The Indian Association of Special Libraries
and Information Centres (IASLIC),
Mumbai,
established in 1955,
is organising

International Conference on Information Management
in a Knowledge Society(ICIM)
at Grand Hyatt,Mumbai,India,
February 21-25,2005
to commemorate its golden jubilee.

The following are the wide-ranging themes of the conference:

Knowledge Society
• Leveraging Information for Knowledge
• Characteristics of Knowledge Society - e-governance,
e-learning,
etc.
• Virtual Communities
• Digital Divide
• Triangle of Knowledge Society: Freedom, Censorship and Security
• IPR and Cyber Laws
• Policy Support: National, Regional and Institutional Levels
• Technological Support : NII (National Information
Infrastructure)
Internet, www, etc.
• Institutional Infrastructure : Information Centres and
Depositories
including HRD.
Information Management
• Organization of Traditional and Electronic Resources
Cataloguing,
Metadata, XML, Dublin Core, Web Cataloguing, etc. Architecture,
Ontologies, Natural Language Processing, Intelligent Mediators, etc.
• Resource Discovery Tools - Search Engines, Directories,
Semantic
Web, Intelligent Retrieval, Multi and Cross Lingual Retrieval,
Information Audit, etc.
Knowledge Management
• Knowledge Assets
• Knowledge Sharing in Organizations : Models and Mechanisms
• Organizational Learning
• Knowledge Initiatives in Corporate, Govt, Academic & Voluntary
Sectors.
• Information Mapping : Data Mining, Data Warehousing, etc.
• Technological Tools : Intranets, Extranets, CSCW, etc.
Digital Libraries: Design & Usability
• New Technologies and Adaptability
• Digital Library Development: Technical Issues
• Content Management and Structuring
• Web Design and Interfaces
• Digital Preservation
• Digital Resource Sharing & Networking: Consortia, Open
Archives,
etc.

For further details, check

http://www.icim2005.org/index.htm

Dr D.C.Misra
October 18,2004

The 'dirty dozen' are as follows:

1.United States(56.74),2.Canada(6.80),3.China(& Hong Kong)(6.24),
4.South Korea (5.77),5.Netherlands (2.13),6.Brazil(2.00),
7.Germany(1.83),8.France(1.50),9.United Kingdom(1.31),
10.Australia(1.21),11.Mexico(1.19)12.Spain(1.05)[and others(12.23)].
(Figures are in percentages).

(Source:http://sophos.com/spaminfo/articles/dirtydozen.html,February
26,2004;accessed October 18,2004).

Dr D.C.MIsra
October 18,2004

What is the economic impact of information and communication
technologies (ICTs)? The question is important as it has policy
implications for public investments in ICTs.The issue came into
sharp focus when Robert Solow (1987)raised it.

OECD(2004) finds evidence positive impact at the firm level but
not at the industry or the economy level. The study shows that
"ICT is having substantial impacts on economic performance and
the success of individual firms, in particular when it is combined
with investment in skills, organizational change and innovation."
(p-3).Moreover,"these impacts can be observed in firm-level
studies for all OECD countries, but have not yet translated in
better economic performance at the industry or economy-wide level
in many OECD countries."(ibid, p-3).The report points to some
factors that may explain this gap between firm-level and aggregate
performance, such as aggregation effects,time lags and measurement.

Dr D.C.Misra
October 18,2004
______________________________________________________________________
OECD(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)(2004):
The Economic Impact of ICT: Measurement, Evidence and Implications,
Paris,the Author,303 pp,available:
http://www.oecd.org/document/51/0,2340,en_2649_37409_30927091_1_1_1_37
409,00.html(accessed:October 18,2004).

Solow, R.M. (1987): We'd Better Watch Out,New York Times,July 12,Book
Review,No.36.

OECD (2003) distinguishes between three impacts of information and
communication technology (ICT) on economic growth:First,investment in
ICT adds to the capital stock that is available for workers and thus
helps raise labour productivity (p-11).ICT investment accounted for
between 0.3 and 0.8 percentage point of growth in GDP per capita over
the 1995-2001 period (ibid, p-11).Second, the ICT-producing sector
plays an important role in some OECD countries.For example, in
Finland, Ireland and Korea, close to 1 percentage point of aggregate
labour productivity growth in the 1995-2001 period was due to ICT
manufacturing (ibid, p-11).Third, new evidence from an OECD-led
consortium of researchers in 13 OECD countries demonstrates that the
use of ICT throughout the value chain contributes to improved firm
performance(ibid, p-11).

Dr D.C.Misra
October 18,2004
______________________________________________________________________
OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
(2003):ICT and Economic Growth-Evidence from OECD Countries,
Industries and Firms,Paris,the Author,303 pp,available:
http://oecdpublications.gfi-nb.com/cgi-
bin/OECDBookShop.storefront/EN/product/922003031P1(accessed:October
18,2004)

This paper*, according to the website,gives an overview of the rural
development strategy adopted by government of India and major e-
governance initiatives that have been undertaken in the rural
development domain,in particular by National Informatics Centre
(NIC),New Delhi.

NIC,an organisation under Department of Information Technology(DIT)
of Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MICT)is
mandated,among other things,to provide informatics services to
various user agencies in the government.This paper provides a
comprehensive coverage of various departments and official
institutions and various systems developed by the NIC.It also
provides a number of useful URLs.Descriptive in nature,it is a
useful introduction to official rural informatics in India.

Dr D.C. Misra
October 17,2004
______________________________________________________________________
*Hariharan,Rama (2004):Rural Informatics in India:An Approach  Paper,
New Delhi,National Informatics Centre (NIC),CRISP Group.
Available http://ruralinformatics.nic.in/files/4_9_0273.doc.
(Uploaded:March 3,2004;Accessed:October 17,2004).

Scirus is claimed to be the most comprehensive science-specific
search engine, searching over 167 million science-specific web pages
specifying scientific, scholarly, technical and medical data on the
web offering unique functionality for scientists and researchers.Its
search includes 58.5 million .edu sites,18 million .org sites,6.8
million .ac.uk sites,18.6 million .com sites,5 million .gov sites,
and over 45 million other STM and university sites from around the
world.In 2003, the site accommodated about 30 million searches.

In addition to web pages, Scirus indexes the following special
sources:14.6 million MEDLINE citations,5.5 million ScienceDirect full-
text articles,1.2 million patents from the USPTO,261,000 e-prints on
ArXiv.org,5,352 BioMed Central full-text articles,10,600 NASA
technical reports and 14,878 full text articles from Project Euclid.

Named after a Greek hero, Scirus.com was launched on April 1, 2001 by
Elsevier Science. Scirus covers the following disciplines:
Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Astronomy, Chemistry and
Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, Earth and Planetary Sciences,
Economics, Business and Management, Engineering, Energy and
Technology, Environmental Sciences, Languages and Linguistics Law,
Life Sciences, Materials Science, Mathematics, Medicine,
Neuroscience, Pharmacology, Physics, Psychology, Social and
Behavioral Sciences, and Sociology.The search can cover any or all
these disciplines.This indeed is a very comprehensive coverage by the
term "science."

Scirus deserves a look, particularly by researchers.

Check it at
http://www.scirus.com/srsapp/.

Dr D.C.Misra
October 17, 2004

An international workshop
e-GovIndia2004 on
Strategic Framework for e-Governance
(Learning about best European Practices)
has been organised by the Society for Promotion of E-Governance
and Danish Technological Institute in association with IBM
at CII Auditorium, Chandigarh, on October 18-October 20,2004.
The society has extended an invitation to the members of the
CYBER QUIZ FORUM to attend it.
We wish the Workshop all success.
For further details,log on to
www.egovindia.org.

Dr D.C.Misra
October 17,2004

Adkinson, Jr, William F., Thomas M.Lenard and Michael J.Pickford with Brooks
E.Emmerick and Michael D.Waldron (2004): Digital Economy Fact Book, Washington,
D.C. , The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PPF), Sixth Edition,Available:
http://www.pff.org/issues-pubs/books/040823defb.pdf (accessed: October
16,2004),108 pp.

A fact book, it covers the entire field of digital economy in six chapters:
1.The Growth of Internet, 2. The Hardware Sector, 3. The Communications Sector,
4. Financing the Digital Economy,5.Electronic Commerce and 6. The Digital
Economy. Though the book primarily deals with the U.S, which is bellwether
economy,particularly  for information and communication technologies (ICTs),it
also provides facts at the global level.Well documented,it is a very useful
compendium of statistics.Those in search of "facts" must have a look at it.

PPF, states the website,is a market-oriented think tank that studies the digital
revolution and its implications for public policy.

Check it at

http://www.pff.org

Dr D.C.Misra
October 16, 2006

The well established All India Management Association (AIMA), with
its headquarters in New Delhi, in collaboration with Bangalore
Management Association (BMA) had organized a National Convention on
Public Governance at Bangalore in 2002. At the conclusion of the
Convention,according to the website,a Bangalore Declaration on Public
Governance was issued, based on which Centre for Public Governance
(CPG) was set up at AIMA.CPG aims at `Governance with Concern for
People.'

CPG's vision for high quality governance is to ensure Fairness,
Accountability and Transparency in all endeavors in the public
domain.The strategy is to provide cost effective and efficient public
services and public goods through application of Information
Technology; elimination of arbitrariness and discretion, adherence to
the rule of the law; developing and improving the skill sets,
attitudes and capabilities of people engaged in public governance.

One of its objectives is to "Encourage e-governance and IT
initiatives aimed at providing benefits to the citizens by supporting
evaluation studies, documentation and replication."

AIMA was formed in 1957. It has over 30,000 individual and 3,000
corporate/institutional members. As many as 61 local management
associations (LMAs) are affiliated to it.

Email: cpg@...

