There are still a large number of communities
in the region, inhabiting remote areas, in close
proximity to nature, practising traditional farming,
fishing, agricultural and forestry techniques.
Conserving the environment is a part of their way of
life. The age-old traditions and experiences of these
communities (usually termed “indigenous people”)
can help improve the efficiency of resource use and
it is for this reason that a number of NGOs build on
traditional or indigenous knowledge systems. These
knowledge systems are researched and disseminated
so that the wider public can learn from them.
Major groups in indigenous communities
themselves are also active in environmental
protection. An example which illustrates how local
indigenous groups are actively involved in
conservation work, is Soltrust, one of the major local
indigenous organizations in the Solomon Islands
dedicated to promoting sustainable forest
management, where logging operations are a major
concern for both the government and the indigenous
peoples. Despite many awareness campaigns on
sustainable development, both the number of logging
companies, and the unsustainable rate of harvesting
of timber resources have been increasing. Established
in 1986, the group’s more recent work has involved
the Rarade Community of the Isabel Province, and
island province that has been out of reach by loggers
until recently. A partnership between Soltrust and
the community was created as a model for future
eco-forestry activities, not only in Isabel and in the
Solomon Islands at large, but also for neighbouring
countries facing similar situations (United Nations
1998).
In many parts of the region, rapid
industrialization, the development of suburbs and
the conversion of land for agricultural purposes has
encroached upon the traditional homeland of
indigenous people. At the same time greater numbers
of indigenous people have either become displaced
because of development or have moved into urban
areas in pursuit of education and/or employment.
This has resulted in the reservations and sanctuaries
shrinking in size and often being hemmed in by
developmental projects, with negative consequences
for their once pristine environment. However,
indigenous groups are now beginning to organize
resistance movements. In Australia, for example,
aboriginal communities in states such as Queensland
have joined forces with environmental groups to
prevent the further depletion of their land and forest
reserves by logging and mining concerns. In New
Zealand, people of Maori descent have banded
together to assert claims to their land and also to
protect them from further environmental damage. A
number of tribes have petitioned the courts in order
to reclaim their tribal lands. In the northern part of
Thailand, the increasing mobility of traditional people
poses a serious threat to the “sustainability” of the
hilltribes distinct cultures. The threat comes from
the influx of consumerism, lack of land security and
large migrations to the cities. In order to counter
these threats the “Inter Mountain Peoples Education
and Culture in Thailand Association” (IMPECT) was
founded with the intention of supporting, promoting
and revitalising the traditional belief systems,
agricultural traditions and cultures of the hilltribes.
To make the children and youth proud of their
culture, the relationship between the traditional
lifestyle and the conservation of their natural
surrounding has been promoted through a locally
developed curriculum. In response there has been
an increased feeling of the value of traditional
knowledge among the children and youth in the
target villages.
The close links between some NGOs and
indigenous communities, especially vulnerable
groups, also provides for the representation of such
groups at the national and international levels. This
is important for resolving issues, especially those
related to globalization and its homogenizing
influences that endangers indigenous cultures and
cultural diversity.
Sunday, 19 February 2012
Thursday, 16 February 2012
NGO Contribution Toward Making Cities Child-friendly
Sporadic urban growth in many cities in Asia and the Pacific poses significant risks to the well-being of children. Research
commissioned by UNICEF has noted that the health and often the lives of more than half of the world’s children are constantly
threatened by environmental hazards, in their home and surroundings and in the places where they play and socialize. The research
also indicates that 40 000 child deaths occur each year from malnutrition and disease, and that 150 million children a year survive
with ill health, with retarded physical and mental development. More and more young people are being admitted to hospital with
asthma due to car fumes, while other pollutants are linked with a whole range of other health problems in the young. Shanty town
dwellings with inadequate basic facilities exposes children to diseases and dangers, while traffic claims many young lives on a daily
basis. Because of such problems, one of the greatest challenge for urban administrations in the new millennium is in the area of child
development and protection.
In Malaysia a number of concerned NGOs have got together to try and address this challenge. In September 1996, The
Malaysian Council for Child Welfare (MCCW) and the National Council for Women’s Organizations (NCWO) organized a National
Conference on the Right of the Child in Kuala Lumpur. The Conference was supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF), Malaysia and received technical cooperation from Asia-Pacific 2000, which is a Project of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP).
At this conference, serious concerns were raised about the quality of life of the urban child, who is often caught between his or
her own needs and aspirations and that of his parents. Subsequent to this meeting, on 5th July 1997, the MCCW, NCWO and the
Management Institute for Social Change (MINSOC), with technical support from Asia-Pacific 2000 and UNICEF, organized a followup
national workshop on ‘The Urban Vision 2020 Initiative: Making Urban Areas Child-Friendly’. Involving over 150 participants
from government departments, tertiary institutions, non-governmental organizations as well as interested individuals, the workshop
concluded with concrete proposals on improving the socio-economic environment of children, addressing issues that arise within the
home, school or community pace and the safety and health of urban children.
Out of these deliberations, there emerged the Malaysian Charter on Making Urban Areas Child-Friendly and its associated Ten
Strategic Actions aimed specifically at urban local authorities. The Initiative then commissioned the development of a child-friendly
survey instrument – ‘The Child’s Report Card’ as a tool for children to assess the friendliness of their own neighbourhood environments.
The Malaysian Child-Friendly Cities Initiative is a complement of the International Child-Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI)
which was launched during the International Workshop on Children’s Rights. The objective of the CFCI is to help translate the
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), into concrete actions that can be implemented at the local level, by just about everyone.
commissioned by UNICEF has noted that the health and often the lives of more than half of the world’s children are constantly
threatened by environmental hazards, in their home and surroundings and in the places where they play and socialize. The research
also indicates that 40 000 child deaths occur each year from malnutrition and disease, and that 150 million children a year survive
with ill health, with retarded physical and mental development. More and more young people are being admitted to hospital with
asthma due to car fumes, while other pollutants are linked with a whole range of other health problems in the young. Shanty town
dwellings with inadequate basic facilities exposes children to diseases and dangers, while traffic claims many young lives on a daily
basis. Because of such problems, one of the greatest challenge for urban administrations in the new millennium is in the area of child
development and protection.
In Malaysia a number of concerned NGOs have got together to try and address this challenge. In September 1996, The
Malaysian Council for Child Welfare (MCCW) and the National Council for Women’s Organizations (NCWO) organized a National
Conference on the Right of the Child in Kuala Lumpur. The Conference was supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF), Malaysia and received technical cooperation from Asia-Pacific 2000, which is a Project of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP).
