“Policy should address needs of community”


Ibrahim Hafeezur Rehman
Associate Director
Action Programmes
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
New Delhi

What are your comments regarding the absence of ‘Communication’ component in Indian IT policy. Why are we overlooking inexpensive communication technologies like ‘Community Radio’ for development, while investing in cost intensive satellite based communication?
I am not too sure whether it is right to link the work done in the field of satellite linkage to that of community radio issue. Satellite technology is related to information in much broader sense than community radio and the functions and benefits of satellite technology are not comparable to community radio. Moreover, the demands for community radio facilities have not really come forward in a structured way and even benefits of using these technologies are not communicated well to the government. The current debate on radio in our country is largely spiraling around frequency modulation (FM) licensing that does not have much developmental edge to offer for rural people. Civil society organisations need to assertively voice their demand to the government and strongly advocate on this issue.

With convergence technologies and innovative connectivity options like Wifi and Wimax, the definition of IT is expanding. Are we in need of an ICT policy?
I do not want to strictly distinguish between IT and ICT policy. Practically, there is a very thin dividing line between the two. Our primary need should be to have a policy that addresses both information and communication needs of the community. The recently invoked Bill on Right to Information is a step towards it. Although, it is not directly related to ICT issues but it will definitely help the society in accessing all forms of information. We can have WiFi, WiMax and all sorts of connectivity technologies but these need to compliment by easily accessible and affordable communication tools for demystifying the technology and for grassroot applications of the same.

UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have largely emphasised upon strategic use of ICT for addressing developmental issues. How well are we prepared at the policy level and/or otherwise in implementing ICTs in our national mission?
I think we still have a long way to go on this front. There have been efforts to link ICT to developmental programmes both at the level of government as well as civil society organisations. However, these islands of success do exist and there is a need to link them cohesively and devise modalities for up-scaling the same. There are three essential requirements for taking this concept forward. One is to have willingness for ‘transparency’ in information dissemination, which will carry any initiative for empowering communities with information. The second aspect is to have ‘economically viable’ models for information dissemination that can facilitate in reaching the technology/technical knowhow to the rural communities so necessary for meeting MDGs. The third facet is to focus ICTs to work for governance issues, wherein, we are able to cut on government red-tapism, reduce process cost and efficiently execute development programmes.

Looking at some of the foreign countries we will find that Malaysia is having a multimedia policy, Singapore is taking lead in e-Governance, Korea and Japan are strong ICT players and Jordan is already having an ICT Ministry. Where do you see India among South Asian countries with respect to government’s role in proliferating ICT usage? Should there be a separate e-Governance policy as well?
Talking about the need of e-Governance policy, I think it will eventually be required. However, at present, the policy and planning should be more focused on application side in bridging the divide. Policy instruments should emphasise on finding innovative and cost-effective ways of applying technology that works for masses. At the moment, the policy environment should be macro in nature and once policies get into place we would need strong regulations for proper vigilance against misuse of information access. Countries that already have a head start in these fields can be good case studies for us to learn lessons from their successes and pitfalls. There cannot be a one-time one-stop policy frame to address all issues.

How well do you think our IT policy is equipped to address the issue of unequal technology access born out of socio-economic inequity, high cost, language barrier etc.?
Policy cannot be blamed nor can be considered as the sole solution for every problem. Policy never restricts us from developing software that runs on local languages. In fact, the policy does advocate for such an approach. Stumbling blocks are that, who should do it? what are the costs involved? and what is the economics behind it? For instance, a software company that is working in the field of information dissemination will eventually develop applications in local language. This is because it is the only way in which it can address the huge local market that is there. As a matter of fact, today we have a large number of applications being made available in local languages. With that regard, policy is in no way a handicap for making IT applications to overcome local challenges.

Education and knowledge-based learning can undergo revolutionary change through modern ICTs. How is India’s IT policy helping us to achieve that?
I think the educational institutes should realise the potential of IT and be more conscious and willing to use ICTs in education. Policy can only promote technology tools but the onus of application side lies with the agencies like Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Education at the state and central level as also with civil society organisations. Initiatives have to be recognised and technology tools have to be integrated with them to make education more impacting.

What are the efforts initiated by TERI towards using ICT applications for development?
In TERI, we are creating lot of compact disks (CDs) that has educational content, which can be used as learning resource. We are also doing research work into what is essentially required at the demand side of IT-led effort for information dissemination. We have even initiated efforts in trying to decipher what forms of content can be generated so that they remain relevant to communities. In one such example we have set up kiosks in Rajasthan in collaboration with ‘One World South Asia’, where we are trying to capture small success stories from the grassroot level that are tailored for specific groups. We encourage communities to narrate and document their knowledge by themselves so that they can be produced as information for others.

What are your recommendations with regard to orienting the existing IT policy of India towards basic development?
First of all, the policy should work towards bringing more transparency in sharing data across public, private and government domains. This would enhance our level of appreciation for issues that concern us and will go on to empower people in a true sense. Secondly, we should create much better infrastructure in rural sector to provide connectivity and access to technology. This is crucial to forge ahead the overall developmental process of the country. Thirdly, we need to have an evolutionary approach to regulatory policy in ICT. This will ensure that mass access and open connectivity does not get exploited with unscrupulous intentions. Fourthly, the policy should address the huge diversity of our language and culture and facilitate easy dissemination of information across all regions.

Even though Indian IT industry is growing rapidly yet it ranks 86th in UN Report (2004) on global e-Governance readiness. What are your comments on it?
Up till now, the field of IT where we have excelled lies in the domain of corporate software development and services. A lot still need to be done for using IT in rural development. Obviously, the current situation does not give a very happy scenario for a country that on one hand is aiming to be an IT superpower and on the other, miserably lacking on applying the same technology for improving the lot of the poor. Governance structures have to be redesigned in order to fit in modern technology in government processes. However, we must make it a point to move at a higher pace in terms of e-Governance implementation.