Check the website

http://www.aima-ind.org/aima/cms/cpg.htm

Dr D.C.Misra
October 16, 2004

The Centre for Electronic Governance (CEG) at the Indian Institute of
Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA), according to its website, was set up in
October 1999, with the support of four leading IT companies, for an
initial period of three years: Oracle India Private Limited, Compaq
(now HP), SCO India and CMC Limited. Based on the success achieved by
CEG in the initial seeding period, IIMA has decided to continue the
activities of CEG, with its own resources, for another period of
three years.

Following are the objectives of the CEG:(i)Identify ICT applications
that can provide improved services to citizens and help the public
administration in improving planning, monitoring and administrative
processes,(ii)Demonstrate the feasibility of implementing such
applications by specifying broad architecture, detailed design and
creating proto-type application software (wherever feasible),and (iii)
Disseminate the work of the Centre to public administrators and other
agencies that promote and use electronic governance.

Email: ceg@...

Check the website at
http://www.iimahd.ernet.in/faculty/centers_egov.htm

Dr D.C.Misra
October 16, 2004

The Centre for Good Governance (CGG)was established by the Government
of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP) in October,2001 for helping the state to
achieve its goal of transforming governance.It is located on the 30-
acre campus of the Dr. MCR HRD Institute of Andhra Pradesh in
Hyderabad,the state capital of Andhra Pradesh.

The CCG is a registered society governed by a Board with the Chief
Minister of Andhra Pradesh as its Chairman. It receives financial
support from the UK Department for International Development (DFID)
and GoAP to cover the costs of staff, running expenses,infrastructure
and delivery of a range of projects under the innovative Governance
Reform Programme of the Government of Andhra Pradesh.The DFID has
extended support to the project until 31 March 2005.

The CCG has entered into agreement with a number of national
institutes and proposes to collaborate with a number of international
institutes.It has completed a number of projects and has so far
published 22 working papers (WPs)in addition to 23 other
publications.Dr PK Mohanty,IAS is its Director General and Executive
Director.

Contact email: info@...

Check the website

http://www.cgg.gov.in/home_inside_about.html

Dr D.C.Misra
October 15,2004

The National Institute for Smart Government(NISG),Hyderabad has
been set up as "an institution of excellence in the area of e-
Governance with focus on developing appropriate architectures and
standards,providing high-level consultancy services and capacity
building at the national level."

The NISG is a not-for-profit company incorporated in 2002 with
National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM)
holding the major share (51 per cent) and the rest by the Government
of India and Government of Andhra Pradesh. It has a paid up capital
of Rs 25 crore. Its Board of Directors consists of 1.Secretary,
Department of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions,2.Secretary,
Department of Information Technology, 3. President, NASSCOM,4. Joint
Secretary (e-Governance),Department of Information Technology and 5.
Chief Executive Officer,National Institute for Smart Government
(NISG).It is located in Indian Institute of Information Technology
(IIT)campus, Hyderabad.

Constituted under a public-private partnership (PPP) model,its goal
is "to lead the nation to a pre-eminent position in providing
integrated online services to the citizens and businesses." Its
recent activities include starting a UNDP-assisted $3.5 million
(likely to go up to $30 million over a 4-year period) ICT for
Development (ICT4D) project as a facilitator, launching of the eGov
Gateway (prototype) on July 8,2004 and a capacity building programme
for IAS officers.J.Satyanarayana is its CEO.

Check the website:

http://www.nisg.org/index.htm

Dr D.C.Misra
October 15,2004

Singapore has added yet another laurel to its already well decorated
information and communication technology (ICT) cap when it launched
the first magazine on eGov in Asia Pacific this month. The launch
issue of magazine (October 2004 Vol 1.1)-Public Sector Technology &
Management–is available online
(http://www.pstm.net/pstm_oct04.pdf).

The magazine is the print edition of Public Sector Technology and
Management network (PSTM.net), a community of more than 5,800 senior
public sector officials in the Asia Pacific region
(http://www.pstm.net/about.php).Featuring interviews,case studies and
original research,PSTM.net provides made-in-Asia content for the
region's public sector leaders.

Public Sector Technology & Management magazine is proposed to be
published six times a year.The magazine is claimed by its website to
be the only publication dedicated to improving the efficiency,
transparency and accountability of Asia Pacific's public sector.
James Smith is its editor (James.smith.pstm@net).The magazine has its
South Asia bureau in New Delhi. PSTM Magazine is published by
Alphabet Media Pte Ltd, a pan-Asian business publisher based in
Singapore.

The well-produced magazine is as of now in the genre of newsletter
being very heavy in news content. While news should continue to be
its mainstay, its value can be considerably enhanced for its intended
readers by addition of content like analytical commissioned articles,
interviews and book reviews. It should also be made a monthly
publication as two months is a very long period in e-world.The
PSTM.net and Alphabet Media,Singapore need to be congratulated for
taking this long over-due initiative. We wish the magazine all
success.Check the website

http://www.pstm.net.

Dr D.C.Misra
October 15,2004

Cyber Quiz: eGov Websites-3: Oracle HP e-Governance Centre of
Excellence, Gurgaon, Haryana

The Centre was e-inaugurated on July 10, 2003 during Oracle Executive
Summit held in New Delhi.

According to the website, "the Oracle HP e-Governance Center of
Excellence "has been conceived as a platform to enable governments in
India, academia, e-Governance practitioners, and the industry to
interact and collaborate in accelerating the deployment of e-
Governance applications by the Center ,State and Urban Local Bodies."

The Centre aims to:(i)Promote successful e-Governance projects,(ii)
Showcase best-in-class e-Governance architecture,(iii)Showcase e-
Governance applications from Oracle, HP and partners,(iv)Facilitate
productization of applications to reduce e-Governance project costs,
(v)Familiarize visitors on appropriate and emerging technology,(vi)
Facilitate in developing India specific proof of concepts,and (vii)
Conduct workshops on e-Governance.

In addition to H.P., the companies that are closely working with
Oracle are CMC India Ltd.,Indian Institute of Information Technology
(IIT), Bangalore, National Informatics Centre (NIC),New Delhi, Price
WaterhouseCoopers,Satyam Infoway and Red Hat Linux.The Centre also
publishes a newsletter.

Email: egovcoe_in@...

Check the website at

http://www.oracle.com/global/in/corporate/eGov_center_of_excellence.ht
ml

Dr D.C.Misra
October 14,2004

The Centre for e-Governance (CEG) of Department of Information
Technology (DIT), Ministry of Communications and Information
Technology (MCIT), Government of India, was set up on August 15,2000.

Its current activities are:(i)To showcase the best practices in the
area of e-Governance,(ii)Conduct programs for creating awareness
among decision makers in the Centre and State Governments,(iii)
Demonstrate the feasibility of concepts in e-Governance to the
decision makers through workshops, demonstrations video/
teleconferencing, etc., (iv)Help the Central and State Governments in
defining and implementing the process and policy changes,and(v)To
enrich the repository of best practices through continuous
interaction with subject experts from India and abroad.

Check the website at

http://www.mit.gov.in/ceg1/index.asp

Dr D.C.Misra
October 15,2004

National Seminar on Smart Governance for Rural Development

October 15, 2004

Jacaranda Hall
India Habitat Centre
New Delhi

The Seminar

The vision of a strong and resilient India that successive
generations of Indian leadership have set before them selves can only
be realized if rural India Marches hand in hand with its urban
Counterpart. It is a well-known fact that a majority of India lives
in rural areas. So, without a marked improvement in the lot of the
common man residing in the countryside, there cannot be any
substantial realization of the goal of vision 2020. Not surprisingly,
the Govt. of India has been targeting, this section of population
through special rural development programmes.   But the success of
all these programmes rests on proper communication between the
beneficiaries and the service providers so that the former may be an
active participant in such developmental programmes.

Communication Strategies used till now have revolved around extension
activities and media publicity. While the latter has focused on the
awareness generation, the former has laid emphasis on bringing about
change in outlook and behavior towards developmental programmes.
Extension   programmes therefore relied heavily on the ability of
change agents to reach out to the rural masses but given the populous
character of the country, extension agents could not do so adequately.

In such a scenario, Information Technology comes as a great
facilitator.  By not only making the development programmes of the
state accessible to the common man directly at the click of a mouse
but also by empowering the rural citizens to put across their
problems and complaints with regard to the execution of the
development programmes, it opens up an interactive communication
channel that is essential for the successful implementation of rural
developmental programmes.

National Seminar On "Smart Governance for Rural Development"
on
October 15, 2004 at Jacaranda Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi

Proposed Programme:

15th October 2004

08:00-09:15 AM
Registration

09:15 -11:05 AM
INAUGURAL SESSION

09:15-09:20 AM
Saraswati Vandana

Chairman of Session: H.E. Shri T.N. Chaturvedi,Governor of Karnataka,
President IITM

09:20-09:30 AM
Welcome Address – Shri J.C. Sharma, Vice President, IITM

09:30-09:35 AM
Lighting of the Lamp

09:35-09:50 AM
Key Note Address – "Promise of Smart Governance" by

Prof.. K.K. Aggarwal, Vice Chancellor, GGSIP University

09:50-10:00 AM
Address by the Special Invitee – Prof. Bibek Debroy,
Director,Rajiv
Gandhi Foundation.

10:00-10:10 AM
Address by the Special Invitee –Sh. Ajai Chowdhry, Chairman &
CEO,
HCL Infosystems Ltd.

10:10-10:25 AM
Address by the Guest of Honour –Dr. Shakeel Ahmad, Minister of
State
for Communication & Information Technology, GOI.