At this conference, serious concerns were raised about the quality of life of the urban child, who is often caught between his or
her own needs and aspirations and that of his parents. Subsequent to this meeting, on 5th July 1997, the MCCW, NCWO and the
Management Institute for Social Change (MINSOC), with technical support from Asia-Pacific 2000 and UNICEF, organized a followup
national workshop on ‘The Urban Vision 2020 Initiative: Making Urban Areas Child-Friendly’. Involving over 150 participants
from government departments, tertiary institutions, non-governmental organizations as well as interested individuals, the workshop
concluded with concrete proposals on improving the socio-economic environment of children, addressing issues that arise within the
home, school or community pace and the safety and health of urban children.
Out of these deliberations, there emerged the Malaysian Charter on Making Urban Areas Child-Friendly and its associated Ten
Strategic Actions aimed specifically at urban local authorities. The Initiative then commissioned the development of a child-friendly
survey instrument – ‘The Child’s Report Card’ as a tool for children to assess the friendliness of their own neighbourhood environments.
The Malaysian Child-Friendly Cities Initiative is a complement of the International Child-Friendly Cities Initiative (CFCI)
which was launched during the International Workshop on Children’s Rights. The objective of the CFCI is to help translate the
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), into concrete actions that can be implemented at the local level, by just about everyone.
Empowering Women
Women’s NGO groups are working to empower women and improve their standing in the decision making process. One
example is the (Indian) Community Development Society (CDS), Alappuzha (Alleppey). This is a successful model of women in
development that has now been replicated in 57 towns and one entire district in Kerala State. The objective of the CDS is to improve
the situation of children under 5 and of women age 15 to 45 years. CDS work includes literacy programmes, income generating
schemes for women, provisions of safe drinking water, low cost household sanitary latrines, kitchen gardens, food-grain bank,
immunization, and child-care. The CDS has resulted in the empowerment of women and the building of community leadership. It
is a unique example of community based poverty eradication efforts by women. Since its small start in 1993, the CDS has grown to a
large-scale women’s movement with membership of 357 000 poor women (20 per cent of poor people in the State) from both rural
and urban areas.
Similar work in empowering women to play an active role in environmental improvement and development is done by the
Aurat Foundation in Pakistan and Seikastu Club in Japan. The Aurat Foundation works to help women acquire greater control over
knowledge and resources; to facilitate women’s greater participation in political processes and governance; and to transform social
attitudes and behaviour to address women’s concerns and development. The Foundation works directly at a grass roots level on
environmental issues. It has facilitated meetings between peasant women and policy makers, planners and political representatives,
as a result of which the women were able to express their concern about the impact of environmental degradation on their livelihood
and their lives. The Foundation has also lobbied with Government about the concerns of peasant women and has championed the
demands of rural women to the technology transfer and agriculture extension departments in Punjab. This has led to the development
of demonstration and training projects designed to improve the productivity of peasant women.
In Nepal, a local NGO, Women in Environment (WE), attempts to counter both environmental degradation and poverty by
getting women actively involved in environmental projects. Working with women social workers, environmentalists, women’s
rights advocates and other volunteers the organization has successfully mobilized women to work on such projects as National Park
buffer zone management, river bank stabilization, kitchen garden development and the creation of revolving loan fund for
environmental work. The Sindh Rural Women’s Uplift Group in Pakistan owns 108 acres (43 hectares) of fruit orchard in which they
use “organic and sustainable cultural practices” to fight against the use of synthetic pesticide and insecticide. The Group believes in
maintaining soil and plant health to reduce disease attacks – and to reduce environmental contamination.
Another example of an NGO group which works with women to develop sustainable solutions to environmental problems is
the Viet Nam Women’s Union (VWU). This is a large organization with over 11 million members, which promotes the role that
women play in Vietnamese society. In order to promote energy self-sufficiency for rural families with no access to the electrical grid
the VWU has joined in the Rural Solar Electrification Project, in conjunction with the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) – an American
non-profit NGO which promotes rural electrification. The project has provided electricity – from solar photovoltaic cells – for
240 households and to 5 community centres. This is an especially timely initiative, since Viet Nam is in the process of designing a
national rural electrification master plan with the World Bank in order to integrate renewable sources of energy into an overall rural
power delivery system.
example is the (Indian) Community Development Society (CDS), Alappuzha (Alleppey). This is a successful model of women in
development that has now been replicated in 57 towns and one entire district in Kerala State. The objective of the CDS is to improve
the situation of children under 5 and of women age 15 to 45 years. CDS work includes literacy programmes, income generating
schemes for women, provisions of safe drinking water, low cost household sanitary latrines, kitchen gardens, food-grain bank,
immunization, and child-care. The CDS has resulted in the empowerment of women and the building of community leadership. It
is a unique example of community based poverty eradication efforts by women. Since its small start in 1993, the CDS has grown to a
large-scale women’s movement with membership of 357 000 poor women (20 per cent of poor people in the State) from both rural
and urban areas.
Similar work in empowering women to play an active role in environmental improvement and development is done by the
Aurat Foundation in Pakistan and Seikastu Club in Japan. The Aurat Foundation works to help women acquire greater control over
knowledge and resources; to facilitate women’s greater participation in political processes and governance; and to transform social
attitudes and behaviour to address women’s concerns and development. The Foundation works directly at a grass roots level on
environmental issues. It has facilitated meetings between peasant women and policy makers, planners and political representatives,
as a result of which the women were able to express their concern about the impact of environmental degradation on their livelihood
and their lives. The Foundation has also lobbied with Government about the concerns of peasant women and has championed the
demands of rural women to the technology transfer and agriculture extension departments in Punjab. This has led to the development
of demonstration and training projects designed to improve the productivity of peasant women.
In Nepal, a local NGO, Women in Environment (WE), attempts to counter both environmental degradation and poverty by
getting women actively involved in environmental projects. Working with women social workers, environmentalists, women’s
rights advocates and other volunteers the organization has successfully mobilized women to work on such projects as National Park
buffer zone management, river bank stabilization, kitchen garden development and the creation of revolving loan fund for
environmental work. The Sindh Rural Women’s Uplift Group in Pakistan owns 108 acres (43 hectares) of fruit orchard in which they
use “organic and sustainable cultural practices” to fight against the use of synthetic pesticide and insecticide. The Group believes in
maintaining soil and plant health to reduce disease attacks – and to reduce environmental contamination.
Another example of an NGO group which works with women to develop sustainable solutions to environmental problems is
the Viet Nam Women’s Union (VWU). This is a large organization with over 11 million members, which promotes the role that
women play in Vietnamese society. In order to promote energy self-sufficiency for rural families with no access to the electrical grid
the VWU has joined in the Rural Solar Electrification Project, in conjunction with the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) – an American
non-profit NGO which promotes rural electrification. The project has provided electricity – from solar photovoltaic cells – for
240 households and to 5 community centres. This is an especially timely initiative, since Viet Nam is in the process of designing a
national rural electrification master plan with the World Bank in order to integrate renewable sources of energy into an overall rural
power delivery system.
