Kalam reaffirms solidarity with Mission 2007

By agencies   |   Monday, 11 July 2005, 19:30 IST
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MUMBAI: Dr. Abdul Kalam, President of India delivered the inaugural address at the second annual convention of the National Alliance on Mission 2007 for ushering in ICT-led development in rural India. The National Alliance led by Prof. M S Swaminathan, Chairman, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation and One World South Asia announced the pan India rollout plan for Mission 2007 for creating a network of information kiosks in 600,000 villages in India by 15th August 2007. In phase 1 as an immediate next step the focus is on connecting 2,40,000 Panchayats. The National Alliance intends to create an information kiosk network that connects village level communities to the government functionaries or to the market. The overall objective of the endeavor is to leverage technology to reach the unreached rural communities and convert knowledge receivers into knowledge creators, with emphasis on user friendly connectivity, locally relevant and dynamic content and low cost affordable technology. The Knowledge Centers will be set up and managed by ICT Self-help Groups comprising both women and men. These centers will empower the rural communities with relevant and timely information on weather, crop management, crop prices, education and health or welfare entitlements. Swaminathan said, "India's increasing urban-rural divide can be effectively dealt with through affordable provision of urban amenities in rural areas as stressed by Abdul Kalam. In this context, an ICT triggered rural knowledge revolution will prove to be a vital catalyst to help break the rural-urban divide and create an empowered rural economy. I strongly believe that this requires a collaborative approach between government, private players and development practitioners as embodied in Mission 2007 to leverage ICTs to help reduce poverty, hunger and inequality in rural areas." The National Alliance on Mission 2007 recommends a holistic information access-enabled development strategy for leveraging ICT. The Knowledge Centre is at the core of the ICT for Rural Development movement build around several other initiatives and programmes, such as self-help groups, skill building, micro-credit, micro-enterprises, markets, literacy and education, agriculture, health, governance, and entitlements, in each one of which information plays an important role.