Articles Published in 2000
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Information content is the King

-By Rajib Subba
Publication date 12 January 2000. Cyber Post, The Kathmandu Post.

(This article is based on author's research done for a paper "Local Information Content and Access: Nepalis' Perspective" submitted in an international workshop in Dhaka, Bangladesh, 5-8 April 1999. The report was printed and published in Economic Journal in India.)

Like most of the least developed countries, Internet access is confined with in a small group of people in Nepal too, dividing society into information have and have-not. Even for the people with access, the Internet lacks the content which is relevant to Nepal further almost all the contents are available only in English.

Email is of course most widely used Internet application in Nepal. People are using Internet for accessing information, entertainment, education and research. Contents that are used widely are information and news.

The other applications of Internet such as e-commerce, tele-medicine and distant education are still a far fetched dream. Though computer entered not for research or for universities/schools but for counting the number of heads, boast today to have the latest technology at least in IT.

Why Nepalis use the Internet? Nepali Internet users have come a long way since the introduction of Internet (mid 1994). The transition from email only account to full Internet access was one of the remarkable technological imports into Nepal by the private sector, even when there was no legal provision to allow private sectors participation in providing telecom services.

Mailing lists and e-zines have been extensively used for information exchange since early 90’s between non-resident Nepalis, even before Internet was introduced in Nepal. The Nepal Digest is the first electronic journal or e-zine established in 1992. Similarly Nepal list is the first mailing list. Almost all use Internet for email whereas other purposes of use are browsing, information retrieval, entertainment, discussion list, on-line news.

Patterns of growth: The growth of Internet in Nepal has been fastest due to commercial push by the private sector and aided by the availability of limited access. When Internet was introduced there were about 150 email addresses in Nepal which has gone up to 10000 with in five years (1994 to 1999). That means the number of Internet users have been increasing more than 150 % per year. The number of Internet users have gone up by more than 50 times. Now there are nine ISPs in the private sector and five major cities of the country have local internet connection server (POP)s.

Barriers to access: It is not only that Nepal lacks the information but what Nepal really lacks is a place where we can find the required information i.e. available information are not available, and is not posted due to control of information by the knowledge industry. That industry includes government, universities, professionals, publishers, and others who generate, process, or disseminate information, which is not easily available due to reasons like lack of awareness or commitment to share.

With the growing number of NGOs (more than ten thousand), the country has witnessed a proliferation of literature on development generated by government departments, NGOs, INGOs, and other development agencies, as well as donor agencies and their foreign advisors and consultants. Most of these literature are not formally published and difficult to track down.

In addition to these limitations, the most important barrier lies in financial barriers, including the costs of equipment and telecommunications usage. The price of a computer and access is beyond the means of most of the Nepalis.

Nepalis also face language barrier on the Internet as English is the common language and users need at least some fluency to use Internet. The lack of knowledge of English language deprive them from accessing the information from the Internet. Further almost all contents aren't in Nepali.

Cultural constraint is one of the prime barriers for that generation who fears technophobia. There is a tendency to resist new or foreign ideas as well.

Nepali Content On-line: Other media such as radio or TV have limitation of time which reflects on their programs as well. Radio, with more than 1.2 million receivers (1996), may have reached all over Nepal (90% of the population) but TV, with 179,000 receivers (1996), is still have to widen access from 42% at present. These media have advantage of reach but the user have the limited control on the access unlike the Web. Web has the potentiality also to expand print media’s content, which is limited in hard copy editions.

With the introduction of Internet in Nepal, World Wide Web is being used basically for the news and information. The irony of small as well as poor countries like Nepal is that they always have to stay away from the main stream of the world affairs. In other words, any news or nformation about Nepal still struggles hard to get into the main stream. When one of the newspapers of Nepal went on to be uploaded on the Internet for the first time, the scene changed significantly. News from Nepal is no more a rare object to access from any where around the globe.

Now most of the popular newspapers and magazines in Nepali as well as English are available on the Internet. Further a Internet magazine has been started to promote the entertainment culture and provide information about Nepali film industry.

There are few Content Service Providers and some are based in the United States. Tourism industry is one of the major users which have Web presence though most of the information are in a shape of brochureware.

Info-sharing: A good start has been made through the capacity building among NGOs, and innovative approach to information sharing. Three such on-line platforms are active in Nepal.

