Friday, November 30, 2012

Internet & India begin with an ‘I’...

... and that’s where it will end – ‘I’. Will policy makers ever take technology to the ‘We’? Good question!

What’s the buzz word amongst the tech-savy in India (beside the internet and the iPhone) – it’s mobiles, and not to forget the long awaited 3G technology. Ten years ago, and not in the ice age (mind you), getting a black ugly monster landline dialer would have called for a wait of several years! But who could have imagined that just a decade later, one could surf the internet on high-speed broad band from inside a running train, or use a PDA, carrying all the informations relating to your business in one smalle hand-held device. Stranger thought, India becoming one of the IT hubs was unimaginable. But, it happened! In this era of information, India’s sustained growth depends on its ability to integrate skills into the production processes and everyday lives. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is more than an essential tool to make sure that the continued level of opulence is present across societies.

But the sad fact is that this progress has been highly lop-sided. As per the 2008 World Economic Forum report, and also well accepted by India’s intellect, the concept of digital divide today is one of the biggest impediments to development of India. This is reflected in the fact that India’s ICT environment and readiness rank has slipped by 4 positions during 2008 (we ranked 50th amongst 127 countries this year compared to 44th out of 122 countries last year). Really, the deteriorating quality amongst the regulatory milieu and the low level of India’s readiness to change in this regard is widely visible. Even in 2008, when the world is going from the Wi-Fi to WiMax, India is still fighting with its rural-urban divide. Imagine, even with numerous broadband service providers at one’s door-step, just a mere 4 million users gain access to it, out of which, the majority live in urban areas. To make matters worse, Computer Industry Almanac Inc.’s report revealed that Internet usage has actually dropped down by 1% since 2005. We repeatedly fail to understand, why the Information & Broadcasting Ministry is not focussing on pan-India technology development and is only perennially focussed on urban parts.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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