• Private corporate Sector promoted Projects
• Ex Chiraags of n-Logue, e-Chowpals of ITC,
  EIDs Parry corners.
• Non-Government Sector promoted Projects
• Ex Wired Villages of WARNA, DRISTI, MSSRF,
  TARAHAT, Agri-watch.
• Upcoming Large scale ICT initiatives in India
• Panchayat Raj Ministry 2,37,000
• Department of IT 1,00,000
• Private sector (by 2007) 1,00,000
• ITC e-Chowpal 1,00,000
• Department of Posts 8,00,000
• State Govt. initiatives _at_3000-5000 per state

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Interventions of ICT experiments in India
Source http//www.ictforchange.org/ visited on
23rd Sep., 2007. Till date, 174 total pilot
projects are registered under EIGHT categories.
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Interventions of ICT experiments in India
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Interventions of ICT experiments in India
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Interventions of ICT experiments in India
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Interventions of ICT experiments in India
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ICTs role on Key Issues
Management of Rural Development Programs Key
Issues

• Targeting about development of People rather
  than Poverty
• elevation methods.
• Problems in implementation of development
  programs
• Centralised Planning
• Multiplicity of Agencies
• Bureaucratic and Administrative setups
• Monitoring Large Programs
• Inadequate Resources

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Contributions of ICTs to Rural development

• Offer opportunities for two-way horizontal
  communication among communities as
• well as supporting agencies.
• Support bottom-up articulation of development
  needs and perceptions.
• Facilitating the merging of local, national
  and global information and knowledge.
• Support, create and strengthen interactive and
  collaborative networks.
• Support policy and advocacy by meeting
  information needs of all members of society.
• Help build consensus through the provision of
  information on programs, policies,
• decisions and issues to advocates.

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Literature on ICTs says

• Establishing micro-enterprises in Agriculture,
  food processing,
• animal husbandry, handicrafts, IT-based
  services in villages, one
• can achieve significant impact on rural
  economy.
• Rogers Framework for analysing the observed
  characteristics of
• kiosk users in terms of
• Adopter categories
• Innovation attributes
• Adoption decision
• Communication channel
• Nature of Social system

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Literature on ICTs says

• Romans Perceived attributes of innovations
  in the context of
• Tele-centers are
• Relative advantage
• Innovation of benefit-cost effects.
• Compatibility
• Potential adopters to technologies.
• Complexity
• Understanding and using the technologies.

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Literature on ICTs says

• Kenneth Kenistons preliminary hypothesis on
  Indian ICT
• projects Major gaps are
• Financial sustainability
• Scope of IT
• Grassroot consultation
• Information uses
• Local relevant content
• Local standardization of code
• Commercial funding
• Wishful thinking
• e-Commerce / e-Governance
• Impact of technical decisions on Common man!

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Kenneths hypothesis on Indian ICT projects

• HOPE The use of ICTs could enable even the
  poorest of developing nations to leapfrog
  traditional problems of development like
• Poverty
• Illiteracy
• Disease
• Unemployment
• Hunger
• Corruption
• Social inequalities, so as to move rapidly into
  the Modern Information Age.
• Hopes built on an empirical vacuum.
• Does Not know the factors that make for
  effectiveness or ineffectiveness of grassroots
  ICT projects in developing nations.
• ICTs introduction into communities otherwise
  unchanged will merely heighten existing
  inequalities.
• Instead of comparative research to counter or
  address such claims, we have Success Stories
  from which trustworthy generalisations are
  impossible.

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Kenneths hypothesis on Indian ICT projects

• Kenneths observations on Indian projects
• Few projects are publicised. Eg Dhar, SFs
  Pondichary.
• Great majority NOT and these projects have rarely
  been studied.
• NO comparisons have been made between them.
• They are NOT in touch with each other.
• Lessons learned in one project are NOT shared
  with others.
• Appropriate technologies are rarely evaluated.
• Financial Sustainability, Scalability and Cost
  recovery are seldom addressed.
• The opportunity to learn from the Diverse,
  Creative Indian Experience is so far almost
  entirely wasted.
• Cost of creating a working Internet connection in
  developing nation is the same as ---
• Providing immunization against SIX factor
  childhood diseases to thousands of children.

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Kenneths hypothesis on Indian ICT projects

• Kenneths Preliminary Hypothesis on Indian ICT
  projects
• There is more Talk than Action
  Plans
  abound on the ground realities are much fever.
  Few Conferences, only a few have substance so
  far.
• Nothing is anywhere nearly as simple as it seems
  Almost every project is
  late and runs into unexpected difficulties. Eg
  Land records where dead or illegible etc.
• The Goal of Financial Sustainability is rarely
  achieved Granting the initial start-up
  costs have to be borne by someone, VERY FEW
  projects even plan for long-term sustainability,
  and even fewer achieve it. Once the initial
  public or NGO funding disappears, simply projects
  disappear as well.
• IT should not be simply identified with computers
  and Internet Some inventive uses of IT involve
  radio, TV, satellite inventories etc. Eg
  Automated butterfat assessment equipment
  radically simplified the process of evaluating
  milk paying dairy farmers.