Indreni, the Nepali Intranet: Indreni (the Nepali word for Rainbow), is an on-line information service. Indreni covers different sectors like Development, Business, Entertainment, News and Current Affairs, Education, Culture, and Public information. The Indreni is managed by Nepal Internet Users' Group and funded by ICIMOD under IDRC-ENP project for piloting and testing of an Intranet service within Nepal. Currently there are 300 members of NIUG.

NepalNet: In 1997, with the financial support from the International Development Research Center (IDRC) of Canada and technical support of the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), a group of about 30 Nepali institutions came together to form a Web based forum called NepalNet. The primary objective is to share available human, technical and information resources using the Internet, with the focus on the socioeconomic, agricultural, environmental, and sustainable development sectors of Nepal. NepalNet was launched on September 17, 1998.

HealthNet Nepal: This is a network for global communication in health through email by HealthNet organization of SatelLife. which delivers communication and information services to the health care workers and professionals. HealthNet provides email services, electronic conference, electronic publications, access to medical databases. Currently there are about 500 users of HealthNet in Nepal.

Conclusion: The Internet is an advanced technology with all the accompanying promises and threats to change society which needs those promises fulfilled. Currently Nepal is looking into the issue of Internet indicating that Nepal is not ignoring this global phenomena but wrestling to put itself in the global IT map. The day is not far when Nepali information content will not be a children of lesser god.

CAN Info Tech 2000: Nepali IT nerd fest

-By Rajib Subba
Publication date 26 January 2000. Cyber Post, The Kathmandu Post.

In the history of civilization, no work of science has so comprehensively impacted on the course of human development as Information Technology (IT). Undoubtedly, IT has been the greatest change agent of this century and promise to change the whole society to a new dimension in coming millennium too.

Computer, over the years, is slowly becoming an essential part of life in Nepal too. Though people were using computers in early 40s in the US, first computer to enter Nepal was IBM mini computer brought-in by National Computer Center in seventies only that too for the purpose of census.

Most of the developed countries brought in computers for education purposes contrary to what we have gone through. The IBM mini frame was used for counting the number of heads and later to put the data on the SLC certificates. What a waste of the small giant! Now the situation is different.

In the beginning computer was considered to be a device to handle information in defense which was later used for business and education. Now, information technology (IT) is an integral part of life from communication to entertainment, food to health, weapons to education - the list is endless. IT is involved, practically, in all aspect of life and death. No society can develop without IT. It influences society in terms of peoples’ behavior and their perceptions which ultimately guides the development of the society as a whole.

The sole fete of Nepalese IT, CAN InfoTech, has been taking place since 1995, to create an awareness as well as to provide a place for industrywallas to show what they have to offer. This is a place where one gets a chance to know more about IT.

Last years attractions were Daura-Suruwal clad IT professionals, bevy of girls distributing leaflets, sexy iMac, throat cutting price war, lone-standing VSAT, legal-illegal battle of voice mail etc.

The Royal inauguration that year did not only buoyed the IT industry, and provide wide media coverage to the event, but also inspired IT-freaks to give due respect to the national dress. The combination of traditional Nepali dress and most modern technology went very well in the CAN Info-Tech’99. Further, it has geared the Nepali IT sector to new heights. IT has been getting in the priority of the government as well. Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (RONAST) has also recognized the importance of IT.

CAN Info Tech 2000, millenniums first show, and Nepal’s only exhibition in IT is taking place from January 27 to 31, 2000 at Hotel Bluestar under the auspicious of Computer Association Of Nepal (CAN). More than 50 national exhibitors are participating in CAN Info Tech’2000 and is expected to attract more than 20,000 visitors in the span of 5 days.

CAN Info-Tech 2000 is expected to bring together about hundreds of experts, professionals, buyers, sellers, manufacturers and suppliers to provide a forum for networking and exchange of ideas in the information technology. It will also be an occasion to gain recent as well as advanced information on new products and technology through technical seminars to be organized by various leading companies and their representatives.

Some of the attractions are Radio Paging, e-commerce, Palm tops, digital photo copiers, iMac, Flat monitors, VSAT services, Web centric courses, tech talks. Off course there are new PCs and new office products. Internet Service Providers have a large present this year as well.

One of the most important features of IT show is the huge presence of students. Its a good sign for IT sector which will help to increase the degree of awareness. The enthusiasm shown by these young karnadhar of the country is commendable. They have the right attitude and can be relied upon. Their number will increase considerably if schools and colleges are approached.

