Somalia Looks to India for e-Gov

Infamous for civil strife and drought, Somalia is turning to IT for image

management. Suspicion of the country's links with global terrorism, and

faction fighting for control of its capital city and southern regions have made

national and international security a priority for Somali's transitional

federal government. It recently signed a $25 mn e-governance deal with Bangalore-based

Sobha Renaissance to rollout, besides others, ePassport and eAuthentication

systems. The target for completion of e-Passports is six months. Other

commitments include automation of driver licenses, vehicle registration and

national health programs.

A company spokesperson said the Somalian government would be provided with

offerings that go beyond traditional hardware services-complete turnkey

solutions, for example. The software part of Sobha's turnkey execution

includes several core modules, including a tracking module to ensure a high

level of security throughout the personalization process. This module would

track production in its entirety, providing valuable output reports for the

government's information and analysis. Another module would ensure quality

control, traceability and management during the data manipulation process. Soon

after Sobha implements the ePassport and Authentication project, it would open

the floodgates for issuing millions of passports, the spokesperson added.

Co-Founder and CEO of Sobha Renaissance Dr Madhu Nambiar with a Somalian government delegation

The company is also working closely with other African and Middle East

Governments on their e-governance initiatives. It is in advanced stages of

negotiation with some state governments in India, too.

Goutam Das

OEMs Look to Integrate PCtvt

PC makers, both Indian and global, are competing fiercely to deliver an

affordable computer that can cut through the digital divide. In this

action-packed segment, an academic initiative centered on the PCtvt, a device

that is computer, TV, video and IP phone and videophone-all rolled into one.

Designed for the rural masses, this academic initiative is vying to make this a

reality soon.

A collaborative initiative between three institutions, Carnagie Mellon

University, Indian Institue of Information Technology (IIIT) Hyderabad and the

Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, the PCtvt (PC, TV, video and

telephone) has crossed successful pilots in Andhra Pradesh. Now, companies like

HCL Technologies and the Korean company Sagem are testing to see if the PCtvt

design could be integrated with their hardware.

"Based on the feedback from the pilots, we are trying to perfect the

design and interface," informed Prof N Balakrishnan of Supercomputer

Education and Research Center, IISc.

"We have used open software to develop our own applications like

language software and VoIP. Others can also port their applications onto

this."

Why blend television and video with a computer? Balakrishnan reasons that the

device has to reach all sections of people: "People who are less educated

need more bandwidth than educated people. Instead of email, he would need voice

mail. Entertainment is also a key driver in India." So, he says, the device

is a mix of both synchronous (text chat) and asynchronous (multi-lingual e-mail)

communication modes.

He thinks that ease of use and comfort would make the device more accessible.

"The device has video mail and we plan to introduce a speech

interface," he says. The project is the brainchild of robotics expert Dr

Raj Reddy of Carnagie Mellon University, who is the 2005 recipient of the Honda

award for his efforts to bring technology to the masses.

Priya Padmanabhan