Monday, 13 February 2012
NGO - Awareness-Raising, Campaigning and Advocacy
Across the region a large array of groups work
to raise awareness of environmental issues and push
for changes in policy and development programmes.
These groups carry out environmental awareness
raising and campaigning locally, nationally, and
internationally, with some campaigns operating
simultaneously at all levels. In India, for example,
the Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) has earned
international recognition for its work in mobilising
public opinion among people’s organizations in
the State of Kerala (United Nations 1995). The KSSP
is regarded as one of the best-informed and
best-organized grassroots movement in India, with
over 20 000 members.
In Pakistan, the Society for the Conservation
and Protection of the Environment (SCOPE),
established in 1988, is particularly successful at
national environmental campaigns, whilst giving
priority to developing linkages with local NGOs,
research institutes, universities and government
departments. In addition SCOPE motivates
grassroots groups and undertakes public interest
litigation and advocacy work (Non Governmental
Liaison Service 1997).
Scientific and technical NGOs are assisting
in bridging the gap between science, policy makers
and the citizenry. Their research and education
work is proving a vital addition to the decision and
policy-making process. In India, for instance, the
Centre for Science and Environment publishes ‘Citizen’s Reports on the Environment’ which focus
on specific environmental issues, such as urban
pollution, and flood management. Written in nontechnical
languages, these reports enable the general
public to better understand the issues.
Many of the more established NGOs in the
region work on major national campaigns using a
range of promotion activities, from grassroots
awareness-raising, through to lobbying and media
campaigns (Box 14.2). Such campaigns are multifaceted,
involving research, awareness-raising,
education and lobbying. The Worldwide Fund for
Nature (WWF) in Malaysia, for example, has
launched the Species 2 000 Campaign to mobilize
effective national action to conserve Malaysia’s
wildlife. (WWF Malaysia, Website 6). In doing so,
WWF Malaysia has forged partnerships with many
groups involved in conservation, from Federal and
State government agencies to universities, other
NGOs and local community groups. Similar alliances
have been made by environmental groups in India,
Malaysia and Philippines to raise the awareness of
governments and the general public with regard to
the loss of fauna and flora species and consequences
for biodiversity.
One of the great challenges for NGOs
campaigning on environmental issues is to involve
as many people as possible and, particularly where
religion plays a major role in everyday life, getting
the environmental message across to key religious
groups. The Alliance of Religions and Conservation
(ARC) has been working internationally with many
faiths to forge new, practical models of religious
involvement with environmental issues. The group
espouses the Ohito Declaration of 1995, a declaration
on religions, land and conservation that states
“for people of faith maintaining and sustaining
environmental life systems is a religious
responsibility” (Xiamin and Halbertsma 1997). The
Ohito Declaration and the work of organizations such
as ARC has led to the re-discovery of ‘holy ground’
and the concept of the need for Man to preserve and
protect the environment by all the major religions of
the world.
The scope of ARC’s network activities is shown
in the involvement of the Taoists, who formally joined
ARC in 1995; the ninth faith to do so. Following
meetings with WWF/ARC staff, the Taoists asked
ARC to join them in launching a campaign to protect
their sacred holy mountains in China, which were
threatened by changes in forestry, agriculture, urban
development and, of late, tourism.
Beyond national frontiers, many environmental
NGOs have joined forces to campaign internationally.
WALHI, Indonesia, for instance, worked alongside
international NGOs such as WWF to bring the plight.
to raise awareness of environmental issues and push
for changes in policy and development programmes.
These groups carry out environmental awareness
raising and campaigning locally, nationally, and
internationally, with some campaigns operating
simultaneously at all levels. In India, for example,
the Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) has earned
international recognition for its work in mobilising
public opinion among people’s organizations in
the State of Kerala (United Nations 1995). The KSSP
is regarded as one of the best-informed and
best-organized grassroots movement in India, with
over 20 000 members.
In Pakistan, the Society for the Conservation
and Protection of the Environment (SCOPE),
established in 1988, is particularly successful at
national environmental campaigns, whilst giving
priority to developing linkages with local NGOs,
research institutes, universities and government
departments. In addition SCOPE motivates
grassroots groups and undertakes public interest
litigation and advocacy work (Non Governmental
Liaison Service 1997).
Scientific and technical NGOs are assisting
in bridging the gap between science, policy makers
and the citizenry. Their research and education
work is proving a vital addition to the decision and
policy-making process. In India, for instance, the
Centre for Science and Environment publishes ‘Citizen’s Reports on the Environment’ which focus
on specific environmental issues, such as urban
pollution, and flood management. Written in nontechnical
languages, these reports enable the general
public to better understand the issues.
Many of the more established NGOs in the
region work on major national campaigns using a
range of promotion activities, from grassroots
awareness-raising, through to lobbying and media
campaigns (Box 14.2). Such campaigns are multifaceted,
involving research, awareness-raising,
education and lobbying. The Worldwide Fund for
Nature (WWF) in Malaysia, for example, has
launched the Species 2 000 Campaign to mobilize
effective national action to conserve Malaysia’s
wildlife. (WWF Malaysia, Website 6). In doing so,
WWF Malaysia has forged partnerships with many
groups involved in conservation, from Federal and
State government agencies to universities, other
NGOs and local community groups. Similar alliances
have been made by environmental groups in India,
Malaysia and Philippines to raise the awareness of
governments and the general public with regard to
the loss of fauna and flora species and consequences
for biodiversity.
One of the great challenges for NGOs
campaigning on environmental issues is to involve
as many people as possible and, particularly where
religion plays a major role in everyday life, getting
the environmental message across to key religious
groups. The Alliance of Religions and Conservation
(ARC) has been working internationally with many
faiths to forge new, practical models of religious
involvement with environmental issues. The group
espouses the Ohito Declaration of 1995, a declaration
on religions, land and conservation that states
“for people of faith maintaining and sustaining
environmental life systems is a religious
responsibility” (Xiamin and Halbertsma 1997). The
Ohito Declaration and the work of organizations such
as ARC has led to the re-discovery of ‘holy ground’
and the concept of the need for Man to preserve and
protect the environment by all the major religions of
the world.
The scope of ARC’s network activities is shown
in the involvement of the Taoists, who formally joined
ARC in 1995; the ninth faith to do so. Following
meetings with WWF/ARC staff, the Taoists asked
ARC to join them in launching a campaign to protect
their sacred holy mountains in China, which were
threatened by changes in forestry, agriculture, urban
development and, of late, tourism.