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Kenneths hypothesis on Indian ICT projects

• Kenneths Preliminary Hypothesis on Indian ICT
  projects
• Starting by consulting at the Grass-roots is
  essential Top-down projects
  simply do not work, and end up by providing
  information that people dont really need or use.
• The information people initially say they need,
  may not always be what they end up using
  
  Eg MS Swaminathans project male
  farmers ask originally about agriculture in
  fact, they started looking about government
  programs.
• Local language content is a pre-requisite for any
  successful project
• Standardization of Code for the major Indian
  languages in NEED of the hour. Every major Indian
  language suffer from multiple scheme of coding
  and fonts, since absence of inter-operability
  between programs involving distinct codes.
• This Technical problem dramatically complicates
  the development of local S/W and of local IT use
  throughout India.

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Kenneths hypothesis on Indian ICT projects

• Kenneths Preliminary Hypothesis on Indian ICT
  projects
• The development of Locally relevant content is
  essential, and the nature of that content varies
  from region to region
• ICT for the common man projects are bound to
  fail, without accessible local content that
  addresses the real problems of local people in
  their own language, so they can understand
  better.
• This is evident from Radio programs success in
  spreading massage in the areas of Agriculture
  practices, family planning services etc.
• E-governance is one of the most promising uses of
  ICTs
• Computerisation of Govt. functions themselves
  Eg Linking
  Central State Govts. To district officials, and
  computerising registrations, legal proceedings,
  land records etc for the benefit of
  administrators.
• Govt.-to-People and People-to-Govt. Connections
  Citizens can obtain
  direct access to records, rules, and information
  about entitlements that they need or what in
  their daily lives.

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Kenneths hypothesis on Indian ICT projects

• Kenneths Preliminary Hypothesis on Indian ICT
  projects
• E-Commerce, in the sense of Customer-to-Business
  on-line buying within India, is probably many
  years away for a majority of Indians
  
• Success is seen in railway reservation system and
  banking sectors.
• If small business S/W packages were made
  available in local languages, there is a chance
  of small medium size merchants would quickly
  adopt them.
• Commercially funded ICT networks have
  considerable promise
• Commercial interests may justify the experience
  of establishing rural info-kiosks, which can,
  also provide much general information in addition
  to specify product information.
• The markets for indigenous crafts is a niche
  market in a few rich countries
  
  E-commerce from India
  to Europe, US or Japan has enormous logistic
  problems. Applying IT for poverty alleviation for
  any but a tiny fraction of Indians is NOT
  realistic.

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Kenneths hypothesis on Indian ICT projects

• Kenneths Preliminary Hypothesis on Indian ICT
  projects
• A successful commercial IT sector does not
  necessarily trickle down to ordinary Indians
  
• It for masses places emphasis on developing STPs,
  improving education at the higher levels of IT
  etc..
• It make astonishing growth rate is IT, but what
  about general/ordinary Indians impact such as
  improved living conditions, more schools, greater
  justice, better health, more jobs or other
  benefits for ordinary Indians.
• Apparently Technical decisions concerning IT
  regulations, bandwidth allocation, pricing
  mechanisms, transmission standards etc, can have
  profound effects on whether or not IT benefit
  ordinary Indians
• Compared to the speed of satellite television
  rapidly in India, ISP spread is not that
  encouraging.
• Analysing of the impact of technical, regulatory,
  and technological decisions on IT for the Common
  Man is largely absent.
• The wheel is constantly reinvented
  
  
• The people of the projects are NOT usually in
  touch with each other, rarely publish or write
  anything about what they are doing.
• Little possibility of learning from the success
  or failure of projects.

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Kenneths hypothesis on Indian ICT projects

• Kenneths Preliminary Hypothesis on Indian ICT
  projects
• You cannot believe a lot of what you are told
  
• A visit to a project site can be found that--
• Project have closed.
• Project NOT yet to be in operation.
• Project to have deteriorated from the stated
  original Goals
• Until the costs of the Last Mile, of basic IT
  devices, and of local languages S/W are brought
  down, the goal of Wiring India will remain
  unachieved
• Low cost technological solutions above are
  off-course not solutions to the problems of
  development, but they are pre-requisites for IT
  in India. Eg Simputore, India-Linux movement
  etc.
• The IT for the Masses, Bridging the Digital
  Divide movement has an inordinate amount of
  exaggeration and wishful thinking
  
  
• We need to define the characteristics of those
  projects (meet poors basic needs assets
  fundamental rights) and try to spread the word
  about what works and what does NOT.

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Conclusion

• The challenge is to learn if, when, how and
  where ICTs (of all kinds) can be most
• cost-effective means to help rural people.
• Pilots highlighted the multi-sectorial
  development interventions using different
• technology options.
• How the benefits of pilots to be integrated is
  the study of the future.
• Have to be found the sustainability mantra for
  ICT projects in India to deliver needed
• objectives.
• An integrated ICT model as accepted by people
  to be found using SWOT analysis on
• pilot projects experiences.
• Rogers, Roman and Kenneth proposals are
  measured for further studies.

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• Thank you