India Beats China

India has been placed at the 39th position-two notches above China-in the Global Information Technology Report 2004-2005, assessing the state of the networked readiness of 104 economies. It is one of the most comprehensive and authoritative international assessment of the preparedness of countries to capture the benefits of participating in the Networked World. It also highlights the continuing importance of ICT application and development for economic growth. The Report uses the Networked Readiness Index
(NRI) to measure the degree of preparation of a nation or community to participate in and benefit from ICT developments. The NRI isÂ
composed of three component indexes: the environment for ICT offered by a given country or community; the readiness of the community's key
stakeholders-individuals, business and governments; and the usage of ICT among these stakeholders.

Lodge Complaints

The Delhi chief minister, Sheila Dikshit, has inaugurated the computerized
public grievances redressal system of the Municipal Corporation of New Delhi (MCD).
The citizens of Delhi can now lodge complaints by logging on to the MCD website.
They can also keep a track of their complaints through a number that is
generated when they register their complaints. This online system has been
developed by eGovernments Foundation, set up by Infosys CEO, Nandan Nilekani.

3-lakh ICT Jobs

The Andhra Pradesh ICT policy for 2005-10 seeks to create about 3 lakh jobs
directly in the technology sector by 2010. It is estimated that currently about
80,000 people in the state are directly employed in the ICT sector. According to
the ICT policy statement tabled in the Legislative Assembly, the Andhra Pradesh
government has planned a series of initiatives to create additional jobs in that
sector. It also hopes to capture about Rs 69,000 crore in software exports by
2010.

E-Gram Spreads Wings

The Panchayat minister of Gujarat, Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, informed the
state assembly that over 6000 villages will be linked through computers by March
2006 under the e-Gram project of the state government. Till December 2004, he
said, the government had already connected 567 villages under the project. Under
this scheme various documents like birth and death certificates, below poverty
line (BPL) certification, different application forms and others will be
available through the computers in every village, he added.

Know Your Crops

Farmers can soon access online information on production of crops and its
marketing potential from anywhere in the country. This GIS-based National
Agriculture Market Atlas would provide information on agricultural mandis of
different states, which would help farmers get better prices for their crop and
grow more remunerative crop. It is being jointly prepared by National Institute
of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM), National Informatics Centre (NIC) and
Directorate of Monitoring and Inspection (DMI).

Rural Knowledge Centers

Noted agricultural scientist and chairperson of the National Farmers
Commission, MS Swaminathan has called for establishment of Rural Knowledge
Centers (RKCs) across the country to allow direct flow of information among
rural communities, scientists, administrators and educators. He said the RKCs
can provide just-in-time information to farmers using contemporary ICT tools. He
added that these RKCs could be located either in the panchayat buildings or
rural schools, so that it is accessible to everyone and it could be run by
self-help groups (SHGs).

Bangladesh

Education Sector

In Bangladesh, a new system will provide information access by citizens to their
own public examination records and various educational statistics for
researchers and academicians. For example, SSC and HSC examination results will
be published online immediately upon their publication. The system will also
reduce the current delay of availability of up-to-date educational statistics
for policy making from over two years to a single day, enabling policy makers to
act on real-time  situation of the country's education sector.

At
present, these educational data are manually collected and then centrally fed to
an electronic database. In the new system, such data will be directly entered,
using a distributed information system and will be available to decision makers
and researchers instantly. The system is expected to be operational by the end
of this year.

Grameen Software of Bangladesh has been awarded the software development,
systems integration and maintenance contract worth Tk 11.5 mn, under this
programme.

Kenya

E-Slate

A pilot project, initiated by EduVision, has been launched in the Mbita
Point primary school in western Kenya, where students can now do their exercises
in their digitised school textbooks. EduVision is looking at ways to use low
cost computer systems to get up-to-date information to students who are
currently stuck with ancient textbooks. Matthew Herren of EduVision said that
the NGO used a combination of satellite radio and handheld computers called
e-Slates. The e-Slates connect via a wireless connection to a base station in
the school. This in turn is connected to a satellite radio receiver. He also
said that the data is transmitted alongside audio signals. The content is
divided into visual information, textual information, and questions.

Source: bbc.co.uk

Bhutan

Wi-Fi

The Royal Government of Bhutan has recognised the role that ICTs can play in
achieving its development goals. The Department of Information Technology would
undertake a research project that would test the viability of appropriate ICT
solutions that can lead to sustainable communication for the rural areas of
Bhutan. Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) is one of the most promising technology that
can potentially offer an alternative to the normally expensive, high
maintenance, and difficult to manage 'last mile' connectivity. As a result,
this project will pilot and demonstrate the viability and robustness of Wi-Fi
for offering various information services.

Tidbits...

Karnataka chief minister Dharam Singh has
said that the state government, along with the Indian Space Research
Organization (ISRO), would try to extend satellite-based education program to
all primary schools in backward districts like Bidar, Gulbarga, and Raichur.

IGNOU has said that it will link its six
centres with Education Satellite (EDUSAT) to facilitate interactive education
for distance learning in Tamil Nadu, very soon. The centers include Chennai,
Madurai, Salem, Coimbatore, Port Blair and Pondicherry.

NSEAP, the country's first National
Spot Exchange for Agriculture Produce, will come up following the signing of a
MoU among Financial Technologies India, Multi-Commodity Exchange, National
Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation, and the State Bank of India.

The Delhi government has launched a
website www.dcw.delhigovt.nic.in to help women in distress lodge their
complaints. The website was launched as a part of International Women's Day
celebrations.

Easylearning, an initiative to provide
self-sustainable Information Technology and Professional Development skills
training to the masses, has been launched by ICWFD (International Commission on
Workforce Development) in Bangalore.