Beyond national frontiers, many environmental
NGOs have joined forces to campaign internationally.
WALHI, Indonesia, for instance, worked alongside
international NGOs such as WWF to bring the plight.
Sunday, 12 February 2012
NGOs and Global Advocacy
During the 1970s social activists were urged to "think globally and act locally". Over the past 10-15
years a vibrant NGO community has emerged in the South with a profound impact on development
practice and thinking. Alternative NGO sponsored conferences took place alongside all the global UN
conferences of the 1990s. Activists from both South and North joined to lobby governments and an
international agency to give greater priority to the world's poor and marginalized.
In response to lobbying against some of its policies, the World Bank reached out to its NGO critics,
which now play a much bigger role in Bank-funded projects. Other changes include the appointment of
NGO liaison officers in most Bank country offices and a grater recognition of the importance and input
of NGOs to the Bank's work. NGOs have also held the Bank accountable to its own procedures and
policies. NGO submissions to the World Bank Inspection Panels on the Arun III Hydroelectric Project
in Nepal weighed heavily in the Bank's decision not to finance the project.
NGOs have put pressure on all the UN agencies as well as governments to follow up the goals
and commitments of the global conferences.
For the Kyoto protocol, NGOs have been pushing for an agreement that will have a significant
impact on global greenhouse, and gas emissions rather that one that settles for cosmetic
changes. At the Kyoto meeting NGOs pressured national governments and multilateral
agencies to release a 10-point call for action. The declaration forms the basis for ongoing
NGO advocacy and lobbying on climate change. Similar declarations have been submitted by
a group of NGOs from Eastern and Central Europe. Friends of the Earth and the World
Wildlife Fund for Nature have been active in raising awareness about how private sector
concerns appear to be dominating the discussions on how the protocol is to be implemented.
They have also raised concerns that the final outcome will have no meaningful impact on
greenhouse and gas emissions.
years a vibrant NGO community has emerged in the South with a profound impact on development
practice and thinking. Alternative NGO sponsored conferences took place alongside all the global UN
conferences of the 1990s. Activists from both South and North joined to lobby governments and an
international agency to give greater priority to the world's poor and marginalized.
In response to lobbying against some of its policies, the World Bank reached out to its NGO critics,
which now play a much bigger role in Bank-funded projects. Other changes include the appointment of
NGO liaison officers in most Bank country offices and a grater recognition of the importance and input
of NGOs to the Bank's work. NGOs have also held the Bank accountable to its own procedures and
policies. NGO submissions to the World Bank Inspection Panels on the Arun III Hydroelectric Project
in Nepal weighed heavily in the Bank's decision not to finance the project.
NGOs have put pressure on all the UN agencies as well as governments to follow up the goals
and commitments of the global conferences.
For the Kyoto protocol, NGOs have been pushing for an agreement that will have a significant
impact on global greenhouse, and gas emissions rather that one that settles for cosmetic
changes. At the Kyoto meeting NGOs pressured national governments and multilateral
agencies to release a 10-point call for action. The declaration forms the basis for ongoing
NGO advocacy and lobbying on climate change. Similar declarations have been submitted by
a group of NGOs from Eastern and Central Europe. Friends of the Earth and the World
Wildlife Fund for Nature have been active in raising awareness about how private sector
concerns appear to be dominating the discussions on how the protocol is to be implemented.
They have also raised concerns that the final outcome will have no meaningful impact on
greenhouse and gas emissions.
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Ecommerce - Overcoming Infrastructure Bottlenecks
The three basic infrastructural requirements for rural ICT initiatives are, of course, (i) Electricity, (ii) Telephony (or its equivalent), and (iii) Network Connectivity. The problems associated with these inputs must be recognized as inherent features of the landscape, and tackled as an integral part of the implementation process.
(i) Electricity: In many rural areas, electrical supply may be restricted to only 6 or 8 hours a day. When electrical power is available, its voltage and frequency may vary far outside the acceptable limits of most hardware. Finally, there is often no earthing provided.
For most rural ICT projects, battery back-ups and Universal Power Supply-s (UPS-s) are mandatory. In some cases, multiple tractor batteries have been connected in parallel to create a mammoth UPS that can withstand day-long power cuts. In addition to these battery systems, circuit breakers and voltage stabilizers are also necessary. Several agencies have had to create their own earthing pits outside their village centers, by digging shallow trenches, filling them with salt, and making sure they are watered on dry sunny days. Constant maintenance of this privately constructed earthing pit is necessary to ensure that the equipment within is protected from power surges.
(ii) Telephony: Landline telephones are still not available in many villages in South Asia. Where they do exist they may be down for weeks at a time, and there may be other kinds of incompatibilities, which prevent data transfer.
Several different kinds of short-term solutions are possible to circumvent low teledensity in rural areas. A project in Pondicherry has implemented a wireless system for relatively slow data transfer using fax protocols. Short bursts of these wireless transmissions update the off-line content available at the village center. The various educational enterprises of Zee Interactive Learning Systems plan to rely on Very Small Aperture Terminals (V-SATs), which connect directly to their own communications satellites. The Gyandoot project in Dhar, on the other hand, initially chose its target villages on the basis of their telephone access, and their location relative to proposed Optical-Fiber Cable (OFC) routes.
Although it is possible to design rural ICT projects on the assumption that basic telephony will not be available, there is another, better, approach: Rural ICT projects may be used to test and design new kinds of telecommunications infrastructure, including, for example Wireless-in-Local-Loop (WLL or WiLL) technologies, which offer a cheaper, lighter, and more intelligent type of network. WLL systems allow simultaneous data and voice telephony across long distances (wireless), thanks to a local network of cables provided and maintained by a rural entrepreneur (local loop). Important applications of this technology have been developed at the TeNet Group at IIT-Madras.
(iii) Connectivity: Internet subscription is not always available in rural and underdeveloped sections of South Asia. Even when it should, in theory, be available, long distance calls to nearby towns may be required in order to achieve true connectivity. Poor telephony ensures that modem speeds are often restricted to 28.8 kbps or slower. The wireless-fax system in Pondicherry runs even slower, at under 14.4 kbps.
While WLL technologies will soon be able to provide simultaneous and continuous voice and data connectivity in local areas, computer kiosks in villages can also be designed so as to require only limited connectivity. Projects in Pondicherry and Warana, for example, allow users to access offline content, which is updated several times a day in brief bursts of data. In this way, a range of services may be continuously provided, notwithstanding narrow bandwidth, slow transfer rates, and intermittent connectivity.
(i) Electricity: In many rural areas, electrical supply may be restricted to only 6 or 8 hours a day. When electrical power is available, its voltage and frequency may vary far outside the acceptable limits of most hardware. Finally, there is often no earthing provided.
