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 ICT Policy and Rural Poor
Infrastructure and initiatives
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HK Misra
Associate Professor (IT)
Institute of Rural Management, Anand |
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The rural population requires banking services that are available at its doorstep and are flexible in terms of the timing of undertaking the banking transaction in order to minimise transaction costs
Introduction
India now has a population of over 1 billion of which its rural population is approximately 70%. About 40% of the population in India is below the poverty-line. Much of the rural population does not have access to common infrastructure like connectivity, electricity, health and drinking water. Many migrate to the cities.
Complex characteristics of rural India include inaccessible terrain and geographically dispersed hamlets/villages. Out of approximately 6,60,742 (Datanet India 2001) villages, 4,59,465 have populations of less than 1000, a total of 58,029 villages have populations between 1000-1500 and 1,43,248 villages have populations over 1500. Sub-optimal utilisation of natural resources, lack of extension of adequate privileges including governance compared to the urban has remained detrimental to the socio-economic environment in India. Imbalance in socio-economic development and urban-rural divide can only be arrested if the infrastructure in rural areas is made sustainable, qualitative and a growth oriented business environment is created. This in turn can provide/generate employment opportunities. While major initiatives in removing this imbalance are yet to take momentum, there exist certain deterministic steps towards achieving the goal. It is strongly believed that ICT can be a medium to address this imbalance.
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