From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Mon Jan 1 22:18:16 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id WAA105083; Mon, 1 Jan 2001 22:18:15 +1000 (EST) Received: from post.super.net.pk (smtp-khi1.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id WAA105025 for ; Mon, 1 Jan 2001 22:17:53 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 (khi-line-121.super.net.pk [203.130.5.121]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id RAA27804 for ; Mon, 1 Jan 2001 17:29:22 -0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2001 17:21:55 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: S-Asia-IT Monthly Help File Message-ID: <3A50BCB3.10373.AA28FC@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Mailing List Help File Please read the scope of s-asia-it mailing list (see below) before posting messages on the mailing list. In addition, this message contains information about subscribing, unsubscribing, posting, and archives of the mailing list. To correspond directly with a person, write to . * About S-Asia-IT ----------------- S-Asia-IT, a mailing/discussion list for IT developments in South Asia -- Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka -- is intended to provide a forum for those interested in the development and use of information technology in the South Asian context. Our specific interest is in advancing information technologies to support equitable social and economic development in the region, recognising that the development of information and communication technologies, particularly internet connectivity, are important tools in this work by activists, donors, NGOs, government and the private sector. * How to Subscribe the list --------------------------- To subscribe the S-Asia-IT mailing list send mail to the address with the following command in the body of e-mail message: subscribe s-asia-it To subscribe the Digest version of S-Asia-IT mailing list send mail to the address with the following command in the body of e-mail message: subscribe s-asia-it-digest * How to Post Messages ---------------------- To post messages to S-Asia-IT send mail to the address * How to UNsubscribe -------------------- To unsubscribe from the S-Asia-IT mailing list send mail to the address with the following command in the body of e-mail message: unsubscribe s-asia-it To unsubscribe from the Digest version of S-Asia-IT mailing list send mail to the address with the following command in the body of e-mail message: unsubscribe s-asia-it-digest * S-Asia-IT Archives -------------------- The S-Asia-IT mailing list is archived at http://www.apnic.net/wilma-bin/wilma/s-asia-it From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Jan 2 08:24:03 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id IAA106378; Tue, 2 Jan 2001 08:24:02 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id IAA106374 for ; Tue, 2 Jan 2001 08:23:58 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall ([61.11.9.173]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Tue, 2 Jan 2001 03:49:36 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: INDIA: Telephone, Internet in all Indian villages by 2003: Sikdar Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2001 01:24:01 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101010124151A.00508@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Telephone, Internet in all Indian villages by 2003: Sikdar by Jatindra Dash, India Abroad News Service Bhubaneshwar, Dec 31 - All Indian villages will have telephone lines and Internet links by the end of 2003, Minister of State for Communications Tapan Sikdar has said. "By 2003 end, all the 670,000 Indian villages would be provided with telephone links, Internet, e-mail and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) facilities," said Sikdar Saturday in the temple town of Puri, where he inaugurated an ISDN system. The government has reduced the deposit amount for a new telephone line in both rural and urban areas to help more people get connections, Sikdar said. In cities, the deposit amount has been reduced to Rs. 2000 from Rs. 3000, in semi-urban areas it has been reduced to Rs. 1000 from Rs. 2000 and in rural areas the deposit amount for a telephone line is only Rs. 500, the minister said. Efforts are on provide telephone and Internet connections in all of Orissa's 46,987 villages too. "We have already 120,000 telephone connection in 23,000 villages in Orissa," said H.V. Mehta, the chief general manager of Orissa Telecom. This constituted 70 percent of the total connections in the state, he said. "We are also taking steps to provide cellular services in remote rural areas at a cheaper price," Mehta said. Efforts are also on to install ISDN facilities at roadside eateries along with the national highways, he said. --India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Jan 3 07:19:46 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id HAA83029; Wed, 3 Jan 2001 07:19:46 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id HAA83009 for ; Wed, 3 Jan 2001 07:19:41 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall ([61.11.9.162]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Wed, 3 Jan 2001 02:45:08 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@goa1.dot.net.in Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: india2001: Listing of a wide-range of Indian sites Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2001 02:27:39 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01010302424908.00596@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Greetings at the start of the year 2001. These wishes come from www.bytesforall.org, a voluntary venture that is trying to focus on how IT and the Internet can be -- and is being -- made relevant to the commonman (and woman) in South Asia. Towards this end, we have compiled a list of 2001 Indian (and a few from the wider