For most rural ICT projects, battery back-ups and Universal Power Supply-s (UPS-s) are mandatory. In some cases, multiple tractor batteries have been connected in parallel to create a mammoth UPS that can withstand day-long power cuts. In addition to these battery systems, circuit breakers and voltage stabilizers are also necessary. Several agencies have had to create their own earthing pits outside their village centers, by digging shallow trenches, filling them with salt, and making sure they are watered on dry sunny days. Constant maintenance of this privately constructed earthing pit is necessary to ensure that the equipment within is protected from power surges.
(ii) Telephony: Landline telephones are still not available in many villages in South Asia. Where they do exist they may be down for weeks at a time, and there may be other kinds of incompatibilities, which prevent data transfer.
Several different kinds of short-term solutions are possible to circumvent low teledensity in rural areas. A project in Pondicherry has implemented a wireless system for relatively slow data transfer using fax protocols. Short bursts of these wireless transmissions update the off-line content available at the village center. The various educational enterprises of Zee Interactive Learning Systems plan to rely on Very Small Aperture Terminals (V-SATs), which connect directly to their own communications satellites. The Gyandoot project in Dhar, on the other hand, initially chose its target villages on the basis of their telephone access, and their location relative to proposed Optical-Fiber Cable (OFC) routes.
Although it is possible to design rural ICT projects on the assumption that basic telephony will not be available, there is another, better, approach: Rural ICT projects may be used to test and design new kinds of telecommunications infrastructure, including, for example Wireless-in-Local-Loop (WLL or WiLL) technologies, which offer a cheaper, lighter, and more intelligent type of network. WLL systems allow simultaneous data and voice telephony across long distances (wireless), thanks to a local network of cables provided and maintained by a rural entrepreneur (local loop). Important applications of this technology have been developed at the TeNet Group at IIT-Madras.
(iii) Connectivity: Internet subscription is not always available in rural and underdeveloped sections of South Asia. Even when it should, in theory, be available, long distance calls to nearby towns may be required in order to achieve true connectivity. Poor telephony ensures that modem speeds are often restricted to 28.8 kbps or slower. The wireless-fax system in Pondicherry runs even slower, at under 14.4 kbps.
While WLL technologies will soon be able to provide simultaneous and continuous voice and data connectivity in local areas, computer kiosks in villages can also be designed so as to require only limited connectivity. Projects in Pondicherry and Warana, for example, allow users to access offline content, which is updated several times a day in brief bursts of data. In this way, a range of services may be continuously provided, notwithstanding narrow bandwidth, slow transfer rates, and intermittent connectivity.
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
How is Technology-driven Social Change feasible in South Asia?
The problems and potential of ICT-driven projects in South Asia are truly enormous. This region hosts an extraordinary concentration of new technology driven companies, tech-savvy administrators and managers, a political class newly sophisticated to the possibilities of IT, social entrepreneurs and NGO institutional structures that could all come together to bring the benefits of networked technologies to rural and disprivileged groups. And yet, we must face the frustrations of intermittent, inconsistent electrical power, archaic, scarce and unreliable telephony and net-connectivity, neo-feudal politico-business consortia that hinder or hijack developmental efforts, deeply ingrained ideologies of caste-hierarchy, gender inequality, and religious-communal difference, as well as significant deprivations of basic human needs. These limitations cast grave doubt over the optimism of those attempting to use emerging technologies for developmental purposes.
A common objection to IT initiatives suggests that they are premature, or that they ‘put the cart before the horse,’ in as much as electricity, telephony, and connectivity are highly erratic and variable in many parts of South Asia. Moreover, more basic kinds of infrastructure including schools, healthcare centers, balanced nutrition, gender equity, employment, and transportation are lacking. Why should we consider this expensive and elitist form of infrastructure, when more fundamental developmental needs remain unmet?
This criticism assumes that there is a standard sequence and hierarchy for development: first a society must adequately manage its nutrition and healthcare, then it must address education and achieve total literacy, then it must provide electricity to all its villages, then it must install telephones, and so forth. In fact, post-colonial societies in Asia, Africa and the Americas have repeatedly shown that they can be successful in one or another dimension of human, social, and economic achievement, without necessarily replicating a normative European trajectory of industrial development. Diverse social and infrastructural needs must be addressed more or less simultaneously to ensure a nation’s future growth and prosperity.
It is naive to imagine that electricity, telephony and connectivity in rural areas will improve if the demand for these resources does not grow. In addition, information networks can become conduits that allow money to flow into the village through new kinds of non-discriminatory, clean and relatively unoppressive industries. Information and communications technologies can also compensate for other kinds of infrastructure limitations. For example, if online work, trade, or payment were to become available for members of a village community, the poor quality of roads to and from that village becomes less of an obstacle to earnings and employment. Finally, and most importantly, if capital were to become more readily available within a village community through such networked systems, it would then be in a better position to finance the basic infrastructure that it needs, including roads, dispensaries, water and sanitation systems.
It may be correct to say that PCs remain expensive, fragile, quickly obsolete, English-centric, complex and difficult to master, and therefore almost entirely elite in their scope and operation. Nevertheless, networks of human-mediated computer kiosks, shared among multiple users of a rural community, could in fact prove to be the most inexpensive and inclusive form of rural infrastructure possible today.
Although this kind of a public information center would require a hardware-cum-software-cum-connectivity investment of about Rs. 40,000 (appx. US$ 850), this resource could then serve between 500 and 5,000 citizen-consumers. The technology’s cost per capita is therefore miniscule. The M. S. Swaminathan experiment in Pondicherry, and NIIT experiment in New Delhi’s slums have demonstrated that even those with limited education, literacy, or English competency can quickly master windows-based point-and-click graphical user interfaces. Moreover, the Gyandoot Project in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, has demonstrated that rural citizen-consumers are quite willing to pay for the services of such centers, so long as these transactions make a direct and real impact on their life and livelihood. Here we may empirically disprove Bill Gates’ theory that the most poor citizen-consumers will not encounter Microsoft or Wintel products: persons making less than $1 per day have regularly come into existing information centers to seek information on regional hospitals and medical centers, to send and receive emergency messages, and to transact with the state machinery in ways that enhance their quality of life and livelihood.
Rural information networks can allow knowledge, services, money, and certain kinds of products to more easily flow from node to node across long distances. Each village node can also serve as a range of virtual institutions, such as a community center, a bank, a medical center, a government information center, a matrimonial office, a public telephone booth, a public library and educational resource center, all at a fraction of the cost of corresponding ‘real’ institutions. By making these resources available in villages, information centers can alleviate the asymmetry between urban and rural environments. In order to accelerate rural growth, it is essential that we learn new ways of integrating social and human infrastructure development into the installation of basic information and communications infrastructure.