At this time the government also is in IT's side. National Planning Commission, Ministry of Science and Technology and other government bodies also supports IT. And of course public always stays ahead in search of knowledge.

But a thin silver lining is appearing over the fate of CAN due to some negative trends developed since some time. One of the remarkable developments in the IT sector is the non cooperation among the members of CAN. Like last year, this year also some of the IT houses haven’t participated in the show which definitely is not a healthy sign for CAN. They even refused to participate in any manner.

The accusation that CAN is not able to change its attitude and working style is some what true. The industry pundits predict that if CAN doesn’t change the strategies for the show, people will write it off to oblivion.

But is IT’s development CAN’s responsibility only? Definitely not. All IT people should come forward as it is everybody’s responsibility, not only CAN’s, to make IT a success in Nepal. We shouldn’t forget that charity starts at home! So lets participate and push IT up.

Budget ensures better IT future

By Rajib Subba
Publication date 14 June 2000. Cyber Post, The Kathmandu Post.

(The author is the Secretary General of Computer Association of Nepal.)

"I have withdrawn the prevailing service charge levied on the information service providers in the private sector. This will help make information technology services more competitive," said Mahesh Acharya, the Finance Minister, while presenting national budget for fiscal year 2000/2001 in the parliament recently.

We at Computer Association of Nepal believe that the government recognizes the potential of Information Technology (IT) for all-round national development and hopes to bring IT into the mainstream of national development. From time to time different ministries, National Planning Commission and other agencies have shown their interest in the development of IT in Nepal. There may be some hindrances, which prevent the acceleration of development, but the government finally appears to be more committed in promoting IT in Nepal. And there are reasons to say so.

The present budget is the most IT friendly. One of the major decisions taken in the budget is the exemption of the Telecom Service Charge (TSC) levied on the information service providers of the private sector. The annulment has given a sigh of relief to the Internet Service Providers (ISPs), which were notified by the tax department to pay TSC right from the date they started to operate. If TSC would not have been exempted, the ISPs would have been end up paying a huge amount with a counter effect of liquidation of some of the ISPs in the fiercely competitive market. Most importantly, the Internet users would have got the last burnt, as TSC may have been levied by the ISPs to the users as the Nepal Telecommunications Corporation is doing. Furthermore, continuation of TSC would have been contrary to the government's policy of pledge support for IT sector and liberalization of the Telecom and Internet sector.

The Finance Minister's proposal to provide computer education along with physical infrastructure building and training to selected public schools, one each in 25 districts from this fiscal year and to be continued thereafter is a good decision. It would be much better had government initiated compulsory computer education for all and integrated this program with the national education policy with a target to make hundred percent literacy by 2020 AD. If we don't invest in IT education now, we cannot take the advantage of digital revolution.

Definitely, the budget has given a top priority for education, need of financial investment has also been addressed. The FM has categorically mentioned that investment-friendly environment will be created in order to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and enhance employment, production and income opportunities by establishing schools of international standards, engineering and polytechnic institutions and info-tech centers. This will help the Nepalese IT industry, which has grown to a point from where it needs support from the financial sector to capitalize the international market and provide employment.

Foreign Direct Investment brings efficient technology and management into the economy. If IT training and education are declared as service industry and gets all the privileges as other service industries, the FDI may not be problematic. To attract investment in the country infrastructure should be developed properly. Promotional activities should be organized in different countries with the help of Nepalese missions abroad to attract investment from NRNs (Non-Resident Nepalis) as well as others.

Further, arrangement has been made to take account of depreciation of fixed assets at an accelerated rate for the additional investment to be made in the comparatively advantageous sectors like software and IT development, establishment school of international standard etc. These measures will help promote investment and support industrialization process.

Like his predecessor, FM Acharya has pledged his support for building an IT Park and priority has been accorded to rural telecoummunication. According to the new budget, Rural Telephone Exchange will be established in 16 urban-oriented rural areas and telephone exchanges with 68,602 telephone lines will be distributed in the coming year. Priority has been given to the implementation of "Special Rural Telecommunications Program" in order to establish and extend telephone services to all Village Development Committees by FY 2002/2003.

In an age when technology is the dominant discourse of society, the support provided by the government for IT is timely. The government can indeed be catalyst for developing technology in the country. Governmental and non-governmental organizations should continue their efforts to make the environment more conducive to adrenalize technology on the national level.

For Nepal, the IT sector may provide an opportunity to overcome the geographical handicap. Information Technology might enable Nepal to achieve the goal of being a prosperous and self-reliant nation within a short span of time. We may have missed Green revolution and Industrial revolution but can not take a risk of missing the IT revolution.