South Asian region) web sites. If you'd like a free copy of this, just send an email to fred@bytesforall.org with i2001LISTREQUEST as the subjectline. Also mention your name and address in the body of the message. This listing is in HTML format and is approx 300KB in size. It lists sites from the field of academia (including asian studies - careers - colleges - colleges - education - research - social service - universities); agriculture; alternative-india; art & culture; automobiles; banks; books; business (including industry, stocks, infrastructure, trade, exports); communications (including in regional languages); consulates of India abroad; cooking and food; e-commerce; entertainment; expatriate indians; government (specific links to various departments); health (advice, aids, ayurveda, blood banks online, cancer, child development, corporates in health, disabilities, doctors, elderly, facilities, health care, homeopathy, hospitals, journals, leprosy, libraries online, medicine, pharmaceuticals, public health, resources, tibetan medicine, yoga...); infrastructure; IT-India's infotech industry; job-sites; law-related links; matrimonials; media; music; neighbours of India; news-sites; newspapers; portals (on a range of themes); regional sites; religion-based sites; sports; tourism & travel; women and youth sites. Coincidentally, this listing has 2001 sites included. We plan to also build a list of other sites from other South Asia countries, and seek partners for this venture. If you would like us to include sites which you feel should be in such a listing, please send us details of the same. Regards and best wishes, Frederick fred@bytesforall.org 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 bYtES For aLL is a voluntary, unfunded venture. bYtES For aLL volunteers team includes: Partha in Dhaka, Frederick in Goa, Zunaira in Karachi, Arun-Kumar in Darmstatd, Zubair in Islamabad, Archana in Goa, Shivkumar in Mumbai, Sangeeta in Nepal, Daryl in Chicago and Gihan in Sri Lanka. To contact them mail bytes-admin@goacom.com TO UN / SUBSCRIBE simply send a message to fred@bytesforall.org with UNSUBSCRIBE BfA or SUBSCRIBE BfA as the subject line. *********************************************************** frederick noronha, freelance journalist, fred@bytesforall.org near convent, saligao 403511 goa india 0091.832.409490/ 409783 *********************************************************** 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Jan 3 15:10:06 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA73674; Wed, 3 Jan 2001 15:10:06 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi3.super.net.pk (pop-khi3.super.net.pk [203.130.2.13]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id PAA73647 for ; Wed, 3 Jan 2001 15:09:58 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 (khi-line-018.super.net.pk [203.130.5.157]) by pop-khi3.super.net.pk (8.10.0/8.10.0) with ESMTP id f0354Wc07372 for ; Wed, 3 Jan 2001 10:04:36 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2001 10:14:13 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Subject: TechKnowLogia January/February 2001 Issue Message-ID: <3A52FB75.1764.234ED6@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-MIME-Autoconverted: from Quoted-printable to 8bit by ns.apnic.net id PAA73656 Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk The January/February 2001 Issue of TechKnowLogia has been posted on the web: http://www.TechKnowLogia.org. The thematic focus of this Issue is on TECHNOLOGY FOR MANAGEMENT OF EDUCATION AND LEARNING SYSTEMS. Selected entries from annotated table of contents: > 5. Education and ICTs: Current Legal, Ethical and Economic Issues Zeynep Varoglu and Cédric Wachholz, UNESCO This article examines the legal, ethical and economic issues relating to education and the use of new information and communication technologies (ICTs). It starts with an analysis of the current legal agreements governing trade in goods and services related to education and ICTs, followed by the ethical debates arising from the legal frameworks. It then explores the role of the private sector and questions the role of education - a public good or a commodity. > 6. TechKnowNews • "Smart Villages" to put Egypt on the Regional IT Map • South African Strategic Alliance to Bring Voice Interactive Distance Learning • IFC Invests in Information Technology Education in India • US Web-Based Education Commission Releases E-Learning Report • > 19. Orbiting the Dream: Satellites Open New Horizons for Africa's Educators Tressa Steffen Gipe Imagine a small isolated rural village in Africa. The village schoolhouse receives current radio reports in the local language with events from around the world, and the teacher is able to email student and payroll records to the Ministry of Education in the capital. In the evenings the school doubles as a community media center filled with enterprising villagers checking grain and livestock prices in the capital, while others keep in touch with friends and family via email. Is it a dream or a reality? -------------------------------------------------------- From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Thu Jan 4 05:35:24 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id FAA116613; Thu, 4 Jan 2001 05:35:24 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id FAA116589 for ; Thu, 4 Jan 2001 05:35:18 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall ([61.11.9.152]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Thu, 4 Jan 2001 01:00:55 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS-INDIA: Indian IT goes to villages, changes rural life Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2001 22:50:13 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: Cybercom MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01010322503401.00506@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Indian IT goes