'India rides high on technology bus'

Thursday, 15 January 2004, 20:30 IST
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BANGALORE: India missed many a bus in the last century but it has caught the technology bus in time, as is evident from the spectacular growth in the IT sector, a workshop in this silicon city Wednesday said. The emergence of information communications technology (ICT) and the internet as a great enabler brought about a revolutionary change in the way people, governments, organisations and businesses operate and function, former UN under-secretary general Nitin Desai told the workshop on "ICT for sustainable development". "The evolving information society will be a great boon to humankind, as the platform on which it thrives is not only becoming accessible but also affordable, thanks to disruptive technologies and market economy," Desai noted. The three-day workshop was organised by Carnegie Mellon University in association with the United Nations, World Bank, Indian Institute of Science and the Bangalore-based National Institute of Advanced Studies. Addressing some 120 delegates, including top scientists, technocrats, officials and representatives from the UN and the World Bank, Desai said developing countries like India should make optimal use of ICT and the all-pervasive internet to empower its citizens through public-private partnership. "If the convergence of technologies has enabled the economies of developed countries to sustain and flourish through e-commerce, e-finance and e-governance, there is no reason why the same technologies cannot be used for sustainable development in less developed countries," he stressed. The workshop described the ongoing mobile revolution across India and the increasing use of computers and internet by public and private utility services as illustrative examples of ICT benefits. The benefits of ICT were becoming visible in diverse sectors of the Indian economy, the assembly felt. "The objective should be to shift the focus from technology to development to enable governments to provide a host of services, including education, healthcare, farming techniques, tax collection and dispensation of justice," Desai said.
Source: IANS