A common objection to IT initiatives suggests that they are premature, or that they ‘put the cart before the horse,’ in as much as electricity, telephony, and connectivity are highly erratic and variable in many parts of South Asia. Moreover, more basic kinds of infrastructure including schools, healthcare centers, balanced nutrition, gender equity, employment, and transportation are lacking. Why should we consider this expensive and elitist form of infrastructure, when more fundamental developmental needs remain unmet?
This criticism assumes that there is a standard sequence and hierarchy for development: first a society must adequately manage its nutrition and healthcare, then it must address education and achieve total literacy, then it must provide electricity to all its villages, then it must install telephones, and so forth. In fact, post-colonial societies in Asia, Africa and the Americas have repeatedly shown that they can be successful in one or another dimension of human, social, and economic achievement, without necessarily replicating a normative European trajectory of industrial development. Diverse social and infrastructural needs must be addressed more or less simultaneously to ensure a nation’s future growth and prosperity.
It is naive to imagine that electricity, telephony and connectivity in rural areas will improve if the demand for these resources does not grow. In addition, information networks can become conduits that allow money to flow into the village through new kinds of non-discriminatory, clean and relatively unoppressive industries. Information and communications technologies can also compensate for other kinds of infrastructure limitations. For example, if online work, trade, or payment were to become available for members of a village community, the poor quality of roads to and from that village becomes less of an obstacle to earnings and employment. Finally, and most importantly, if capital were to become more readily available within a village community through such networked systems, it would then be in a better position to finance the basic infrastructure that it needs, including roads, dispensaries, water and sanitation systems.
It may be correct to say that PCs remain expensive, fragile, quickly obsolete, English-centric, complex and difficult to master, and therefore almost entirely elite in their scope and operation. Nevertheless, networks of human-mediated computer kiosks, shared among multiple users of a rural community, could in fact prove to be the most inexpensive and inclusive form of rural infrastructure possible today.
Although this kind of a public information center would require a hardware-cum-software-cum-connectivity investment of about Rs. 40,000 (appx. US$ 850), this resource could then serve between 500 and 5,000 citizen-consumers. The technology’s cost per capita is therefore miniscule. The M. S. Swaminathan experiment in Pondicherry, and NIIT experiment in New Delhi’s slums have demonstrated that even those with limited education, literacy, or English competency can quickly master windows-based point-and-click graphical user interfaces. Moreover, the Gyandoot Project in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, has demonstrated that rural citizen-consumers are quite willing to pay for the services of such centers, so long as these transactions make a direct and real impact on their life and livelihood. Here we may empirically disprove Bill Gates’ theory that the most poor citizen-consumers will not encounter Microsoft or Wintel products: persons making less than $1 per day have regularly come into existing information centers to seek information on regional hospitals and medical centers, to send and receive emergency messages, and to transact with the state machinery in ways that enhance their quality of life and livelihood.
Rural information networks can allow knowledge, services, money, and certain kinds of products to more easily flow from node to node across long distances. Each village node can also serve as a range of virtual institutions, such as a community center, a bank, a medical center, a government information center, a matrimonial office, a public telephone booth, a public library and educational resource center, all at a fraction of the cost of corresponding ‘real’ institutions. By making these resources available in villages, information centers can alleviate the asymmetry between urban and rural environments. In order to accelerate rural growth, it is essential that we learn new ways of integrating social and human infrastructure development into the installation of basic information and communications infrastructure.
Monday, 6 February 2012
Emergence of the Information and Communications Sectors in India
As is well known by now, India’s IT sector took off in the early 1980s with the establishment of off-shore development centers. Relatively cheap English-speaking engineering and technical talent were employed at centers in Bangalore and Chennai, then Hyderabad, and now in the suburbs of New Delhi (NOIDA). Since the liberalization of the Indian economy in the early 1990s, the Indian government has relentlessly promoted the IT sector as the harbinger of the nation’s economic aspirations. Even though the country possesses only 3.7 million Personal Computers (PCs; Pentium I or superior), it houses the largest number of software professionals outside California, whose efforts might result in the export of software worth 8 billion dollars next year, much of it to the United States.
As of 2001, the initial euphoria surrounding India’s successful software export industry has given way to a new introspection into the reasons why these intellectual and human resources have not driven improvements in India’s public and private institutions, education systems, and infrastructure. These reasons are not hard to find: (i) the Indian software industry solves small components of larger problems for international clients; (ii) this work is usually protected by confidentiality agreements; (iii) many Indian software professionals and companies compete for the same international contracts; (iv) the opportunity costs of working for Indian versus international clients is very high; and finally (v) low teledensity, computer usage, literacy, the inadequacies of regional language software interfaces, and other obstacles of India’s developing infrastructure, coupled with regulatory hurdles have inhibited such ventures.
None of this prevented Andhra Pradesh’s Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu from crafting an aggressive state policy to attract IT-oriented investments, simultaneously claiming that this sector served the larger public interest. The constraints of electoral politics in India’s largely rural society have meant that economically liberal and technologically sophisticated leaders could not afford to leave themselves open to the charge of promoting IT at the expense of rural development, and this is a fine line to walk: Even as he invited Microsoft to set up a software center in the Hyderabad’s technology park, Naidu also installed a highly sophisticated network of communications systems in his home constituency of Kuppam, as a model for other regions of the state. Beginning in 1996, he was the first Indian politician to advocate Egovernance for making the state machinery more responsive and sensitive to citizen needs at the district and panchayat level. As of 2000-01, these policies are being emulated at the national level through an ‘IT for the Masses’ policy statement, as well as a forthcoming policy statement on Egovernance. Neighboring Karnataka is one among many other states of India to have issued an IT policy statement directed towards the ‘common man.’ Naidu’s solution to the political dilemma of promoting high-tech alongside rural empowerment, therefore, long anticipated current international debates on ‘digital divide.’
Despite the on-going deregulation of India’s telecommunications sector, its national teledensity (telephones per hundred persons) has improved very slowly, from .06 in 1990, to almost 3 today (compare with China at around 10). Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and Wireless-in-Local-Loop (WiLL or WLL) technologies, however, now appear set to offer a cheaper and lighter form of telecom infrastructure, that should improve rural access exponentially. New software and dotcom start-ups have begun targeting non-English speaking users, and the idea of non-elites using and benefiting from ICTs has begun to gain currency. Nevertheless, the export-oriented software industry has yet to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by the newly networking home market. A new synergy between the Infotech and Telecom sectors in India could create a profound social and economic revolution in rural communities across South Asia.