to villages, changes rural life By P. Jayaram, India Abroad News Service New Delhi, Jan 3 - Information technology (IT) is beginning to change the humdrum life in rural India, taking the latest healthcare and modern education, so far only available to city dwellers, to the people of the country's 600,000 odd villages. Take, for instance, Lahul Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, remote, snow-bound and inaccessible for nearly half the year and where falling seriously ill during the winter months often meant sure death, as the local dispensary, the only health facility, was ill-equipped to treat the patients. Not any more. A personal computer (PC) at the dispensary is now linked to the main government hospital in state capital Shimla and the country's premier medical center, the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. "This has helped save three lives in the last few months as the dispensary could get expert online medical advice on treatment. This is what we want to replicate. This is what we mean when we say that India will be the IT super power soon. It is not necessary for every one to have PC," Dewang Mehta, president of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), told members of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of South Asia here Wednesday. He cited the example of Madhya Pradesh, which is poised to become the first state to install 12 television channels to exclusively impart remote education to village students from grade 1 to 12. "Good teachers often do not want to move out of Bhopal (state capital). Now they can teach students across the state sitting in Bhopal." And joining the state government's programme, described by Mehta as the "most novel remote education programme" will be thousands of retired army soldiers who will help set up IT community centers in each village. "Some 20,000 IT-savvy jawans (soldiers) retire from the army every year," he noted. He said over 300 members of the Lok Sabha, out of a total of 545, had responded to Nasscom's proposal to set up IT training institutes, using the Rs. 20 million fund they are allotted by the government for the development of their constituencies. Such institutes had already come up in some places like Chhindwara and Chhattisgarh and Nagpur in Madhya Pradesh and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. In another move to reach IT to the villages, particularly women, he said soon domain registration would start in 17 vernacular languages that will help housewives, who may not know English, to make use of the Internet. "You can call it empowering of women. There will be no digital divide. IT has the full potential to create the digital unite in our country," he added. But he warned that lack of "bijli (electricity) and bandwidth" could hamper the country's progress towards IT super power status. "These are the most fundamental requirements," he said and added that Tuesday's massive power outage, when most northern states went without electricity for almost the whole day, had once again highlighted the need for addressing these problems. "We have everything we need to be an IT super power. Some 178,000 engineers come out of our campuses every year. We are English-speaking, the language of the IT. For any nation, there comes a time when there is one industry in which they excel. After centuries of remaining in the background, IT has presented us with the opportunity to excel," he said. He asserted India's projected software exports of $87 billion by 2008 was not an exercise in "optimism." However, the country needed to consolidate its position in IT services and create original technology, where it has really lagged behind. From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Thu Jan 4 05:35:24 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id FAA116614; Thu, 4 Jan 2001 05:35:24 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id FAA116590 for ; Thu, 4 Jan 2001 05:35:19 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall ([61.11.9.152]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Thu, 4 Jan 2001 01:00:57 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: Cybercom Subject: NEWS-INDIA: India logs on for some auction online Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2001 22:49:02 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01010322492200.00506@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India logs on for some auction online (Feature) By Rashmi Chakraborty, India Abroad News Service New Delhi, Jan 3 - Apoorva Sahni, a 24-year-old Mumbai-based marketing executive, logs on to the Net daily while the rest of the office has lunch. It's the perfect time for him to check out the auction scene -- online. Three months ago, purely out of curiosity, Sahni bid for a Nokia handset in www.bidorbuyindia.com. After bagging a bargain at Rs.6,500 ($140), he can't stop himself from bidding for more. That's online auction-mania for you, and it's catching on fast in India. Beside big names like baazee.com and bidorbuyindia.com (which is a partner channel with both rediff.com and indya.com), several others are striving to create a unique selling proposition. Adding to the uniqueness is the relatively new interest in the Internet in India -- there are an estimated 1.4 million Net users in India -- heavy-duty promotions by these Web sites, curiosity and very importantly, the Indian mindset of grabbing a good bargain. Baazee started in April 2000 and is described by chief marketing officer Gautam Thakar as a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) platform, patterned after international models like ebay.com in the U.S. "It is primarily a forum for users to transact any item they like. Not just secondhand goods," Thakar told India Abroad News Service. The idea is to include small merchant establishments like a dealer in electronic goods and anyone who has anything