Now lets see some more points of interest (in the budget) to the Nepalese IT industry. FM has provisioned that from the coming fiscal year, government offices and government owned corporation should strictly follow the policy of procuring locally produced goods and services to the extent possible. This is also a boon for local IT hardware manufacturers and software developers. This will create an environment for software developers to build up their capacity, which may later help them capitalize the international markets.

The proposed policy to enhance private sector's investment in research and development in science and technology sector will help reverse the brain drain in the IT sector as well. It is a well known fact that conducive environment to investment and ample opportunity within the country is more than sufficient to check brain drain.

As the IT global market is increasing, the opportunities in IT is plenty. The investment in IT will also help to minimize unemployment, which is the main problem of the country. The proposed restructuring of the Youth Self-Employment and Employment Oriented Training Program should include IT skills.People are the real asset of the country especially in the changing context it is the people with IT skills. Similarly, the proposed progarm to train 10,000 primary school teachers and 3,000 lower secondary school teachers as a measure for capacity enhancement of teachers and making them more capable and accountable thereby bringing qualitative improvement in school level education. It will be more appropriate if IT literacy program is integrated in the training of the teachers by designing the training courses.

Other worth mentioning proposals are development of central integrated land information system and central land ownership archive, analysis of revenue leakage information by computer, automated data system for the purpose of collecting tax and VAT deduction for commercial advertisement through any media (IT related advertisements are the front runner at least in the print media).

Over all, the budget has tried to justify the need of IT for national development. But mere realization of the potential of IT for all-round national development is not sufficient to bring IT into the mainstream of national development. Without the paradigmatic shift in every level of the nation, the country can not exploit IT's full potential. Information Technology is not an end in itself but a means to bring prosperity in modern times. Therefore, it is necessary that IT be fully integrated in every level of the nation in order to make a tangible difference in the quality of the common man's life.

IT Hi-lights in the budget 2000

1. Exemption of Telecommunication Service Charge (TSC) levied on the Information Service Providers. Direct beneficiaries are the Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

2. Computer education in 25 public schools in 25 districts.

3. Continuation of Information Technology park.

4. Investment friendly environment for bringing-in foreign direct investment for the establishment of engineering and polytechnic institutions, information technology centres, schools of international standrads etc.

5. Introductuion  of depreciation of fixed assets at a accelerated rate for additional investment in software and IT development, schools of international standards etc.

6. Continuation of Rural Telecomm-unications Program to provide 68,602 telephone lines and telephones for all VDCs by 2003 AD.

7. Promotion of e-governance through computerization in finance  and other sectors of the government.

Web careers unplugged

By Rajib Subba
Publication date 12 July 2000. Cyber Post, The Kathmandu Post

Following the footsteps of Darwin, the evolution of human being began at the sea, grew legs, walked on land, gained knowledge, drove a car, built wings, and pursues the stars and beyond. The same can be said of the Web but much faster.

The first man to envisioned Web like structure was Vannervar Bush, science advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt during WWII. Grazing to his crystal ball he wrote in The Atlantic Monthly he saw MEMEX. Bush noted, "Memex would locate information by the mimic of human mind which operates by association of thoughts. With one item in its grasp, it snaps instantly to the next that is suggested by the association of thoughts, in accordance with some intricate web of trails carried by the cells of the brain."

Tim Berners-Lee at CERN (the European Laboratory for Particle Physics) in Switzerland started a project in early 90's to built a "distributed hyper media system" which is now called World Wide Web. Today - some 50 years later - Bush's "intricate web" has become a reality. The Web  have  already  altered the way people think and work. Dot come has become a rage now.

Even in 90's no one had dreamed that there will be a new dot com coming everyday by today. Now all the eyes are on the Web. All the actions are taking place there. And a Web career has become a new prospect as opportunities are increasing day by day. Experiences have shown that younger generation excels at this front even though this technology changes fast. They have plenty of opportunities to explore and also ample space to be creative. Further there are no specific rules here. Everything is dynamic and people thinks for next three months not for 3 years. Further the pay packages are also encouraging for a college goers as well as serious job holders. With Web based knowledge you can start your own business or company of the Internet. And most importantly these careers are global. With experience and knowledge you can get a job anywhere in the world. Now lets browse some of the Web careers.