10:25-10:40 AM
Address by the Chief Guest  – Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar, Minister
of
Petroleum and Natural Gas &Panchayati Raj ,Govt. Of India, New Delhi

10:40-10:55 AM
Address by the Chairman of the Session

H.E. Shri T.N. Chaturvedi, Governor of Karnataka

10:55-11:05 AM
Mementos and Vote of Thanks -

Shri Ashis  Sanyal,Director ,Ministry of Communication & IT

11:05-11:20 AM
High Tea



11:20-12:55 PM
SESSION-I


Theme: Smart Governance in Agriculture and Education

Chairman: Sh. L.V.Saptharishi,Additional Secretary,Govt. of India.

11:20-11.35 AM
Case Study Presentation-I Shri. Pradeep Gupta, MD,Cyber Media

11.35-11:50 PM
Case Study Presentation-II  Shri.Sudhir Ahluwalia,Tata Consultancy
Service.

11:50-12:05 PM
Case Study Presentation-III Dr. P.D.Kaushik, RGICS, Rajiv Gandhi
Foundation

12:05-12:20 PM
Address by the Special Invitee - Shri. S.Ramakrishnan, Director
General, C-DAC

12:20-12:35PM
Address by the Chief Guest Shri Sandeep Dikshit, M.P

12:35-12.50 PM
Address by Chairman of the Session

12.50-12: 55PM
Mementos and Vote of Thanks-  Dr.V.A. Eshwar, Director, IITM

12:55-13:25 PM
Lunch


13:25-15.00 PM
SESSION-II


Theme: Smart Governance in Health and Development
Chairman: Dr.N.Vijayaditya, DG, National Informatics Centre

13:25-13:40 PM
Case study Presentation-I Sh. Prabhat Kumar, Additional D.G.,
Directorate of Systems, Customs & Excise.

13.40-13:55 PM
Case study Presentation-II  Dr. Shefali S.Dash, Sr. Technical
Director, NIC

13:55 – 14:10 PM
Case study Presentation-III  Shri. B.S. Bedi, Ministry of
Communications and Information Technology, GOI

14:10-14:25 PM
Key Note Address by Smt Komal Anand,DG,CAPART

14:25-14:40 PM
Address by the Chief Guest - Shri A.Narendra, MOS, Ministry of Rural
Development

14:40-14:55 PM
Address by Chairman of the Session

14:55-15:00 PM
Mementos and Vote of Thanks- Dr.V.A.Eshwar, Director, IITM

15:00-15:15 PM
Tea

15:15-16:00 PM
SPECIAL SESSION

Focus on E-Governance in North Eastern States.

Presentation and Panel discussion

Chief Guest: Shri P.R.Kyndiah, Minister, Ministry of Tribal Affairs
and Development of N E Region

Chairman: Shri Ajeer Vidya, IAS,Joint Secretary & FA,MCIT, GOI

15:15-15:30 PM
Presentation: Strategy for Implementation
Shri Prashant Gulalkari, C-DAC

15:30- 16:00PM
PANEL DISCUSSION:


PANALISTS:

Dr. A. K. Mishra,IFS,RC,Govt. of  Arunachal Pradesh
Shri . S. Mendiratta,IAS,RC,Govt. of Megalaya
Shri C.J. Ponraj,IAS,RC,Govt. of Nagaland
Shri A. Mazumdar,IAS,RC,Govt. of Mizoram
Shri D.K. Tyagi,IAS,RC, Govt. of  Tripura
Shri  S.C.Gupta,IAS,RC, Govt. of  Sikkim
Shri  Rajiv Yadav,IAS,RC,Govt. of Assam
Ms. C.R.Chhiber, IAS, RC, Govt. of Manipur

16:00-17:15 PM
VALEDICTORY SESSION

Chairman: Shri. S.Lakshminarayanan, IAS, Addl. Secretary,
Ministry of IT & Communication, GOI.

16:00-16:10 PM
Welcome Address: Shri. J.C. Sharma, Vice President, IITM

16:10-16:25 PM
Summing up report on Sessions -Shri. Anurag Sinha, Project Manager,
CEG, MCIT.

16:25-16:40PM
Address by the Guest of Honour - Pu. Zoramthanga, Chief Minister,
Mizoram

16:40-16:55 PM
Address by the Chief Guest - Smt. Shiela Dikshit, Chief Minister,
Delhi

16:55-17:10 PM
Address by The Chairman of the Session.

17:10-17:15 PM
Mementos and Vote of Thanks - Shri. Ravi Sharma, ED., IITM

17:15 PM
National Anthem
______________________________________________________________________
(Source:Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Information
and Communication Technology, New Delhi).

Attendance in the seminar is by invitation only. If interested in
attending the seminar, contact

Co-ordinators

Centre for e-Governance: A.K.Sinha (9811267041)

Institute of Information Technology and Management:
S.Das (9868108640), A.K.Dutta (33139507)
Email; seminarnationa04@...

Dr D.C.Misra
October 14, 2004

The "eGovernment for Development Information Exchange"
is a project coordinated by the University of Manchester's
Institute for Development Policy and Management
(http://www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/idpm/index.htm).

The project is funded and managed by the
Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (http://www.cto.int/)
as part of the UK Department for International Development
(http://www.dfid.gov.uk/)'s
"Building Digital Opportunities" programme.

Check the websites

http://www.egov4dev.org/home.htm
http://www.e-devexchange.org/eGov/home.htm

Dr D.C.Misra
October 14,2004

Cyber Quiz: Editorial-3: A Little More on Missing Bytes
(http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/cyberquiz/message/57)

is now also available under the title

"No "byte" in the worldwide bestsellers: Whatever then happened to
the dotcom deluge?" on the

Development Gateway at

http://topics.developmentgateway.org/ict/rc/ItemDetail.do?
itemId=1012898

Dr D.C.Misra
October 14, 2004

Ever heard of Captology? Macrosuasion? Microsuasion?

Well, according to the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab at the
Stanford University, captology is "the study of computers as
persuasive technologies. This includes the design, research, and
analysis of interactive computing products created for the purpose of
changing people's attitudes or behaviors." Interested in this
area? Then check the website

http://captology.stanford.edu/.

Dr D.C.Misra
October 13, 2004

The Third Asian IT Ministers' Summit will be held in Bahrain on
March 21-22, 2005, according to Gulf Daily News. It will be hosted by
Transportation Minister Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa and is
likely to be attended by around 50 information technology Ministers
from across Asia and the Arab world.

"There are many very important issues that need to be addressed,such
as the widening gap between the wealthy and the less fortunate
economies, the language barrier, the Internet culture shock, cyber
crime, winners and losers in the cyber world, privacy protection and
many other important issues," organisers said in a statement.

According to the announcement,the summit will close with a Bahrain
IT declaration and an updated action plan to ensure that further
progress is made for the harmonisation and global integration of the
Arab and Asian IT markets. See Gulf Daily News of October 6, 2004
(Vol XXVII No.200 Wednesday) for further details at http://gulf-daily-
news.com/Story.asp?Article=93371&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=27200 (accessed:
October 12, 2004).

The First Asian IT Ministers' Summit was held in Seoul, South
Korea in May 2002 and the Second Asian IT Ministers' Summit was
held in Hyderabad on January 12-13, 2004. A copy of the Hyderabad
Declaration of the Asian IT Ministers has already been made available
at the Cyber Quiz Forum (see Message – 61, Cyber Quiz Document-2).

Dr D.C.Misra
October 12, 2004

Cyber Quiz: Document 2: Hyderabad Declaration of Asian IT
Ministers' Summit Meeting held in Hyderabad on January 12-13, 2004
______________________________________________________________________
The First Asian IT Ministers' Summit was held in Seoul, South
Korea in May 2002 as a forum for the exchange of views and ideas on
the development of the information and communication infrastructure
and technology in Asia. The Second Asian IT Ministers' Summit was
held in Hyderabad on January 12-13, 2004 in which Ministers and
representatives from 32 countries participated.The summit discussed
the following major issues: (a) Bridging the Digital Divide (b)
Standardisation of ICT Development in Asia (c) Digitisation of
Culture (d) Construction of Broadband Network Environment in Asia,
and (e) Internet Affordability, Management, Security. A copy of the
Hyderabad Declaration of the Asian IT Ministers adopted at the second
summit meeting is placed below.

Dr D.C.Misra
October 12, 2004
_____________________________________________________________________

                 Hyderabad Declaration – 2004.


We, the Ministers responsible for Information and Communications
Technology (ICT) in the Asian Region, have met in Hyderabad, India,
from January 12 – 13, 2004, for the 2nd Asia IT Ministers'
Summit.

We have taken note of the framework agreed upon at Seoul, subsequent
significant developments in ICT (in terms of technology, deployment
and impact) both within Asia and globally, the rich range of the
methods, strategies and policies being adopted in their deployment
and the wealth of experiential knowledge being created in the
process. Recognizing the urgent need to undertake definitive and firm
steps to spread the benefits of ICT widely and equitably through
increased cooperation at a regional level, we reiterate our resolve
to work together on initiatives to promote and strengthen ICT in the
region, having due consideration for the needs of the less developed
countries. With this shared understanding, we adopt this Hyderabad
Declaration.

We,the Ministers responsible for Information and Communications
Technology, declare and agree that:

1.  Bridging the Digital Divide

The rapid progress of ICT is continuously opening new opportunities
to attain higher levels of development. At the same time, ICT has the
potential of accentuating the various divides that exist in societies
and economies in the absence of coherent strategies. Free access to
economic opportunities is the driving force to bridge the digital
divide. Adequate availability of ICT infrastructure, relevant
content, affordable applications and the tools that can be used by
people with their present levels of literacy will induce the masses
to quickly adopt and absorb this technology. Some of these areas
require technological intervention and support. Technological support
is also required to make affordable communication and access devices
and accelerate the deployment of ICT infrastructure. Governments need
to identify the right applications in tune with their national
priorities, leverage their existing non-IT infrastructure for
proliferating ICT, ensure multi sector partnerships, and help evolve
sustainable business models that attract non-Government funds,
trigger entrepreneurship and generate employment.