to sell and enable them to supply nationwide. Thakar claims the buyer has a big say in fixing the price. How does an online auction work? To bid for a product, all one has to do is register with the Web site; select the products from the categories listed and place a bid. Some special auctions start from Re. 1 onwards while for most of the products, the bidding starts way below the market price, with a gap of Rs.2,000-3,000. One is automatically informed over e-mail if outbid by someone else. "Online auctions allow me to go beyond buyers within my locality. Here I get bidders from all over the country and don't even have to pay towards advertising my product," 15-year-old Mumbai resident Gavin Pereira, who likes to sell online, told IANS. Talk about an early start! What also adds to the craze of bidding online for Indians -- they don't throw things away easily -- is the buyer mostly pays cash on delivery, doing away with the hassle of a credit card. This means the buyer doesn't have to worry about not owning one or online card fraud. "Cars have a big second hand market," says Thakar, adding that Baazee has tied up with Automartindia for this purpose. Bidorbuyindia has a tie up with Car Secure, from Indiacar.com. "I recently bought a secondhand Fiat Uno (1998) from Bidorbuy as it was a good deal on an old model and gave me the option of physically inspecting the car before I paid for it. Without that I would not buy anything expensive online," Satinder Narula, 37, a Delhi businessman, said. Online auctions even extend to the highbrow realm of fine art. Saffronart.com, an art portal with virtual installations, art gallery and information on most of the known names in the art world, conducted its first online auction between November 24-December 1, 2000. The response was overwhelming. But there is a certain amount of risk involved. A seller could back out of a transaction altogether if he is not making a decent profit. Secondly, inability to see a product before actually paying for it could have its pitfalls. But it doesn't scare never say die bidders. In November alone, Baazee.com had 434 registered users, with bidding levels up from 50 percent to 70 percent since the launch. "We have around 450 odd transactions closing everyday, most in the categories of electronics and automobiles," Thakar said. According to regular visitors, what most Indian auction sites need to do is to put a proper monitoring mechanism in place in order to avoid fraudulent sellers as well as buyers. As of now, most sites have a legal binding which says that once a person submits a bid he is bound to buy the product if he wins. Failure to do so only results in one's registration being suspended. From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Thu Jan 4 07:22:53 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id HAA129321; Thu, 4 Jan 2001 07:22:53 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id HAA129302 for ; Thu, 4 Jan 2001 07:22:49 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall ([61.11.9.200]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Thu, 4 Jan 2001 02:48:28 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: Cybercom Subject: NEWS-INDIA: e-newspaper launched Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2001 01:35:24 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101040135540N.00506@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-E-Newspaper e-newspaper launched >From India Abroad News Service New Delhi, Jan 3 - TheNewsToday.Com, which is claimed to be India's first "e-newspaper" that will be customized for individual requirements, was launched here Wednesday. Launching the TheNewsToday.Com, Information Technology Minister Pramod Mahajan congratulated the India Today group for ushering in "this new language newspaper." Noting that an e-newspaper had to be "up-to-the-second," he said the "paper" will be customiszed to individual requirements and tastes. "In online editions of other newspapers one has to access the Internet to gather information. But TheNewsToday.com will be e-mailed directly to the customer. Not only is this e-newspaper interactive but also the choice of news is left on the reader. Everything is personalized. This customer-oriented newspaper is a revolution in itself." He noted that the information technology revolution is taking place 500 years after the invention of the printing press. "Today, TheNewsToday.Com has ushered in the 2nd generation of the revolution," he added. But he had a word of caution for the modern media. "Competition in this up-to-the-second generation media will escalate. Today, morning newspapers have become like afternoon newspapers and headlines, style and photographs have changed accordingly. Competition should never make us deliver sensational news." "While in a 24-hour newspaper one has the luxury of time to change any mistake, this e-newspaper does not," he said and urged the media to exercise utmost caution while reporting. --India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Thu Jan 4 07:23:03 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id HAA129352; Thu, 4 Jan 2001 07:23:02 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id HAA129301 for ; Thu, 4 Jan 2001 07:22:48 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall ([61.11.9.200]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Thu, 4 Jan 2001 02:48:25 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: Cybercom Subject: Fwd: FW: [CC] India Enlists Teen Hackers to Play Cyber Cops Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2001 01:39:02 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101040139460Q.00506@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk ---------- Forwarded Message ---------- Subject: FW: [CC] India Enlists Teen Hackers to Play Cyber Cops Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2001 10:09:06 -0500 From: "Lessard, George" -----Original