Web Designer: This is one the first steps towards Web career. Here you do not need to have a degree but you must be creative and able to understand simple programming logic. You should know basic HTML and Front page programming and a bit of JAVA. And a knowledge of graphics and Web publishing tools is a great asset. If you want to pursue further then you must get training on Adobe Photoshop, CorelDraw, DreamWeaver. If you have a degree in fine arts and knowledge of layout designing, colors, typography and fonts, then you can do better. But remember most of the Web Designer in Kathmandu are high school graduates. Salary range for a Web Designer with some experience is around Rs 5000-7000 per month.

Programmer: This is for pure techie guys. They develop programs and keep sites running. They are also responsible for upgrading clients' site as well as upgrading themselves so that they could race to know about new technologies. Till today people with BE in Computer and Electronics Engineering are working as programmers in Nepal. Even if you do not want to pursue for BE, do not despair go for BCA or MCA or more than one year training on Web technologies with any bachelors degree. But remember you must have to have through knowledge of Java, CGI, Perl, HTMl, DHTML, CORBA and ASP. A starter may get Rs 7000-10000 per month which may go up to 15000
with in a year or two.

Database Administrator: This sector is still not pursuable atleast in the Web sector of Nepal. But as the market grows demand for Database Administrator will also increase. A non-IT degree and 2 years of database training or MCA is a must. A database administrator has to many understand databases as available. They should have knowledge of respective operating systems. Training and experience on Oracle is a must these days. The salary range is around 8000-12000 per month depending upon exposure.

Web Marketing Executive: As the business on the Net grows, the need for marketing executives will grow. This is purely a non-technical job but one has to have passion for technology. Being a IT literate with a basic knowledge of programming and graphics is an advantage. A degree in commerce and business is most advertisers look for. An MBA degree is in demand too.

A fresher gets around 7000 rupees per month. This also gives scope for commission on the business one brings in. Web Master: This is purely a technical job. A Web system is basically runs with Web Masters ability. He must be a graduate in IT or non IT degree with lots of training and experiences. He should be proficient in UNIX, SQL Server, Windows NT, Web servers. The Web-Master is one of the highly paid job these days. It may range from 15000 to 2000 per month.

Many different people work as a team in the Web business. These are few of the examples where prospects are increasing in Nepal too. Its up to your interest which link to click. Note that the pay packets mentioned above are the basic scale found in Nepali IT sector. There is no hard and fast rule here. If you are good and posses a degree with lots of experiences, you may draw more than (in a month) what an officer of the government draws per year.

IT for socio-economic development

By Rajib Subba
Publication date 26 July 2000. Cyber Post, The Kathmandu Post.

Nothing has influenced human civilization as Information Technology in modern times. Information technology is changing almost all aspects of human activities. IT has affected all aspects of modern society such as communications, trade, business, culture, education, services, entertainment, research, information and knowledge.

For Nepal, the use of IT may provide an opportunity to overcome the historical and geographical handicap.  Nepal may have missed the agricultural and industrial revolution but she should not miss the IT revolution. Information Technology might enable Nepal to achieve the goal of being a prosperous and self-reliant nation within a short span of time. Information Technology could be a tool to fight poverty, illiteracy and gender disparity. There are plenty of such examples even in this region where most poor people dwells.

Mobile PCO: Till today, in most of the developing countries cellular phones are a luxury. But in Bangladesh, cellular phones are being used also for income generation by the poor, i.e., a telephone is treated as a “cattle” as well. A woman borrows, say, $300 from the Bank and purchase a handset and sell telephone services to villagers, making a living and paying off her loan. It is creating a self-employment opportunity in each village and provide access to telephones to all.

Women with a cellular phone in hand have given ripples in the highly stratified villages with a great deal of social impact. One of the causes of successes of Grameen Phone may be huge participation of women. As 94% of the borrowers of Grameen Bank are women, Grameen Phone is being retailed by women as well. In Bangladesh most of the men go outside from their villages to cities or trade or even foreign countries. The women feel comfortable to go to other women to make phone calls.

Defying the traditional concept of banking or theory of bankable with a collatel system for credit, here, credit is the poverty. The bank provides credit (to the poor people) based on mutual trust, accountability, participation and creativity. Now it is serving as a catalyst for the over all development of socio-economic conditions of the poor. It has rekindled hope for the poor people allowing the poorest of the poor to stand up on their feet throughout the rural areas of Bangladesh. The integration of information technology with Banking system, has created a powerful economic force for the rural Bangladesh. This system is unleashing the entrepreneurial energy of the poor thus uplifting themselves.    Grameen Phone is certainly an example which shows that how technology can change the fate of the people that too millions.