Keeping these dimensions in view and in order that all aspects of ICT
deployment and services are addressed within the shortest possible
time, we recommend the following actions:

a)The availability of affordable information and communication
infrastructure, as well as appropriate content and applications in
regional languages, is vital for bridging the Digital Divide.

    We reiterate our commitment to encourage Research and
Development, including innovative forms of networking, adaptation of
ICT infrastructure, tools and applications that facilitate
accessibility of ICT for all and the disadvantaged groups in
particular.

b)Appropriate competencies, including sensitivity to the potential of
ICT and the issues relating to thir deployment, are a prerequisite
for harnessing the benefits of these technologies.

    We will endeavor to develop tools and interfaces that help
people to contribute to and benefit fully from the Information
Society. The tools shall be ones that leap over the barriers of
language and literacy and facilitate access, using speech and graphic
interfaces.

c)The Governments are encouraged to undertake at least one large
application, such as remote diagnosis and prescription, or
eliminating illiteracy through IT, that can be used by a large
section of the target population. This would motivate large sections
of the Society to use ICT for their benefit. Other mass applications
should also be identified. Each Government is encouraged to identify
and deploy at least one such application over the next three years.

d)The availability of affordable software and applications is an
important component of an Information-enabled Society. The
stakeholders should explore different software models, including the
open-source model, to develop applications that best meet their
requirements.

e)Pilot deployment and field trials have been done in many areas to
demonstrate the feasibility of using ICT to bridge the digital
divide. The replicability of such applications on a large scale would
depend on leveraging the existing infrastructure and on sustainable
business models.  We  will study the feasibility and practicality of
using  the existing infrastructure of communications, post offices,
schools, public libraries, entertainment and other such institutions
to devise a scalable deployment of ICT services. In addition,
sustainable models of Public / Private Partnerships would also be
evolved. To maximize the benefit of such initiatives, the local,
regional and national needs of education, health and social welfare
would be among the areas on which we will focus our efforts.

f) Wide distribution and sharing of best practices and knowledge, as
well as Intellectual Property (IP) protection are important to
encourage innovation and creativity. IP laws have to strike a balance
between protecting IP creators and facilitating knowledge sharing.


g) A regular mechanism to review the efforts and share experiences is
essential to benefit from each other's experience. We should
institute a mechanism for sharing experience regularly, and use ICT
for this purpose.

2. Standardization for ICT Development in Asia

We reiterate the importance of promoting standards of ICT for inter-
operability and for optimization of cost and effort in the
development of applications. Standardization efforts have to address
areas relating to data, metadata and information interchange besides
the business processes that underlie the services. We also recognize
the need to put in place a system to audit applications so as to
promote compliance with the standards.

Taking cognizance of these factors, we recommend the adoption of a
concerted plan of action, which includes the following components:
1. PARTICIPATE in regional standardization activities in order to
facilitate the development and deployment of interoperable IT
products and services in Asia.   Internationally accepted standards
should be adopted as far as possible.
2. UNDERTAKE regional level discussions on standardization of
components and on areas of Information Technology, such as data,
metadata, e-governance applications, interchange of data in all forms
including text, images and multimedia; along the lines of similar
work underway in the international fora.
3. CONSIDER according special emphasis to language handling
capabilities in IT products in view of the wide spectrum of languages
being used in the Asian countries.  This should also include
technology and interface matters for voice recognition, voice-to-text
and text-to-voice applications in local Asian languages for giving a
fillip to the spread and multiplication of IT applications among the
masses.  Regional collaboration in these areas should also influence
the international standards for adoption by International Standards
Organizations such as ITU, ISO/IEC.
4. HARMONIZE the legal and administrative framework for developing
trust in e-commerce transactions across Asian countries, based on
UNCITRAL Model Laws. Practical interoperability difficulties in
mutual recognition of digital signatures should be sorted out through
experimentation and by promoting best practices. For this purpose,
appropriate linkages should be established with the Asia PKI Forum.
5. IDENTIFY for possible adoption, international standards for
security and promote the audit of information systems and networks by
accredited Information Systems Auditors.  For this purpose, an Asian
Institute of IS Auditors could be established to play a proactive
role in formulating the standards and for providing accreditation to
IS Auditors based on a suitable competency evaluation.
6. DESIGN time-bound programs for developing expertise in Asian
countries in formulating standards for IT products and services and
maturity models for information systems audit. If necessary, an
institutional framework may be created for ensuring dissemination of
knowledge.
7. ATTEMPT standardization at the process, application, metadata and
data levels for deriving maximum benefit out of single submission of
information by a citizen and for its reuse across the Government
departments at the national level. Standards will have to be
developed, keeping in view the special nature of e-governance
applications for the masses that require more visual and voice based
interface with the e-governance systems.

3. Digitization of Culture

This Summit recognizes the role of culture – that is, the entire
spectrum of its heritage, values, practices, ways of life, knowledge
systems, languages and artistic expression transmitted through
generations - in promoting self-respect in communities and among
nations.  We realize the great significance of Asia as a centre of
cultural diversity.  Taking into consideration the fact that
traditional expressions of culture are getting obscured, diluted and
transformed, this Summit proposes to develop an Asia Digital Culture
Community for developing regional cooperation, coordinating
international collaboration and catalyzing knowledge preservation in
member countries.  The preservation of our collective cultures will
be enhanced through such activities as

• Raising awareness among international communities and groups
about
the value of digital documentation of their culture
• Adopting an agreed code of ethics for collection, digital
documentation and publication of cultural resources
• Developing local language technologies and on-line transmission
capabilities
• Fostering training in conservation, digitization and
dissemination
• Enabling IPR development for free access and dissemination of
cultural resources.

4. Construction of Broadband Network Environment in Asia

We note that broadband network infrastructure as well as IT services,
products, applications and content have been deployed rather unevenly
across the region.

Asian countries, which have modest penetration even in respect of
narrow band Internet, can benefit from the experiences of the
leaders. In this regard, infrastructure, access devices, development
of content and applications, supportive Government policy framework
and the human resources required to support the knowledge economy
will play an important role.  Public – Private partnership can
help create the right ecosystem for proliferation of broadband
network.Different technologies for Broadband Infrastructure, wire
line and wireless, are growing in different countries and new ones
are being added.  These will have to be exploited as appropriate for
the situations obtaining in these countries.

In order to achieve this, the following studies need to be
undertaken:

1. Since many countries in the Asian Region have still not partaken
of the benefit and opportunity of ramping up to Broadband, they have
a unique opportunity to leapfrog into Broadband Network Deployment to
take advantage of the plummeting transport costs, huge pent up demand
for internet use and potential for new applications & services.  For
this, they already have shining examples within Asia to learn from.
Exchange of Experiences & Best Practices in Broadband Network
deployment would be undertaken to leverage this unique opportunity
within the Asian Region that would benefit both IT-developed and IT-
developing Asian countries.  Towards this purpose, multilateral and
bilateral funding must be mobilized to support exchange visits,
training, workshops, conferences, etc.

2. A study would be taken up to analyze Government Policies  which
promote Broadband deployment in various countries with associated
growth of application drivers, contents, products, services,
supportive IT manpower, R&D and private / public sector investment.
Experiences of Asian countries in this respect should be shared and
disseminated through publications, exchange / visits of
representatives of industry and administrations.

3. Engineering test-beds need to be set up to introduce and deploy
next generation infrastructures such as IPv6, 3G/4G and specific
applications of common interest to countries of Asian Region.
Performance issues must also be addressed, eXchange Points set up in
Asian Region and intra-Asian traffic increasingly routed through
these.Associated standardization efforts at the transport,
applications and contents level have to be initiated. Participation
in Asian fora, such as APNIC, APRICOT needs to be strengthened.   A
study on Engineering issues & Pilots in Broadband Network would be
undertaken.

4. The pace of deployment of applications like e-governance, e-
commerce, tele-health,  e-learning must be accelerated as also the
creation of content and web enabled applications and transactions.
Killer applications must be identified and pursued to sustain the
enthusiasm for Broadband deployment. These constantly demand
standards, associated statutory / advisory bodies, such as certifying
authorities of digital signatures, Computer Emergency Response Teams
and underlying technologies for local languages, e-security and open
source.  All these increase the need for new IT manpower skills of
varying levels.  Mutual help in these areas among Asian countries is
an imperative.  Besides, Broadband brings in its wake a new class of
applications in the areas of video, gaming, and entertainment. To
analyze these issues, a study on Broadband Application Drivers  &
Manpower Development would be undertaken.

The above studies may be undertaken by the "working level study
group" in terms of para 4A of Seoul declaration. The group is
requested to finalize the reports in a time bound manner.

5. Internet Affordability, Management and Security

We recognize the key role that a secure, well-managed and affordable
Internet Infrastructure will play in taking the Asian community
forward in the Information Age. It is necessary to evolve policies,
technologies and cooperation mechanisms that are appropriate to local
conditions. These initiatives shall address issues relating to
technology options for access in the last mile, the cost,
availability and quality of access and explore the alternative
approaches to creating affordable access. The Internet Infrastructure
will have the desired beneficial effect on the masses only if
appropriate citizen-centric services are provided through it. We
recognize that well-architected e-Government initiatives can play a
vital role in promoting the development of the region through the use
of ICT. We recognize the need for creating an environment for
promoting compliance to international standards on information
security.