Message----- From: Diwakar - tamil.com [mailto:diwakaran@tamil.com] Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2001 10:06 AM To: cyberculture@zacha.org Subject: [CC] India Enlists Teen Hackers to Play Cyber Cops http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/nm/20010103/wr/india_crime_dc_1.html Wednesday January 3 8:10 AM ET India Enlists Teen Hackers to Play Cyber Cops NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Teenage computer hackers will play cyber policemen to help an Indian panel tackle Internet crimes, a top software industry official said Wednesday. The National Cyber Cop Committee set up by the industry will be advised by a group of 19 hackers, all between 14 and 19 years of age, based in metro cities, Dewang Mehta, president of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), told a news conference. ``They are brilliant. They told me that within five minutes they can hack the (Indian) defense ministry Web site...,'' he said. Hacker is a term used to describe those who illegally break into computer systems to steal or copy information. Sometimes, they alter the content on a Web Site and write offensive material. Young, adventurous minds are said to resemble those of hackers. ``If you want to catch hold of a hacker, you need the brains of a hacker,'' Mehta said. ``We want to use them positively so that they can create adequate firewalls so that nobody can hack our country's Web sites,'' he added. These hackers do not possess a formal engineering background but are innovative, creative and technically very sound with source codes, Mehta said. ``The 14-year old attends school. None of them (the 19 teenagers) have a criminal record.'' Mehta said the new committee will hold workshops for judicial and police officers to help them learn to distinguish between various Internet-related offences. Last year, India passed a landmark digital law to crack down on Internet crimes and enable e-commerce. But vast sections of police and the bureaucracy in the country, where use of computers in governance is limited, have little knowledge of such crimes. ``The committee has representative police officials from all states, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the ministry of home (interior) affairs,'' Mehta said. ``We've had discussions with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation also,'' Mehta said without elaborating. He said the new committee would evolve various ways to prevent government Web sites from being hacked. ``Hacking, spreading viruses are much bigger criminal offences in cyber terrorism than pornography,'' Mehta said. -- Got something to say? Subscribe to tamil.com e-mail discussion forums! The teen mailing list: mailto:teen-subscribe@lists.tamil.com Art discussions: mailto:art-subscribe@lists.tamil.com Literary discussions: mailto:books-subscribe@lists.tamil.com Infotech: mailto:it-subscribe@lists.tamil.com For 18 years and above: mailto:sex-subscribe@lists.tamil.com -- Cyberculture@zacha.org http://www.zacha.org/mailman/listinfo/cyberculture http://www.cyberculture.zacha.org/ ------------------------------------------------------- From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Fri Jan 5 00:23:40 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id AAA82928; Fri, 5 Jan 2001 00:23:39 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id AAA82899 for ; Fri, 5 Jan 2001 00:23:34 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.54]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Thu, 4 Jan 2001 19:49:11 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id UAA00632; Thu, 4 Jan 2001 20:00:32 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: Cybercom Subject: LINK: [***] District Primary Education Project in India Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2001 19:51:29 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01010419515103.00611@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk ---------- Forwarded Message ---------- Subject: [***] District Primary Education Project in India Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2001 12:33:26 +1100 From: "T.Matthew Ciolek" The Asian Studies WWW Monitor: early Jan 2001, Vol. 8, No. 133 --------------------------------------------- 04 Jan 2001 District Primary Education Project in India National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, India Supplied note: "After the Jomtien declaration of Education for All [World Conference on Education for All: Meeting Basic Learning Needs; convened by UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF and World Bank; Jomtien, Thailand, 5-9 Mar 1990 - ed.], the Government of India initiated large scale reforms in education, particularly at the primary stage to provide quality education to all Children. Multi-donor agencies pooled resource and initiated the District Primary Education Project in India, one of the largest primary education program anywhere in the world. The progress of the project is closely monitored through a project management information system, the findings of which are available at the above site." [The DPEP site's bloated interface serves no purpose whatsoever while it disenfranchises those with simple browsers, or on slower networks, i.e. the majority of the DPEP's intended audience. Its designers/maintainers should hang their heads in shame - ed.] URL http://www.dpepmis.org Link suggested by: Prof. Yash Aggarwal (ypa@vsnl.com) * Resource type [news - documents - study - corporate info. - online guide]: Corporate Info. * Scholarly usefulness [essential - v.useful - useful - interesting - marginal]: Useful --------------------------------------------- Src: The Asian Studies WWW Monitor ISSN 1329-9778 URL http://coombs.anu.edu.au/asia-www-monitor.html Announce your new/improved Asian Studies' Web sites via http://coombs.anu.edu.au/regasia.html - regards - - Dr T. Matthew CIOLEK