Indian Subcontinent

During my recent trip to India I stopped over in New Delhi for few hours. I was not able to resist the temptation to visit my favorite Aurobindo Place Market where I used to hang out with my friends. The moment I got out of the car in the parking lot I saw an amazing notice painted on a big board. The two lines just about sum up the fact that resident associations in India now have the authority to frame rules for traffic and parking on their own. Now that is called empowerment. I could not resist thinking about some smart guy having a mobile air pump and making money. Unfortunately I did not have sufficient time to see the two hour threshold pass. I wish I had the power to deflate few things myself. Also for the first time I appreciated that my mobile had a decent camera.

During my recent trip to India I stopped over in New Delhi for few hours. I was not able to resist the temptation to visit my favorite Aurobindo Place Market where I used to hang out with my friends. The moment I got out of the car in the parking lot I saw an amazing notice painted on a big board. The two lines just about sum up the fact that resident associations in India now have the authority to frame rules for traffic and parking on their own. Now that is called empowerment. I could not resist thinking about some smart guy having a mobile air pump and making money. Unfortunately I did not have sufficient time to see the two hour threshold pass. I wish I had the power to deflate few things myself. Also for the first time I appreciated that my mobile had a decent camera.

Access to Computers for Non-Literate People (ACNLP) is an ongoing research project at Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya on how computers can be made beneficial for non-literate or semi-literate people. The research focuses on human computer interaction when users are unable to read or write textual representations of language. In the context of a country like Nepal where the number of non-literates is very high, the project will be very beneficial by developing computing systems that can be readily used by people with limited literacy. It is envisioned that people of any literacy background will be able to create their own information content and share their rich knowledge, heritage and experiences. The research will be one more step in the direction of eliminating the digital divide, and empowering the people with information.

The tribals in central India are caught between the government and the Maoists. Perhaps for the first time media is openly writing about the serious problem. Me and co fellow David Lehr had the opportunity to spend two days in this area in December and swiftly passed through the Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College.

There is no dispute that “Electronic Governance” is gradually entering the domain of public administration concepts and strategies in developing countries. (or, in what we term as the broader governance sphere)

Electronic Governance, in simplest terms, it refers to those governance processes in which Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are playing an active role in delivering governance related products and services.

Digital Governance Initiative is a virtual network of over 2800 E-governance policymakers and practitioners from developing countries. The Initiative identifies and propagates innovative e-governance models which are suited for developing countries. The models are based on strategic application of knowledge and information technologies to create an e-governance system which is citizen specific and addressess a particular development concern, viz: lack of information, corruption, bureaucracy etc.

Quench your need here for the latest views, news and concepts in ICTs for development in India.