As of 2001, the initial euphoria surrounding India’s successful software export industry has given way to a new introspection into the reasons why these intellectual and human resources have not driven improvements in India’s public and private institutions, education systems, and infrastructure. These reasons are not hard to find: (i) the Indian software industry solves small components of larger problems for international clients; (ii) this work is usually protected by confidentiality agreements; (iii) many Indian software professionals and companies compete for the same international contracts; (iv) the opportunity costs of working for Indian versus international clients is very high; and finally (v) low teledensity, computer usage, literacy, the inadequacies of regional language software interfaces, and other obstacles of India’s developing infrastructure, coupled with regulatory hurdles have inhibited such ventures.
None of this prevented Andhra Pradesh’s Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu from crafting an aggressive state policy to attract IT-oriented investments, simultaneously claiming that this sector served the larger public interest. The constraints of electoral politics in India’s largely rural society have meant that economically liberal and technologically sophisticated leaders could not afford to leave themselves open to the charge of promoting IT at the expense of rural development, and this is a fine line to walk: Even as he invited Microsoft to set up a software center in the Hyderabad’s technology park, Naidu also installed a highly sophisticated network of communications systems in his home constituency of Kuppam, as a model for other regions of the state. Beginning in 1996, he was the first Indian politician to advocate Egovernance for making the state machinery more responsive and sensitive to citizen needs at the district and panchayat level. As of 2000-01, these policies are being emulated at the national level through an ‘IT for the Masses’ policy statement, as well as a forthcoming policy statement on Egovernance. Neighboring Karnataka is one among many other states of India to have issued an IT policy statement directed towards the ‘common man.’ Naidu’s solution to the political dilemma of promoting high-tech alongside rural empowerment, therefore, long anticipated current international debates on ‘digital divide.’
Despite the on-going deregulation of India’s telecommunications sector, its national teledensity (telephones per hundred persons) has improved very slowly, from .06 in 1990, to almost 3 today (compare with China at around 10). Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and Wireless-in-Local-Loop (WiLL or WLL) technologies, however, now appear set to offer a cheaper and lighter form of telecom infrastructure, that should improve rural access exponentially. New software and dotcom start-ups have begun targeting non-English speaking users, and the idea of non-elites using and benefiting from ICTs has begun to gain currency. Nevertheless, the export-oriented software industry has yet to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by the newly networking home market. A new synergy between the Infotech and Telecom sectors in India could create a profound social and economic revolution in rural communities across South Asia.
Sunday, 5 February 2012
Problems and Possibilities of Digital Development in Rural India - Introduction
The idea that the internet and related technologies might have an important role in aiding developmental efforts has captured a central place in international policy debates. Over the course of the last year, statements affirming the need to close the so-called ‘digital divide’ between social groups with and without access to the internet have been made through several UN agencies, at the G-8 summit, and at meetings of developmental organizations around the world. Many new websites now address this topic, and listserv hosts have moderated endless rounds of debate between digital enthusiasts and digital skeptics.
The idea of digitally-oriented development is as powerful and seductive as the technology upon which it is based. No single technological revolution has changed the lives of current generations in the way that the internet has. No cultural-technological innovation since Television has had this kind of impact on the world’s economy, its politics and its globalizing popular cultures, or even on our cultural conceptions of distance and time. The promise of digital development is that it might have the same reach as the original internet boom of the mid 1990s – only this time, the most disprivileged communities, those who had missed out on earlier waves of technology, might be able to ‘leapfrog’ over their more developed competitors. The greatest obstacles to rural development – large distances and inadequate infrastructure – might be obviated by instant access to virtual institutions that provide banking, education, health care, neonatal information, agricultural advice, and so forth. But skeptics also have good reason. Bill Gates’ now infamous dictum, that a computer cannot benefit someone earning less than a dollar a day, remains a serious challenge to any attempt to ameliorate social and economic disparities through Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs).6 In South Asia, where most rural populations lack running water and sanitation systems, where electricity is still a scarce and intermittent resource, where roads are poor and education a luxury, these technologies truly appear to be far removed from the everyday concerns of the poorest sections of the countryside. This article critically examines the problems and possibilities of digital development in order to reveal the larger impact that ICTs could have on rural economies and societies.
The idea of digitally-oriented development is as powerful and seductive as the technology upon which it is based. No single technological revolution has changed the lives of current generations in the way that the internet has. No cultural-technological innovation since Television has had this kind of impact on the world’s economy, its politics and its globalizing popular cultures, or even on our cultural conceptions of distance and time. The promise of digital development is that it might have the same reach as the original internet boom of the mid 1990s – only this time, the most disprivileged communities, those who had missed out on earlier waves of technology, might be able to ‘leapfrog’ over their more developed competitors. The greatest obstacles to rural development – large distances and inadequate infrastructure – might be obviated by instant access to virtual institutions that provide banking, education, health care, neonatal information, agricultural advice, and so forth. But skeptics also have good reason. Bill Gates’ now infamous dictum, that a computer cannot benefit someone earning less than a dollar a day, remains a serious challenge to any attempt to ameliorate social and economic disparities through Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs).6 In South Asia, where most rural populations lack running water and sanitation systems, where electricity is still a scarce and intermittent resource, where roads are poor and education a luxury, these technologies truly appear to be far removed from the everyday concerns of the poorest sections of the countryside. This article critically examines the problems and possibilities of digital development in order to reveal the larger impact that ICTs could have on rural economies and societies.
Thursday, 2 February 2012
Higher Education - 10th Plan Achievements:
During the X Five Year Plan, UGC has embarked upon promotion of ICT in a
moderate level by providing UGC INFONET, e-Journal Consortia, e-Content
Development and moving towards e-education among the Universities by
spending over Rs 180 crores. The presence of IT culture and use of e-resources,
creation of e-content/digitization has started appearing in the university
campuses by way of having access to about 4400 e-journals to 100 plus
universities covered under UGC INFONET.
There is a vast amount of untapped wealth of contents with the academics in the
Universities and Colleges across the country, which needs to be preserved in the
digital form for enhancing the wealth of knowledge base, which can be shared
through computer based communication networks. So far, under the aegis of
UGC, INFLIBNET and CEC in collaboration with ERNET, India have made
remarkable contributions in 149 Universities during the X Five Year Plan,
covering all the states, using Broadband LL/SCPC/DAMA/FTDMA/RF Open
Network Architecture. Besides , 100 plus Universities were covered with high
quality e-journals in discipline covering 4443 full text titles.
moderate level by providing UGC INFONET, e-Journal Consortia, e-Content
Development and moving towards e-education among the Universities by
spending over Rs 180 crores. The presence of IT culture and use of e-resources,
creation of e-content/digitization has started appearing in the university
campuses by way of having access to about 4400 e-journals to 100 plus
universities covered under UGC INFONET.