tmciolek@coombs.anu.edu.au Head, Internet Publications Bureau, RSPAS, The Australian National University, Canberra +61 2 6125 0110 fax: +61 2 6125 1893 http://www.ciolek.com/PEOPLE/ciolek-tm.html -- to join or leave the list send email to: majordomo@coombs.anu.edu.au message: subscribe asia-www-monitor or message: unsubscribe asia-www-monitor ------------------------------------------------------- From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Fri Jan 5 06:34:24 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id GAA87167; Fri, 5 Jan 2001 06:34:24 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id GAA87154 for ; Fri, 5 Jan 2001 06:34:19 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.67]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Fri, 5 Jan 2001 01:59:43 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id BAA00879; Fri, 5 Jan 2001 01:54:33 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: Cybercom Subject: LINK: [***] District Primary Education Project in India Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2001 19:51:29 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01010419515103.00611@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk ---------- Forwarded Message ---------- Subject: [***] District Primary Education Project in India Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2001 12:33:26 +1100 From: "T.Matthew Ciolek" The Asian Studies WWW Monitor: early Jan 2001, Vol. 8, No. 133 --------------------------------------------- 04 Jan 2001 District Primary Education Project in India National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, India Supplied note: "After the Jomtien declaration of Education for All [World Conference on Education for All: Meeting Basic Learning Needs; convened by UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF and World Bank; Jomtien, Thailand, 5-9 Mar 1990 - ed.], the Government of India initiated large scale reforms in education, particularly at the primary stage to provide quality education to all Children. Multi-donor agencies pooled resource and initiated the District Primary Education Project in India, one of the largest primary education program anywhere in the world. The progress of the project is closely monitored through a project management information system, the findings of which are available at the above site." [The DPEP site's bloated interface serves no purpose whatsoever while it disenfranchises those with simple browsers, or on slower networks, i.e. the majority of the DPEP's intended audience. Its designers/maintainers should hang their heads in shame - ed.] URL http://www.dpepmis.org Link suggested by: Prof. Yash Aggarwal (ypa@vsnl.com) * Resource type [news - documents - study - corporate info. - online guide]: Corporate Info. * Scholarly usefulness [essential - v.useful - useful - interesting - marginal]: Useful --------------------------------------------- Src: The Asian Studies WWW Monitor ISSN 1329-9778 URL http://coombs.anu.edu.au/asia-www-monitor.html Announce your new/improved Asian Studies' Web sites via http://coombs.anu.edu.au/regasia.html - regards - - Dr T. Matthew CIOLEK tmciolek@coombs.anu.edu.au Head, Internet Publications Bureau, RSPAS, The Australian National University, Canberra +61 2 6125 0110 fax: +61 2 6125 1893 http://www.ciolek.com/PEOPLE/ciolek-tm.html -- to join or leave the list send email to: majordomo@coombs.anu.edu.au message: subscribe asia-www-monitor or message: unsubscribe asia-www-monitor ------------------------------------------------------- From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sat Jan 6 03:52:22 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id DAA82071; Sat, 6 Jan 2001 03:52:21 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi3.super.net.pk (pop-khi3.super.net.pk [203.130.2.13]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id DAA82000 for ; Sat, 6 Jan 2001 03:51:54 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 (khi-line-005.super.net.pk [203.130.5.144]) by pop-khi3.super.net.pk (8.10.0/8.10.0) with ESMTP id f05HkGc29701 for ; Fri, 5 Jan 2001 22:46:19 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Fri, 5 Jan 2001 22:56:03 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: (Fwd) Announcing Cypherpunks-India Message-ID: <3A565103.19176.B8C57B@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Fri, 05 Jan 2001 18:57:08 +0530 To: A Whole Bunch Of People and Mailing Lists From: Udhay Shankar N Subject: Announcing Cypherpunks-India -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- ***Please circulate to all interested parties*** This is to announce the Cypherpunks-India mailing list. The list is for cypherpunks in India, and for those who want to track the convergence of cryptography, politics and society here. As you know, I volunteered to organise cypherpunks fleshmeets in Bangalore a few months ago. We had an initial meet with some hoopla, along with the Linux-India monthly meet in Bangalore. Public meetings, however, have not happened since then (as opposed to the private meetings and interactions - you know who you are.). It's been difficult co-ordinating with people, who are mostly madly busy and geographically distributed throughout India. This list, therefore, is a first step towards giving some structure to the various behind-the-scenes interactions we've been having, and to spread awareness of crypto and how it impacts commerce and politics today. The list is kindly hosted by Vipul Ved Prakash, who needs no introduction to crypto observers here. Vipul also hosts http://munitions.vipul.net - which is an archive of crypto software that is mirrored across multiple locations. Vipul also was one of the finalists in the 3rd Annual Obfuscated Perl Contest with his dimunitive implementation of the Russian GOST algorithm. To subscribe, use any ONE of the following URLs: In the next few days, as things evolve, we will put up some more information at the URLs above. Thanks for all your support, and see you on the list! Udhay - -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com)) God is silent. Now if we can only get Man to shut up. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGPfreeware 6.5.8 for non-commercial use iQEVAwUBOlV+M6iP/rXKpnQVAQFmMwf+NYjR8zHda7dK+UIEuO22SC2vVPxa2OTc q1wUc9x9BTuco0aQi5cS2CE/sgFzr/RC2BZ20CZh9D1wbgOa5Vv7hVPZa1EmOYS/ hBNHYPDdnEPGoJV9KSW1KBxe1roz8ydDVqJAdxLlQmr6+aQpKba1ORgqZGuAF1jB 1SpKZhZkeoRG2r1+kOek2p7XG1NthOVvkV7iu0iA76Uw3/alButlqjASCVRkUK4D hPM9VO1/9Ao7KpnfOVmO4FJiHeO7/U/fMMn5q0bC5/qQzTZj0kLEst3FJbsTtgzy GjC8lmoU5mjt7XqlHRVgpF2NZpb2Au+8JOi3uIcy03zfEOB4ceQRFA== =ivkC -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ------- End of forwarded message ------- From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sat Jan 6 05:42:43 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id FAA96035; Sat, 6 Jan 2001 05:42:43 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id FAA96031 for ; Sat, 6 Jan 2001 05:42:38 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.7]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Sat, 6 Jan 2001 01:08:15 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id OAA00757; Fri, 5 Jan 2001 14:42:21 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: LINK: Digital South Asia Library Date: Fri, 5 Jan 2001 14:41:42 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: Cybercom MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01010514421408.00611@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk ---------- Forwarded Message ---------- Subject: Digital South Asia Library Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2001 17:43:29 -0500 From: "Lessard, George" Digital South Asia Library http://dsal.uchicago.edu/ A project of the Center for Research Libraries with financial and other support from multiple sources, the Digital South Asia Library will likely become a major online resource for South Asia scholars. The site is very much still under development, but there are some resources available. These include pedagogical tools, photos and images, statistics, some bibliographies, electronic books, and some related links. Anyone who studies South Asia will want to bookmark this site and monitor its development. [MD] ----------------------------------- From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sat Jan 6 07:13:48 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id HAA106660; Sat, 6 Jan 2001 07:13:47 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id HAA106641 for ; Sat, 6 Jan 2001 07:13:42 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.24]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Sat, 6 Jan 2001 02:39:17 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id CAA01252; Sat, 6 Jan 2001 02:45:36 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: Cybercom Subject: PROFILE: This Indian American's tryst with IT was accidental Date: Sat, 6 Jan 2001 02:21:03 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101060221280C.00607@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk This Indian American's tryst with IT was accidental (Profile) By Ela Dutt, India Abroad News Service New York, Jan 5 - It was an accident rather than great creative genius that made Indian American Jeetu Patel, executive vice president and CTO of Doculabs, get into information technology (IT) in its early days in 1991. Mumbai-born Patel's Doculabs prides itself on being one of the first independent industry analyst firms providing research and advisory services to companies investing in e-business technologies and to the leading vendors that supply them. Patel told India Abroad News Service that he was all for going into business management, which he had been pursuing in India, when family and friends in Chicago advised otherwise. When he began his graduate studies in information systems at the University of Illinois, "I got to like it and it seemed pretty intuitive to me." Patel was already teaching by his senior year at college and on one of his summer internships he joined Doculabs. From connecting computers to carrying out the garbage on little above the minimum wage, Patel showed his business acumen early on. He agreed to low wages on condition he be allowed to buy into the fledgling company. Then he went downstairs in his office building and broached Hiren Patel, chairman of National Republic Bank, for a loan of $10,000. He got it. >From just a minuscule share in 1994, Patel built his ownership in Doculabs in two years to being the largest shareholder with the company growing at a compounded rate of more than 60 percent annually. Cofounders James Watson and Paul Burian, along with Patel, bought out their investor. Today Doculabs has close to 100 employees, big name clients and revenues of $15 million to $20 million. It has been profitable for every one in the last 10 quarters. "We continue to grow at 66 percent compounded growth rate and have received tremendous recognition by the industry," said Patel. Forrester Research, the largest market research company, recently partnered with Doculabs. "When a technology gets released by any of the major vendors or in any new areas, we bring those products into our lab in Chicago and along with the vendors, we test out the product," Patel explained. But revenues do not come from the vendors. They come for clients who take Doculabs' advice on new technologies that they could adopt. "We have very defined focus and that is emerging technologies in the e-business domain," Patel said. The three basic criteria by which he judges a product is, one, is there a budget within an organization?; two, is there enough confusion in the market that Doculabs can clarify through its services?; and, three, is the technology mature enough to be implemented? "It's very similar to buying a car or other