Mobile School: The LEARN Foundation (Linking Education and Afforestation with Remote computer Networks) initiated a project in October 1997 with two old computers in a remote village school in Durgapasha, about 250 miles from Dhaka. Once a week, on Fridays, the Foundation arranged computer-based instructions for children between age 10-16. Boys and girls walked miles, some came by boat, to attend the computer classes.

Now more than 100 students have learned about use of computer and Internet and the number of students are growing. The local people and other students in the surrounding villages are now demanding evening classes and Internet connectivity. Encouraged by the enthusiasm generated at Durgapasha the Foundation started a second rural school. More than 250 students in four groups, all girls, starting receiving computer instructions at this centre. About 70-80 students have to share a PC! But this does not deter them from attending the classes. Girls walk miles from surrounding villages to listen to the lectures and take notes. This is an indication that technology can be a tool for educating the masses.

Info-sharing: There are some remarkable developments in Nepal in this sector. In 1997, with the financial support from the International Development Research Center (IDRC) of Canada and technical support of the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), a group of about 30 Nepali institutions came together to form a Web based forum called NepalNet in 1998. Currently Nepal Internet Users’ Group (NIUG) is the facilitator of the network. The primary objective is to share available human, technical and information resources using the Internet, with the focus on the socioeconomic, agricultural, environmental, and sustainable development sectors of Nepal.

Indreni (rainbow), is an on-line information service managed by NIUG and funded by ICIMOD under IDRC- ENP project for piloting and testing of an Intranet service within Nepal. Indreni covers different sectors like development, business, entertainment, news and current affairs, education, culture, and public information.

It offers a low-cost alternative to the Internet and has the potential to reach the masses. Small businesses, students, and individuals can benefit from the low cost. ‘Indreni’ is a new way of providing information and is, in itself, a unique endeavour. ‘Indreni’ aims to alter the situation vis a vis information gaps in the country, by making it possible to share information throughout the population before the gap between the information ‘haves’ and ‘have- nots’ widens.

HealthNet Nepal is a network for global communication in health through email by HealthNet organization of SatelLife. Through a computer network called HealthNet, SatelLife delivers communication and information services to the health care workers primarily on clinical research/practice and public health for doctors, researchers and health professionals. HealthNet provides email services, electronic conference, electronic publications, access to medical databases.

These examples mentioned above may not be directly relevant to the down trodden but these surely help the development workers thus all the stake holders are the ultimate beneficiaries.

Community Radio: There are some commnuity radio in Nepal which are serving the rural masses as well as the urban. The community audio stations are also getting popular as the cheaper but effective way for information dessiminition in Nepal. The day is not far when some of these will turn into Internet  Radio providing information through Internet to a pocket radio as well as to a PC.

In India also there are such examples, which shows that the future lies in IT for social development, poverty alleviation and education. With the rise of e-commerce the farmer directly can sell his products to the market. Take a bhajiwala (vegetable vendor) in Bombay who has a Web site and gets order through emails for his bhajis (vegetables in Marathi). Similarly an herbal seller from Mustang, a woman, uses phone to fix the price and negotiate with customers in the western markets.

Though it may seems that what computer ot IT means to millions of poor people who have nothing to eat nor a place to sleep. But in today’s digital world, country’s growth can only happen with the proper utilization of information through technology.    Telecommunication including Internet are the vehicles to harness the pursuits of the millions of the poor people. And it is also a fact that IT is the tool to fight poverty and illiteracy through out the world provided that IT be fully integrated in every level of the nation in order to make a tangible difference in the quality of the common man’s life. Without the paradigmatic shift in every level of the society, Nepal can not exploit IT’s full potential. Also, we must realize that Information Technology is not an end in itself but a means to bring prosperity in modern times.

Developing human resource in IT

IT skilled human resource is the key asset for Nepal

By Rajib Subba
Publication date 9 August 2000. Cyber Post, The Kathmandu Post.

The area of information technology is developing so rapidly that it has been difficult to predict what is unfolding next. Whatever it may be, Nepal must be prepared to accept the challenges of the rapid advancement of IT and try to use it for national development. We should realize that mere introduction of IT will not help the Nepalese society though the impact of IT revolution through out the world can’t be argued but IT is not an end in itself but a means to bring prosperity in modern times.