There is a vast amount of untapped wealth of contents with the academics in the
Universities and Colleges across the country, which needs to be preserved in the
digital form for enhancing the wealth of knowledge base, which can be shared
through computer based communication networks. So far, under the aegis of
UGC, INFLIBNET and CEC in collaboration with ERNET, India have made
remarkable contributions in 149 Universities during the X Five Year Plan,
covering all the states, using Broadband LL/SCPC/DAMA/FTDMA/RF Open
Network Architecture. Besides , 100 plus Universities were covered with high
quality e-journals in discipline covering 4443 full text titles.
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
USE OF ICT IN HIGHER EDUCATION & INTER UNIVERSITY CENTRES
Introduction
Evolution of higher education system in India is being guided through the
realities of knowledge driven force of 21st century. The challenges are of
complex and diverse nature, leading to multi-disciplinary approach with focus on
upliftment of all sections of society, irrespective of their background and location.
In the modern world, it is true that highly specialized education has got its own
importance. The scope and demand for higher education is constantly
increasing. The new pattern involves the creation of intellects of world standard (which means promotion of global standards in institutions of higher education)
and also training of skilled manpower on a mass basis without compromising on
quality (and that means making quality an integral part of the working of
institutions of higher education). The world will be looking for trained persons in
all basic fields with a sound knowledge base in their core discipline and with the
ability to adapt to new demands. All domains of knowledge cannot do without
ICT. Hence resource-sharing and innovative quality information based programs
are the need of the hour under the threat of escalating costs due to globalized
economic trend.
10th Plan Achievements:
During the X Five Year Plan, UGC has embarked upon promotion of ICT in a
moderate level by providing UGC INFONET, e-Journal Consortia, e-Content
Development and moving towards e-education among the Universities by
spending over Rs 180 crores. The presence of IT culture and use of e-resources,
creation of e-content/digitization has started appearing in the university
campuses by way of having access to about 4400 e-journals to 100 plus
universities covered under UGC INFONET.
There is a vast amount of untapped wealth of contents with the academics in the
Universities and Colleges across the country, which needs to be preserved in the
digital form for enhancing the wealth of knowledge base, which can be shared
through computer based communication networks. So far, under the aegis of
UGC, INFLIBNET and CEC in collaboration with ERNET, India have made
remarkable contributions in 149 Universities during the X Five Year Plan,
covering all the states, using Broadband LL/SCPC/DAMA/FTDMA/RF Open
Network Architecture. Besides , 100 plus Universities were covered with high
quality e-journals in discipline covering 4443 full text titles.
UGC-INFONET Connectivity
UGC-Infonet is one of the prestigious program of University Grants Commission
for building high speed Nationwide Communication Network for Indian
Universities. ERNET/INFLIBET is regularly monitoring and organising series of
Network management training program for Computer Professionals, System
Analysts from universities to manage/maintain the UGC-Infonet at their
respective universities. The main features of the scheme are as follows:
Features
UGC-Infonet is a vehicle for distance learning to facilitate spread of quality
education all over the country.
UGC-Infonet is a tool to distribute education material and journals to the
remotest areas of the nation.
UGC-Infonet acts as a resource for researchers and scholars for tapping
the most up-to-date information.
UGC-Infonet forms a medium for collaboration among teachers and
students, not only within the country but also all over the world.
UGC-Infonet acts as an Intranet for University Network.
UGC-Infonet encompasses entire University Systems for most efficient
utilization of precious network resources.
UGC-Infonet establishes a channel for globalisation of education and
facilitate the universities in marketing their services and developments.
As on date, 149 Universities across the country are connected under UGCINFONET
Project with SCPC/DAMA/FTDMA/RF /Leased line in the bandwidth
range of 256 Kbps/512 Kbps/1Mbps/2Mbps.
Evolution of higher education system in India is being guided through the
realities of knowledge driven force of 21st century. The challenges are of
complex and diverse nature, leading to multi-disciplinary approach with focus on
upliftment of all sections of society, irrespective of their background and location.
In the modern world, it is true that highly specialized education has got its own
importance. The scope and demand for higher education is constantly
increasing. The new pattern involves the creation of intellects of world standard (which means promotion of global standards in institutions of higher education)
and also training of skilled manpower on a mass basis without compromising on
quality (and that means making quality an integral part of the working of
institutions of higher education). The world will be looking for trained persons in
all basic fields with a sound knowledge base in their core discipline and with the
ability to adapt to new demands. All domains of knowledge cannot do without
ICT. Hence resource-sharing and innovative quality information based programs
are the need of the hour under the threat of escalating costs due to globalized
economic trend.
10th Plan Achievements:
During the X Five Year Plan, UGC has embarked upon promotion of ICT in a
moderate level by providing UGC INFONET, e-Journal Consortia, e-Content
Development and moving towards e-education among the Universities by
spending over Rs 180 crores. The presence of IT culture and use of e-resources,
creation of e-content/digitization has started appearing in the university
campuses by way of having access to about 4400 e-journals to 100 plus
universities covered under UGC INFONET.
There is a vast amount of untapped wealth of contents with the academics in the
Universities and Colleges across the country, which needs to be preserved in the
digital form for enhancing the wealth of knowledge base, which can be shared
through computer based communication networks. So far, under the aegis of
UGC, INFLIBNET and CEC in collaboration with ERNET, India have made
remarkable contributions in 149 Universities during the X Five Year Plan,
covering all the states, using Broadband LL/SCPC/DAMA/FTDMA/RF Open
Network Architecture. Besides , 100 plus Universities were covered with high
quality e-journals in discipline covering 4443 full text titles.
UGC-INFONET Connectivity
UGC-Infonet is one of the prestigious program of University Grants Commission
for building high speed Nationwide Communication Network for Indian
Universities. ERNET/INFLIBET is regularly monitoring and organising series of
Network management training program for Computer Professionals, System
Analysts from universities to manage/maintain the UGC-Infonet at their
respective universities. The main features of the scheme are as follows:
Features
UGC-Infonet is a vehicle for distance learning to facilitate spread of quality
education all over the country.
UGC-Infonet is a tool to distribute education material and journals to the
remotest areas of the nation.
UGC-Infonet acts as a resource for researchers and scholars for tapping
the most up-to-date information.
UGC-Infonet forms a medium for collaboration among teachers and
students, not only within the country but also all over the world.
UGC-Infonet acts as an Intranet for University Network.
UGC-Infonet encompasses entire University Systems for most efficient
utilization of precious network resources.
UGC-Infonet establishes a channel for globalisation of education and
facilitate the universities in marketing their services and developments.
As on date, 149 Universities across the country are connected under UGCINFONET
Project with SCPC/DAMA/FTDMA/RF /Leased line in the bandwidth
range of 256 Kbps/512 Kbps/1Mbps/2Mbps.
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