Taking cognizance of these factors, we recommend the adoption of a
concerted plan of action which includes the following components:

1) ENCOURAGE the setting up of Community Information Centres (CICs)
on pilot basis in some countries in the region. The Government of
India shall be willing to share its experience on the establishment
of CICs models in the NorthEastern states in India.
2) IDENTIFY feasible mechanisms for sharing bulk bandwidth among
Asian countries to reduce the overall cost of setting up
international gateways for each nation.
3) PROMOTE Internet exchange nodes to encourage data exchange at
national and regional  levels.
4) ATTEMPT to integrate voice, data and video services to build a
single unified service for economic viability. Towards this end, new
protocols like IPV6 can play an important role.
5) PROVIDE useful government information and services to citizens
through Internet to promote the use of ICT for development.
6) STUDY the feasibility of establishing a regional Research &
Development Center for working on new Internet protocols, management
strategies and security issues to help the region leapfrog in
Internet infrastructure development through innovative technologies
and make them available at an affordable cost.
7) SECURE the information infrastructure in view of the increased
vulnerability of Internet-based systems and their impact on critical
infrastructure, such as energy, telecommunication and transportation.
In order to achieve this, one of the components is to raise the
awareness among the Asian countries on the importance of
establishment of National –Computer Emergency  Response Team
(N-CERT)
as well as the cooperation among Asian N-CERTs.

We note with satisfaction the broad acceptance, support and
participation that this forum has secured. It provided a useful
opportunity and mechanism to crystallize and articulate common
regional concerns, while facilitating the identification of common
strategies and approaches by learning from each other in a regional
perspective. We expect this forum to expand further and intensify its
activities and strengthen the mechanisms that ensure continuity. We
appreciate and warmly endorse the offer of Bahrain to host the next
Asia IT Ministers' Summit and assume the responsibility of
steering the course of its evolution.  We  also note and accept with
thanks the offer of Myanmar to host the Asia IT Ministers' Summit
in
2006 and thus provide continuity to this collective and collaborative
effort.
______________________________________________________________________
[Source: http://asiaitsummit.nic.in/finalplan.htm, accessed October
12, 2004]

Sir,
      I appreciate the roadmap initiated by our honourable minister and hope this
would be sincerely implemented in the near future and do away with the digital
divide which is plaguing the country.


Rds,
Arnab Ganguly
Symbiosis Institute of Telecom Management

"Dr D.C.Misra" <dc_misra@...> wrote:


Document-1: India - IT Minister's Ten Point Agenda 2004
______________________________________________________________________

Mr Dayanidhi Maran, Minister of Communications and Information
Technology, Government of India, New Delhi declared a 10-Point Agenda
for promotion of information and communication technologies (ICTs)on
May 26, 2004. The 10-Point Declaration shows the official commitment
to action in the following 10 areas: 1. Convergence of Technologies,
2. E- governance, 3. Broadband Connectivity, 4. Next Generation
Mobile Wireless Technologies, 5. National Internet Exchange and
Indian Domain Name, 6. Migration to New Internet Protocol IPv6, 7.
Security and Digital Signature, 8. Media Lab Asia, 9. Language
Computing, and 10. Outsourcing Skilled Manpower and R&D Thrust.

Given below is a copy of the official declaration available at the
Ministry' official website (see the source below).

Dr D.C.Misra
October 9, 1940
______________________________________________________________________

                        Ten Point Agenda
Declared by Hon'ble Minister of Communications and Information
Technology, Shri Dayanidhi Maran, on 26.05.2004.


Will significantly like to grow the following areas in Information
Technology as of extreme importance to India for bringing about an
all round economic development.

1. I shall aim at achieving convergence of Information, Communication
and Media Technologies. This issue, I am told, was pending before the
Select Committee of Parliament. I shall do my best to expedite the
Convergence of Technologies. My priority would be to focus on PC
penetration and thereby bringing Cyber Connectivity to every citizen.

2. I shall endeavour to bring about transparency in administration
and make government functioning more citizen-centric. I shall be
stressing on E- governance and expeditious implementation of a
National E-governance Plan.

3. Broadband Connectivity: Providing broadband connectivity to all,
at the most reasonable prices shall be my top most priority.

4. Next Generation Mobile Wireless Technologies: I plan to leapfrog
from the current generation of mobile telephony to the next 4G. India
is currently using the technology of GSM (2.5 G) and CDMA for mobile
telephony. The 3G standard has been evolved, but has not proved cost-
effective. I therefore plan to leapfrog this generation and develop
4G technology. India has an opportunity with its large market and
high technical skills to be a significant player in this field. We
are going to set up a National Center for Excellence in this area.

5. National Internet Exchange and Indian Domain Name: I would like to
connect all ISPs in India to a national internet exchange in order to
achieve efficient internet traffic routing, cost reduction and
improve the quality of service for the internet users in India. 4
internet exchange points would be fully operationalised. Most small
and big ISPs would route their traffic through this exchange to also
ensure the security of domestic traffic. Currently, 25 ISPs are
connected.

    I shall bring about significant improvement in Indian Internet
Domain Name with a greater market focus to proliferate the internet.
Towards this, we will encourage major multinational companies to host
their mirror sites in India and also encourage Indian enterprise to
host sites to promote business and trade in India.

6. Migration to New Internet Protocol IPv6: Worldwide the new IPv6 is
being implemented on the internet to accommodate increased number of
users and take care of security concerns. It would be my endeavour to
bring about migration to IPv6 in India by 2006.

7. Security & Digital Signature: I shall be concentrating on Cyber
Infrastructure Protection. All efforts shall be made to promote the
use of Digital Signatures in the financial sector, judiciary and
education.

8. Media Lab Asia: I shall ensure that the programme of Media Lab
Asia of the Government focus on the following areas of importance to
the large Indian populace:

    i. Providing seamless communication connectivity to rural areas
and promoting value-added services and micro enterprises to double
the village GDP in a couple of years.
   ii. Extend quality healthcare services to remote areas using the
technologies of telemedicine and internet access
iii. Use Information and Communication Technology tools to improve
literacy through distance education, inclusive processes and
pedagogy,
   iv. Promote development and availability of low-cost PCs and
communication access devices to increase internet penetration 10-fold
in a few years.

9.  Language Computing: Given India's multilingual nature, we will
accelerate dialogue with State Governments, linguists, R&D labs and
Industry for increased deployment of language computing solutions in
Government, industry and the society at large, particularly the
disadvantaged sections.

10. Outsourcing Skilled Manpower and R&D Thrust: I shall make all
endeavours to make India the world's hub for outsourcing skilled
manpower in the IT sector.

India cannot hope to aspire to become a great IT nation without
adequate level of R&D work. Towards this, our National R&D
institutions would be given encouragement to invest in R&D and bring
about world-class technologies.

(Last Modified On: Tuesday, August 03, 2004; Viewed 187 Times Since
29/09/2004).
______________________________________________________________________
(Source: http://www.mit.gov.in/tenpointagenda.asp,accessed October
9,2004).

















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A Wealth of Happiness

By KAREN MAZURKEWICH
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 8, 2004

THIMPHU, Bhutan -- Five years ago, Tashi Wangyal had it all: a Masters
degree in philosophy from Cambridge University, a beautiful girlfriend,
and an attractive job offer as a consultant in London. But the
scholarship student, then 25 years of age, threw it all away for a
$120-a-month job in Bhutan, the isolated Buddhist kingdom perched in the
Himalayas.

The Bhutanese native's decision confounded his university friends,
particularly classmates from neighboring India and Nepal who dreamed of
working abroad in high-paying jobs. But Mr. Wangyal thought long and
hard about a different commodity that preoccupies the minds of his
fellow Bhutanese: happiness.

"The reason was fairly simple: the more I traveled and lived abroad, the
more I learned to appreciate what we had at home," he says

Despite Bhutan being among the poorest nations in the world, almost all
of its scholarship students studying overseas return home after
graduation. One reason they cite: The Bhutanese government has not only
pushed forward with improvements in health care, education and the
environment, it has also actively pursued the more elusive goal of
promoting its nation's happiness.

A few years ago, the government threw out the usual indicators measuring
progress, replacing them instead with an innovative model -- called
"gross national happiness" -- that now has researchers and think-tank
agencies around the world taking note. While GNH isn't something that
can be charted or ranked, Bhutan's concept embraces everything from
protecting natural resources to promoting a strong national culture and
ensuring democratic governance -- goals that help create a foundation of
happiness for citizens.

"Bhutan is a very rare example, probably the only example in the world,
of a country that has built happiness into the center of its development
strategy," says Ron Coleman, director of GPI Atlantic, a Canadian
nonprofit research organization that studies the quality of life. "They
are sacrificing short-term income for long-term social health."

It's not only Bhutan that is questioning the value of measuring material
wealth without regard to a more comprehensive notion of fulfillment.

The World Values Survey, a group of international social scientists,
released a report last year that ranked happiness by country. The study,
which analyzes the impact of values and beliefs on political and social
life through a series of questionnaires, concluded that the African
country of Nigeria is the happiest in the world, perhaps a result of its
residents' striking tendency to describe their emotional highs in
extreme terms; the U.S. came in at 16.

At least one marketing firm in the U.S. is interested in tweaking the
old GDP model to take into account well-being. And Ed Diener, a
professor of psychology at the University of Illinois, has been asked by
the U.S.-based Gallop Organization, a research and polling group, to
create a national well-being index. Although the initiative has just
begun, "the goal is to design something that could sit next to the Dow
Jones average [stock index] in the corner of the TV screen," he says.

Mr. Diener has spent the past 18 years studying the link between
happiness and prosperity. He's trying to debunk the notion that gross
domestic product, a measure of a country's economic production, provides
an accurate snapshot of national well-being.

Mr. Diener recently analyzed more than 150 studies on wealth and
happiness, copublishing a comprehensive report, "Beyond Money: Toward an
Economy of Well-Being." His conclusion on global progress: "Although
economic output has risen steeply over the past decades, there has been
no rise in life satisfaction."

According to Mr. Diener's report, as societies attain a certain level of
wealth, income becomes less of a factor in people's level of
contentment. Emotional well-being is determined not necessarily by your
bank account, but by the quality of social relationships, enjoyment at
work, job stability, democratic institutions and strong human rights.

