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Narrowing the divide
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THE GOVERNMENT’S aim to transform the country into an ICT knowledge-based society by 2013 is a tall order and definitely the rural elders will not be transformed into a gizmo-savvy lot within the time frame.
The information and communications minister, Lyonpo Nanda Lal Rai, said achieving the goal in its entirety may remain short in the time frame but it is more important to get it started than never seeing it take off. “If you don’t start, it will never happen,” said the information minister. He said in order to achieve the goal of an ICT knowledge-based society, the consideration first should be to build an ICT knowledge-led society.
The information minister said ways and means could be found to make rural citizens ICT literate.
He cited the possibility of voice operated mobile devices that could assist farmers in marketing their farm produces or even the possibility of computer devices customized to suit the villagers who are only Dzongkha-literate.
“We are optimistic about the project,” said the director of the information and technology department (DIT), Phuntsho Tobgay.
The DIT director said the most important aspect toward achieving the ICT goal is the infrastructure and most of the infrastructures and ground works are well in place.
He said community information centers (CICs) have already been established in 45 gewogs and the government will have the CICs established in all the 205 gewogs.
A learning station would be co-located for about 130 of these CICs, which will be done by the National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT) under the Chiphen Rigphel project.
The CICs are centers where people can avail access to ICT facilities and services, and is most beneficial for rural people who cannot afford to buy computers.
The Nu 250 million IT Park at Wangchutaba called the Thimphu TechPark has already started and the main structure of the park will be completed by November this year. The Thimphu TechPark is planned to be operational by 2 June 2011.
The fiber optic network is being laid to open up the second international gateway. The network, which is being connected from Gelephu, will be completed by December 2010.
According to the information minister, fiber connectivity will be available by June 2011 for which the Bhutan Power Corporation is carrying out the works. “It is being done in collaboration with Bharti Airtel of India,” said the information minister.
The G-C (government-to-citizen) initiative to promote e-governance to ease service delivery is well on its way with over 200 government-to-citizen services being provided ranging across 10 ministries, 12 agencies, and 20 dzongkhags.
Add to that 42 agencies or ministries and dzongkhags that are involved in offering government-to-citizen, government-to-business, and government-to-government services and there are over 200 services being currently offered in Bhutan supporting citizens.
The information minister said there can be no ICT literacy without computer knowledge, therefore, the infrastructures are pivotal so that people can tap into these resources and get knowledge.
“For that the government will provide the infrastructures,” Lyonpo Nanda Lal Rai said.
Under the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project funded by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and UNICEF, 269 laptops have been distributed at Kuzhungchen Primary School in Kabjisa, Thimphu. To realize the one laptop per child vision in Bhutan, the government will have to spend upwards of US$ 200 on each laptop and in total US$ 8 million.
The OLPC is an initiative of the ministry of information and communications which is a prioritized in the information technology plans for Bhutan. The OLPC project will target only rural community primary schools.
The OLPC project is also aimed at bridging the digital divide because, without connectivity, children growing up in rural areas will be greatly deprived of modern Internet facilities.
The government has also provided laptops on ownership-basis to all civil servants and the existing desktop computers would be phased out.
A pilot project was carried out in Sarpang dzongkhag where laptops on easy-installment-basis were provided to civil servants at very minimal interest rate.
This project will be taken one step further and these laptops will be accessible to all the civil servants, said Lyonpo Nanda Lal Rai.
The information minister said the government also has plans to set up a computer assembly and manufacturing unit in Bhutan in collaboration with Hindustan Computer Ltd. (HCL) and Intel.
The government has a memorandum of understanding signed with Genpact, a business process outsourcing company in India, since June 2009 to develop the information technology sector in the country. Under the agreement, the company will employ 200 Bhutanese graduates every year to work in operation centers in India.
Source: thejournalist.bt