ICTpost Governance Bureau
Many people in rural areas do not have access to modern services like insurance and are? therefore either unable to withstand vagaries of nature or fall into the clutches of usurious local moneylenders or both. Availability of such services through appropriate ICT intermediation in even far flung and remote locations would greatly ameliorate living conditions for impoverished people there. But ubiquitous availability of such services to eligible persons in villages requires almost as fundamental a rethink in the sector as in the case of financial services.
Create an open technology generic integrated platform for e-Governance that can be used by governments worldwide backed by strong support services by Indian IT industry and manpower. The time has come in a global context for such a platform based more on a service model? rather than on a product or proprietary model. Many countries are seeking such models and India could become a leading player in this space. This would need to be funded by government initially as a research project with strong industry participation and later to be maintained and proliferated under a suitable framework, possibly one in which government owns the IPR or it is open sourced, but a strong government industry partnership maintains, propagates and supports it. A five year time frame within which two or three clear milestones could be set should be adequate for reaching a takeoff stage.
Position India as a hub for a number of ICT-related technologies relevant for developing/ multi-lingual countries. There are a number of technologies that need to be developed to facilitate proliferation of ICT based solutions in a developing country environment. India could position itself as a hub for such R&D by undertaking path-breaking research projects in areas like:
Voice and graphics based technologies and devices that can be easily used by non-IT literate, non-literate or differently abled people
Language technologies and devices that enable people to access content/ services in their own language irrespective of the language that they are provided in
Handheld devices that are lowpower consuming, preferably solar-powered, rugged, work in a multi-lingual environment in both connected and non-connected modes for specific tasks for usage at the last mile
Medical instruments for facilitating conduct of all kinds of tests on patients by local technicians with minimum training, supervised remotely by a doctor to whom the results are transmitted for diagnosis and treatment
Modified mobile telephone device incorporating biometrics that would enable it to serve as a secure instrument for financial transactions and proof of identity
Other devices for which the need may emerge from experience as we make progress. Draw up and implement a national programme to position India as a global centre for IT security services which also support a secure cyber space in the country. As more and more information and services, especially critical services are brought online, we are bound to become a target for all types of cyber attacks. This would be true for many countries around the world as well. We need to create an army of skilled manpower to secure our own cyber space. As a part of the same effort, the country could be positioned as a provider of such manpower and services to the rest of the world in pretty much the same way as it has in IT, ITES and R&D.