Emotional well-being is something Bhutan's King Druk Gyalpo Jigme Singye
Wangchuck has been pursuing for his subjects since he ascended the
throne in 1972. Like Mr. Diener, the king sought an alternative to the
GDP progress ranking. His philosophy was this: GDP reveals precious
little about a nation's true wealth. Leaders shouldn't only strive for
material wealth, they must also cultivate inner contentment.

Master Plan

The concept was formalized in 1998, with the prime minister of the time,
Lyonpo Jigmi Thinley, charged with articulating the government's new
master plan, dubbed the Four Pillars of Happiness. These pillars --
sustainable economic development, conservation of the environment, the
promotion of national culture, and good governance -- create conditions
"in which every individual will be able to pursue happiness with
reasonable success," says Mr. Thinley.

First and foremost, in the wake of globalization, the tiny kingdom of
Bhutan -- population 828,000 -- had to push reforms that would stimulate
its economic development. But the key, as outlined in the first pillar,
was "sustainable" economic development. This meant prioritizing
long-term healthcare, education and social economic services over other
infrastructure needs. To this end, about a quarter of the country's
annual budget was set aside for hospital services and schools.

The second pillar, conservation of the environment, was also given top
priority in the country's new development scheme. Rather than throw open
the country's doors to foreign investment and sell off its precious
natural resources, the country kept investors at bay, banned the export
of unprocessed timber, and restricted the number of tourists to about
6,000 per year.

The third pillar, the promotion of culture, was considered essential to
maintain spiritual balance. Anchoring his subjects in religious practice
was part of the king's master plan. And finally, the last goal was good
governance. In 1998, the king accelerated the process of democratization
by voluntarily divesting himself of some of his powers. The government's
Council of Ministers is now elected and vested with full executive
powers.

Not only was Mr. Thinley charged with helping to draft these policies to
ensure happiness, but the king assigned him "the task of taking the
concept of GNH beyond our borders." The graying statesmen didn't relish
the job: "I went, but with a great sense of hesitation because we had no
idea how it would be received," he recalls.

But the world has been hungry for a little happiness. In the past few
years Mr. Thinley has been talking about GNH on the international
speakers circuit, including at a United Nations' conference in Seoul in
1998.

Bhutan may also generate its own quantifiable happiness index for use
abroad. Mr. Coleman, of GPI Atlantic, is hoping to work with the Center
for Bhutan Studies to calculate a well-being ranking that will factor in
human values.

Social Improvements

Mr. Thinley is eager to prove that his country didn't sacrifice
development for happiness, and social indices back this up. Since 1985,
life expectancy has improved from 48 years to 66 years. Over that time,
infant mortality has dropped from 142 deaths per thousand to 61.
Education is also a success story: The literacy rate has climbed from
23% to 54% of the population, and the country's first university was
inaugurated in 2003. In addition, the number of health facilities rose
from 65 in 1985 to 155 today.

The country's economic prospects are also improving. Bhutan's GDP has
risen about 45% in the past few years, moving from $445 million in 1999
to $645 million in 2003. While its neighbor Nepal has a much higher GDP,
it ranks lower than Bhutan on education and environmental fronts. In
Bhutan, more than 90% of children reach grade five schooling, compared
to 62% in Nepal.

Bhutan is no utopia. Its capital is looking less pristine these days,
beset by traffic jams at rush hour and the strains of rapid growth from
urbanization. Set in picturesque mountains, it's experiencing a
mini-boom in building that is cluttering a once unspoiled landscape.

Five years ago, Bhutan hired its first psychologist, Chencho Dorji.
"Among the youth, we are seeing more anxiety," Mr. Dorji says. He
attributes this in part to job insecurity: "We have acquired a huge
population boom since the 1960s because of increased health
care..Parents are anxious about the future of their kids."

The belated arrival of media and technology has also had an impact.
Television was finally allowed into the country in 1998, and cell phones
were introduced last year. "Suddenly it's dawned on us that ours is a
growing materialistic society," says Mr. Dorji. Stress and alcoholism
are also on the rise.

But ask any local if Bhutanese citizens are the happiest in the world,
and the answer is most likely yes.

The secret to Bhutan's success is balance, says restaurant owner Sangay
Penjor, 53, who runs the Yoddzer Hotel and Indian restaurant in Bhutan's
capital of Thimphu. During peak tourist season he can make $2,000 a
month profit; in the lean months, he just breaks even. "If you are too
poor, you are fighting for your basic needs," he says. "But when there's
an excess of ambition and goals you lose track of your human face. Once
your basic needs are taken care of, you should know what is enough."

Religion provides the check, he adds. "It's human nature to want money
and every comfort that the modern world offers you: electricity, cars,
expensive things. "Despite the arrival of secular influences such as
television and cell phones, spiritual life in Bhutan is stronger than
ever, with enrollments at monasteries reaching an all-time high, and
donations at record levels. So, if religion is one of the keys to
happiness, can Buddhist Bhutan serve as a template for other countries?
"Other countries can learn from [Bhutan's] ability to take national
planning to the grassroots level," says Enrique Pantoja, a World Bank
country officer.

But there is a catch. "The evolution of Bhutan as a nation has been
underlined by the articulation of a distinct Bhutanese identity. I think
it would be difficult for any country without such a strong philosophy
and development vision to emulate Bhutan's," he says.

Community Values

The indicators for happiness as defined by both Mr. Coleman and Mr.
Diener of the University of Illinois mirror the reasons Tashi Wangyal
gives for returning to the country. While it was important for Mr.
Wangyal to provide comfortably for his family -- he earns about the
average wage for a government employee -- it wasn't high on his list of
aspirations. Having a voice and making a contribution to society gave
him more pleasure. Mr. Wangyal, now a researcher at the Foreign Affairs
Ministry, says good governance and political reforms made him confident
about the future of his country, as did the free medical care and
education.

But, most importantly: "Bhutan is one of the best places in the world to
raise a child." Mr. Wangyal, who married his childhood sweetheart,
Dechen Wangmo, and now has a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, says that
he has a whole network of people to look after his family if he has to
work late. "People in the West focus on career. It's fairly
individualistic," he says. In Bhutan, "community values are prized and
everyone helps each other out."

There are some downsides, he admits. It's too expensive to travel
outside of Bhutan, and he still can't afford a car. Mr. Wangyal's
biggest purchase since his return was a $300 mountain bike that he rides
to work every day. And then there's his weakness for fresh coffee.
"There's no Starbucks here. That's what I miss the most."

Write to Karen Mazurkewich at karen.mazurkewich@...

Regards

--
Manu Dwivedi

Document-1: India - IT Minister's Ten Point Agenda 2004
______________________________________________________________________

Mr Dayanidhi Maran, Minister of Communications and Information
Technology, Government of India, New Delhi declared a 10-Point Agenda
for promotion of information and communication technologies (ICTs)on
May 26, 2004. The 10-Point Declaration shows the official commitment
to action in the following 10 areas: 1. Convergence of Technologies,
2. E- governance, 3. Broadband Connectivity, 4. Next Generation
Mobile Wireless Technologies, 5. National Internet Exchange and
Indian Domain Name, 6. Migration to New Internet Protocol IPv6, 7.
Security and Digital Signature, 8. Media Lab Asia, 9. Language
Computing, and 10. Outsourcing Skilled Manpower and R&D Thrust.

Given below is a copy of the official declaration available at the
Ministry' official website (see the source below).

Dr D.C.Misra
October 9, 1940
______________________________________________________________________

                        Ten Point Agenda
Declared by Hon'ble Minister of Communications and Information
Technology, Shri Dayanidhi Maran, on 26.05.2004.


Will significantly like to grow the following areas in Information
Technology as of extreme importance to India for bringing about an
all round economic development.

1. I shall aim at achieving convergence of Information, Communication
and Media Technologies. This issue, I am told, was pending before the
Select Committee of Parliament. I shall do my best to expedite the
Convergence of Technologies. My priority would be to focus on PC
penetration and thereby bringing Cyber Connectivity to every citizen.

2. I shall endeavour to bring about transparency in administration
and make government functioning more citizen-centric. I shall be
stressing on E- governance and expeditious implementation of a
National E-governance Plan.

3. Broadband Connectivity: Providing broadband connectivity to all,
at the most reasonable prices shall be my top most priority.

4. Next Generation Mobile Wireless Technologies: I plan to leapfrog
from the current generation of mobile telephony to the next 4G. India
is currently using the technology of GSM (2.5 G) and CDMA for mobile
telephony. The 3G standard has been evolved, but has not proved cost-
effective. I therefore plan to leapfrog this generation and develop
4G technology. India has an opportunity with its large market and
high technical skills to be a significant player in this field. We
are going to set up a National Center for Excellence in this area.

5. National Internet Exchange and Indian Domain Name: I would like to
connect all ISPs in India to a national internet exchange in order to
achieve efficient internet traffic routing, cost reduction and
improve the quality of service for the internet users in India. 4
internet exchange points would be fully operationalised. Most small
and big ISPs would route their traffic through this exchange to also
ensure the security of domestic traffic. Currently, 25 ISPs are
connected.

    I shall bring about significant improvement in Indian Internet
Domain Name with a greater market focus to proliferate the internet.
Towards this, we will encourage major multinational companies to host
their mirror sites in India and also encourage Indian enterprise to
host sites to promote business and trade in India.

6. Migration to New Internet Protocol IPv6: Worldwide the new IPv6 is
being implemented on the internet to accommodate increased number of
users and take care of security concerns. It would be my endeavour to
bring about migration to IPv6 in India by 2006.

7. Security & Digital Signature: I shall be concentrating on Cyber
Infrastructure Protection. All efforts shall be made to promote the
use of Digital Signatures in the financial sector, judiciary and
education.

8. Media Lab Asia: I shall ensure that the programme of Media Lab
Asia of the Government focus on the following areas of importance to
the large Indian populace:

    i. Providing seamless communication connectivity to rural areas
and promoting value-added services and micro enterprises to double
the village GDP in a couple of years.
   ii. Extend quality healthcare services to remote areas using the
technologies of telemedicine and internet access
  iii. Use Information and Communication Technology tools to improve
literacy through distance education, inclusive processes and
pedagogy,
   iv. Promote development and availability of low-cost PCs and
communication access devices to increase internet penetration 10-fold
in a few years.

9.  Language Computing: Given India's multilingual nature, we will
accelerate dialogue with State Governments, linguists, R&D labs and
Industry for increased deployment of language computing solutions in
Government, industry and the society at large, particularly the
disadvantaged sections.

10. Outsourcing Skilled Manpower and R&D Thrust: I shall make all
endeavours to make India the world's hub for outsourcing skilled
manpower in the IT sector.

India cannot hope to aspire to become a great IT nation without
adequate level of R&D work. Towards this, our National R&D
institutions would be given encouragement to invest in R&D and bring
about world-class technologies.

(Last Modified On: Tuesday, August 03, 2004; Viewed 187 Times Since
29/09/2004).
______________________________________________________________________
(Source: http://www.mit.gov.in/tenpointagenda.asp,accessed October
9,2004).

There is no "byte" in the worldwide bestsellers. There is a remarkable omission
of any book on information and communication technologies (ICTs) from the latest
list of bestsellers on science. This glaring omission stares at your face
blankly when you look at the list in the light of the oft-repeated assertion
that we are living in the information age or in an era of ongoing ICT
revolution.What happened then to the deluge of books on ICTs in the days of
dotcom boom, the last decade of the twentieth century (followed no doubt by
books explaining the dotcom bust as well)? Does the omission mean that we have
no popular writers on ICTs producing "bestsellers" or "classics" (the two need
not be same of course) and people(read lay readers) are not interested in ICTs
but are interested in, say,mathematics and physics?

Commenting on the list The Economist, London, which has compiled the list and
published it in its issue of 2nd October, notes that science writing for the lay
reader is getting better and better, and the best explains even the most complex
subjects without condescension. It notes that the books by the populariser, Bill
Bryson, and by Richard Dawkins, evolutionist,predominate. But classic works
continue to sell well, years after publication.What happened then, for example,
to Brook's Mythical Man-Month or Bill Gates' The Road Ahead (or, for that
matter, to his Business@The Speed of Thought) or Tim Berners-Lee's Weaving the
Web or Nicholas Negroponte's Being Digital or Makimoto and Manners' Digital
Nomad or indeed to George Gilder's Telecosm, just to mention half a dozen or so
rather familiar titles in ICTs? Does it mean that there was no paradigm shift
and that the book that invented the term- The Structure of Scientific
Revolutions – merrily finds a place (rank 10)in the list despite having been
published way back in 1962 when many of the present day geeks were not even
born? Or, does it mean that people's initial enthusiasm and curiosity in ICTs
have just waned,perhaps unnoticed?

The list has another surprise- the size of books. The size of a number of
bestsellers ranges from rather formidable 500 to awesome 1,000 pp. The slot for
the slimmest, at 240 pp, is co-shared by Hawkins and Kuhn. This is against the
popularly held belief that people do not like "tombs" of scholarship. Apparently
people are prepared to spend time (and money as well) on lengthy books if
interesting content is offered to them or does it mean that such
bestsellers are only "must have, read later" books and those who can afford buy
them and then put them on the shelves, never to be read? And who is this "lay
reader" who buys these books on esoteric subjects in science?

Whosoever this "lay reader" may be, no one should deny him the access to Sir
Roger Penrose's The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the
Universe (rank 4). The Economist describes it as "An extraordinary account of
the underlying mathematics of the physical universe. Not for the lay reader."
Pray, why not? If "lay readers" are not reading these bestsellers then how does
Sir Roger's book attain a very honourable rank 4? Or does it mean that only
libraries buy these bestsellers and individual "lay readers" have no role in
the `making' of these bestsellers?

And how can any one forget Sir Roger's classic The Emperor's New Mind, a very
powerful attack on 'strong artificial intelligence (AI)' whose proponents
continue to remain unshaken in their claim that it is just a question of time
when human beings will be replaced by computers and Sir Roger showed that human
thinking can never be emulated by a computer. It certainly is surprising that
this book is missing from the list of bestsellers, a case of missing another
"byte"! Or its sequel The Shadows of Mind, described as 'one of the most
important works of the second half of the 20th century' by The Times, London
which provided more rigorous proof of consciousness far beyond the
`computational activity.'

Here is then the list of top 15 Amazon worldwide bestsellers on science (with
figures following the author indicating the number of pages): 1.A Short History
of Nearly Everything (Bill Bryson 560),2.The Ancestor's Tale (Richard Dawkins
520), 3.Guns, Germs, and Steel (Jared Diamond 512), 4.The Road to Reality (Roger
Penrose 1,000), 5.The Fabric of the Cosmos (Brian Greene 569), 6.Stiff (Mary
Roach 303), 7.The Elegant Universe  (Brian Greene 464), 8.The Selfish Gene
(Richard Dawkins 366), 9.A Brief History of Time (Stephen Hawking 240), 10.The
Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Thomas S. Kuhn 240), 11.Eine kurze
Geschichte von fast allem.(Bill Bryson 672), 12.The End of Oil (Paul Roberts
389), 13. Kosmos Himmelsjahr 2005 (Hans-Ullrich Keller 288), 14.The Secret Life
of Lobsters (Trevor Corson 289), and 15.How the Mind Works (Steven Pinker
672).(Read the complete list, together with the comments of The Economist, at
http://economist.com/books/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3242474).


But what happened to the books which enthused us,those which tried to demystify
the ICTs and those which simply excited us, some of which even forcing us to
lose our sleep and read them from A to Z? What happened, for example, to Isaac
Asimov's I, Robot, which, among other things laid down the three laws of
robotics? Or to former Stanford professor Robert X. Cringely's Accidental
Empires which became the basis for PublicTV's miniseries Triumph of the Nerds?
Or to Matt Ridley's Genome, appropriately sub-titled the autobiography of a
species in 23 chapters? Or to Where Wizards stay Up Late giving us the origin of
Internet or to K.Eric Drexler's Engines of Creation on the coming era of
nanotechnology?

The proprietary versus open source debate continues unresolved. Both sides
appear to have only strengthened their respective defences with the passage of
time.Yet Glyn Moody's rebel code dealing with Linux and the open source
revolution has failed to make to the list.While security continues to be an
over-riding concern, The Art of Deception by Kevin D.Mitnick, who is described
as `a cyber-desperado and fugitive from one of the most exhaustive FBI manhunts
in history' did not find favour with the readingpublic. Mitnick,understandably,
is also described as `one of the most sought-after computer security experts
worldwide.' Or may be these books do not fall under the category of "science"?

Whatever may be the reason, there appears to be lull in the field of ICTs today.
Absence of books on ICTs from the bestseller list perhaps only indicates the
present lull. This, however, may only be partly true as age appears to have no
bearing on bestsellers otherwise Kuhn's book, for example, published in 1962,
would not have found a place in the bestseller list. Some cyber-savvy Indians
like S.S.Kshatriy (Silicon Valley Greats), Indra Sinha (the cybergypsies),Samar
Halarankar (Nirvana under the rain tree), Pratik Kanjilal
(Guide to Using the Internet in India) and Chidanand Rajghatta (The Horse that
Flew) also tried their hands on writing on ICTs but no Indian has so far 
produced any popular book on ICTs for the world market not withstanding its
world standard software and its aspirations to be IT superpower. Perhaps a
classic in ICTs is yet to be written, anywhere in the world. Any takers, techies
or non-techies? (This is an expanded version of earlier message, The List-5,
No.56 dated October 5, 2004 on the Group).

Dr D.C.Misra
October 9, 2004

No Byte in Science Bestsellers

Science writing for the lay reader gets better and better, and the
best explains even the most complex subjects without condescension,
reports The Economist, London, in its latest issue of October 2nd-
8th, 2004 (p-86). It notes that the books by the populariser, Bill
Bryson, and by Richard Dawkins, evolutionist, predominate. But
classic works continue to sell well, years after publication (ibid,
p-86).

There is however no "byte" in these 15 worldwide bestsellers on
science. There is remarkable omission of any book on information
and communication technologies (ICTs) notwithstanding the oft-
repeated assertion that we are living in the Information Age or in an
era of ongoing ICT revolution. Have we forgotten that we had a deluge
of books in the days of dotcom boom, the last decade of the twentieth
century? Does the omission mean that we have no popular writers on
ICTs  producing "classics" or people (read lay readers) are not
interested in ICTs but are interested in, say, Mathematics and
Physics?

What happened, for example to Brook's Mythical Man-Month or Bill
Gates' The Road Ahead (or, for that matter, to his Business@The
Speed of Thought) or Tim Berners-Lee's Weaving the Web or Nicholas
Negroponte's Being Digital, just to mention a few books well-known
books in ICTs by way of illustration. Does it mean that there was no
paradigm shift and the book that invented the term- The Structure of
Scientific Revolutions – happily finds a place (rank 10)in the list
despite having been published way back in 1962? Perhaps a classic in
ICTs is yet to be written.

The list has another surprise- the size of books. The size of a
number of bestsellers ranges from 500 pp to 1,000 pp. This is against
the popularly held belief that people do not like "tombs" of
scholarship.Apparently people are prepared to spend time (and money
as well) on lengthy books if interesting content is offered to them
or does it mean that such bestsellers are "must have" books
and those who can afford buy them and then put them on the
shelves,never to be read? And who is this "lay reader" who buys these
books on esoteric subjects in science?

Whosoever this "lay reader" may be, no one should deny him the access
to Sir Roger Penrose's The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the
Laws of the Universe (rank 4 in the list). The Economist describes it
as "An extraordinary account of the underlying mathematics of the
physical universe. Not for the lay reader."Pray,why not? If "lay
readers" are not reading these bestsellers then how does then Sir
Roger's book attain a very honourable rank 4 ? Or does it mean
that only libraries buy these bestsellers and individual "lay
readers" have no role in the making of these bestsellers?

And how can any one forget Sir Roger's classic The Emperor's
New Mind (Oxford 1989,1999), perhaps the most powerful attack
on `strong artificial intelligence (AI)' so far whose proponents
claim that it is just a question of time when human beings will be
replaced by machines and Sir Roger showed in it that human thinking
can never be emulated by a machine. (It is rather surprising that
this book is missing from the list of  bestsellers, a case of missing
another "byte"!). Or its sequel The Shadows of Mind (Oxford
1994),described as `One of the most important works of the second
half of the 20th century' by The Times, which provided more
rigorous proof of consciousness far beyond the `computational
activity.'

Here is then the list of top 15 Amazon worldwide bestsellers on
science as reported by The Economist together with its comments.

1.A Short History of Nearly Everything.
by Bill Bryson, Broadway; 560 pp, $11.17.
The Economist's Comment: This irrepressible American enthusiast
whizzes us through time and space, explaining not just what we know,
but how we know it. Enlightening or aggravating, according to taste.

2.The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life.
by Richard Dawkins, Houghton Mifflin, 520 pp; $19.04.
The Economist's Comment: A new chronicle of life, wonderfully
illustrated, from this great evolutionist.

3.Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies.
by Jared Diamond, Norton, 512 pp, $11.86.
The Economist's Comment: How geography and ecology have shaped
civilisations, by an eminent physiologist.

4.The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe.
by Roger Penrose, Knopf, 1,000 pp, $27.20.
The Economist's Comment: An extraordinary account of the
underlying mathematics of the physical universe. Not for the lay
reader.

5.The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality
by Brian Greene, Knopf, 569 pp, $19.69.
The Economist's Comment: A tour of the universe, with everyday
analogies to explain hard-to-grasp concepts.

6.Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers.
by Mary Roach. Norton; 303 pp, $11.16.
The Economist's Comment: What happens to human bodies donated for
medical or forensic research.

7.The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the
Quest for the Ultimate Theory  by Brian Greene, Vintage, 464 pp,
$10.61.
The Economist's Comment: How superstring theory identifies
nature's fundamental building blocks, and what it means for the
future of science.

8.The Selfish Gene
by Richard Dawkins, Oxford University Press, 366 pp, $10.47.
The Economist's Comment: The author's best-known book
reformulates the theory of chance mutation acting upon natural
selection.

9.A Brief History of Time: The Updated and Expanded Tenth Anniversary
Edition.
by Stephen Hawking, Bantam, 240 pp, $11.24.
The Economist's Comment: A modern classic, now updated to include
chapters on wormholes and time travel. Hold on to your hats.

10.The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
by Thomas S. Kuhn. University of Chicago Press, 240 pp, $10.40.
The Economist's Comment: A classic on the nature of scientific
invention and change, first published in 1962.

11.Eine kurze Geschichte von fast allem.
by Bill Bryson. Goldmann Verlag; 672 pp, €24.90.
The Economist's Comment: The bearded wonder's latest
bestseller, in German.

12.The End of Oil: On the Edge of a Perilous New World.
by Paul Roberts, Houghton Mifflin, 389 pp, $17.68.
The Economist's Comment: How to break our addiction to oil, and
what will happen when the wells run dry. By an author on the more
alarmist wing of the oil debate.

13.Kosmos Himmelsjahr 2005
by by Hans-Ullrich Keller, Kosmos, 288 pp, €14.95.
The Economist's Comment: Facts and background reports about
astronomy and space travel, plus the best dates to observe stars.

14.The Secret Life of Lobsters: How Fishermen and Scientists are
Unraveling the Mysteries of our Favorite Crustacean
by Trevor Corson. HarperCollins, 289 pp, $16.97.
The Economist's Comment: The ecology and conservation of the
American lobster along the rocky coast of Maine.

15.How the Mind Works
by Steven Pinker, Norton, 672 pp, $12.57.
The Economist's Comment: A witty and informative survey of how
the mind evolved and how it works.

Note: The list has been compiled by The Economist from global sales
from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr and
Amazon.jp, from August 23rd-September 22nd 2004. Prices are quoted
from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, and are correct as of September
27th. Copyright © 2004 The Economist Newspaper and The Economist
Group. All rights reserved.
Source: Adopted from
http://economist.com/books/PrinterFriendly.cfm?Story_ID=3242474,
accessed October 5, 2005).

Read the complete list at
http://economist.com/books/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3242474,
accessed October 5, 2004).

Dr D.C.Misra
October 5, 2004.

Rare is a man who never has seen a blue screen on his computer.
Suddenly, without any rhyme or reason, the computer crashes, your
work stalled and you don't have a clue about it. The device
driver,that indispensable piece of software which handles
communication between the kernel, the core of the operating system
and the hardware devices is a major culprit. Read this interesting,
educative and brief article in Slate magazine (posted: September 30,
2004),available at:

http://slate.msn.com/id/2107471/?GT1=5405

Dr D.C.Misra
October 5, 2004

*DIY= Do it yourself.

A new international journal in community informatics - The Journal of
Community Informatics (http://www.ci-journal.net)(JoCI)has been
launched under the auspices of the Community Informatics Research
Network (CIRN) (http://www.ci-research.net), an international
network  of practitioners and researchers in community informatics
established in October 2003 and incorporated as a voluntary
association in Victoria, Australia. JoCI is a peer-reviewed open
archive online quarterly journal for the community informatics (CI)
research community.

Lest you wonder what community informatics (CI) is, the site defines
it as "the study and the practice of enabling communities with
information and communications technologies (ICTs)." Demystefied
it means how to help communities make use of ICTs. Each issue of JoCI
will include, according to announcement, in addition to peer-reviewed
articles, a review section, documents and reports and commentaries on
peer-reviewed papers by leading CI practitioners and those with a
policy interest in CI and related matters.

Mr Michael B. Gurstein, Visiting Professor, School of Management, New
Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA is its Editor-in-
Chief. The inaugural issue [1(1)2004] of JoCI is available online.
Check it at

http://ci-journal.net/viewissue.php.

Dr D.C.Misra
October 4, 2004

What is the empirical evidence for any linkage between
investment in telecommunications infrastructure and economic growth
in developing countries? The question is important for two reasons.
First, it would help policy makers in taking investment decisions.
Secondly, it would also help them in deciding the extent to which
they should lend their proactive policy support to the ongoing
information and communication technology (ICT) revolution in the
developing countries, particularly in India. Kala Seetharam Sridhar
(kala@...), Fellow at the National Institute of Public
Finance and Policy (NIPFP), New Delhi and Professor Varadharajan
Sridhar (Sridhar@...) of Management Development Institute,
Gurgaon who have investigated this relationship in data for
developing countries, therefore, need to be congratulated for
undertaking this timely study.*

Roller and Waverman (2001)1 have looked at how telecommunications
infrastructure affected economic growth in the developed economies
but no such study has been taken for developing countries. Overall,
the literature estimates that one percent growth in telecommunication
services generates three percent growth in the economy (Gupta, 2000)2
(p-11). This study, using data over 1990-2001 period for 63
developing countries shows that the compounded annual growth rate
(CAGR) of cell phones over the period 1996-2001was 78 percent
compared to a growth of mere 7 percent for main telephone lines over
1990-2001(p-13).The study estimates that a 1 percent increase in tele-
density (total telephones per 100 population)increases national
output by 0.14 percent(p-19).

This study also reports that cell phones are the only ones that
contribute significantly to national output. It reports that a 1
percent increase in cell phone penetration can cause output to
increase by 7 percent.(p-21). One of the important conclusions of the
study is that at the envisaged tele-density of 7 by 2005 and 15 by
2010 in India its GDP in 2005 would be US $ 529 billion, 7 percent
increase over its 2001 actual GDP. In 2010, with tele-density of 15,
India's GDP would be US $589 billion, 19 percent increase over its
actual 2001 GDP.  If India were to have Ukraine's tele-density of
20,which is the highest in the sample), holding its capital and
labour resources constant, India's GDP would be $614 billion, a 24
percent increase over its actual 2001 GDP (pp 23-24). The study
predicts that India's tele-density will reach 14 by 2006. The authors
indeed expect that India will reach the figure of 15 in 2006, much
ahead of the target (p-24).

The study is highly recommended to any one interested in the
linkage between investment in telecommunications infrastructure and
economic development in the developing countries.

Dr D.C.Misra
October 2, 2004
______________________________________________________________________
* Sridhar, Kala Seetharam and Varadharajan Sridhar (2004):
Telecommunications Infrastructure and Economic Growth: Evidence from
Developing Countries, New Delhi, National Institute of Public Finance
and Policy (NIPFP), March, Working Paper No. 14, 40 pp, available:
http://www.nipfp.org.in/working%20paper/wp14.pdf (accessed October 2,
2004).
____________________________________________________________________
1  Roller, L.H. and L. Waverman (2001):Telecommunications
infrastructure and economic development: A simultaneous approach,
American Economic Review, 91(4):909-923.
2. Gupta, N.K (2000): The Business of Telecommunication, New Delhi,
Tata McGraw-Hill.

Link to the quiz is also now available at
http://topics.developmentgateway.org/ict/rc/ItemDetail.do~1012309

Dr D.C.Misra
October 2, 2004