product. An organization does not have time to go into the products and testing them," he said. Doculabs does it for them. "Companies dramatically mitigate their risk by coming to us." According to Doculabs research, there is a 30 percent to 50 percent failure rate in technology acquisition and spending in corporate America. "There is such a non-scientific approach taken by companies when they adopt new technologies -- wrong products are being picked up all the time; then they are not implemented properly," Patel contended. "The beauty is that the fluctuations of the economy do not impact our business." Unlike several other market research companies, "We don't just publish reports but customize our services for our customers," Patel said. As Doculabs' CTO, he maintains key relationships with Internet software companies, including Sun Microsystems, Netscape Communications, Microsoft, IBM, Apple, and Open Market. Doculabs' customers include large financial institutions like ABN Amro Bank, Bank One, Chase Manhattan, Schwab, Fidelity Investments. The company has more than 350 customers, and every year about 125 different vendors come and show their products. Patel lives in Chicago with his mother who comes over from India for six months a year. "I work hard and play hard," says Patel who follows a very active lifestyle. From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sat Jan 6 16:12:07 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id QAA102512; Sat, 6 Jan 2001 16:12:06 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi3.super.net.pk (pop-khi3.super.net.pk [203.130.2.13]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id QAA102492 for ; Sat, 6 Jan 2001 16:12:01 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 (khi-line-036.super.net.pk [203.130.5.175]) by pop-khi3.super.net.pk (8.10.0/8.10.0) with ESMTP id f0666Tc19863 for ; Sat, 6 Jan 2001 11:06:31 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sat, 6 Jan 2001 11:16:27 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [India] PwC Charts Andhra Pradesh E-Governance Strategy Message-ID: <3A56FE8C.30595.30E5D2@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk January 5, 2001 PwC Charts Andhra Pradesh E-Governance Strategy By Uday Lal Pai PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) [http://www.pwcglobal.com ] has charted out a comprehensive strategy for information technology architecture and e-commerce initiatives for the Andhra Pradesh (AP) state government. "PwC has made a comprehensive report on the strategy to be adopted for setting up an IT infrastructure and security protocols to enable the AP government to implement e-governance on a mass scale. The report will be analyzed by the study group of secretaries and will be implemented in the phased manner," said J Satyanarayana, IT secretary for Andhra Pradesh. Security policy for the state encompasses the strategic direction of the government regarding information security, defines policies and standards to cover security-related risks and also works up a model for managing security violations while laying down user guidelines detailing the do's and don'ts. Satyanarayana said that the government has identified and approached four external agencies to implement the entire exercise of setting up of infrastructure, networking, and security protocols. Initially these agencies will develop pilot projects covering five government departments, which have already been computerized such as commercial taxes, treasury, transport, registration and state secretariat. The entire project is expected to be implemeneted over two to seven years, and if required, the government may seek external sources of funding including the World Bank, said Satyanarayana. http://india.internet.com/news/article/0,1942,1281_552091,00.html From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sat Jan 6 16:51:05 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id QAA107232; Sat, 6 Jan 2001 16:51:04 +1000 (EST) Received: from post.super.net.pk (smtp-khi1.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id QAA107210 for ; Sat, 6 Jan 2001 16:50:56 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 (khi-line-036.super.net.pk [203.130.5.175]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id MAA28335; Sat, 6 Jan 2001 12:02:58 -0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sat, 6 Jan 2001 11:55:03 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Conference for doctoral students researching the digital divide CC: katewill@umich.edu Message-ID: <3A570797.31257.543D28@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk [from: cybersociology mailing list] ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: Kate Williams Date sent: Fri, 05 Jan 2001 16:33:14 -0500 -------------------------------------------------- Call for Response Regarding a Conference for Doctoral Students Doing Research to Understand or Close the Digital Divide -------------------------------------------------- (Please forward this message so that more doctoral students will see it. A copy of any forwards would be welcome at katewill@umich.edu.) The Alliance for Community Technology at the University of Michigan plans to host a small international conference of doctoral students whose research includes the digital divide -- the gap between technology haves and have-nots -- or its social implications. We would like to hear from current doctoral students who would be interested in participating. Modest travel grants will be available. We also hope to publish a book of the best and most representative student papers. In order to design the conference, we would like to hear from as many interested doctoral students as possible from around the world. Our collaboration can only advance research and knowledge. Our objectives include sensemaking (are we asking the right questions?), community-building, and sharing perspectives and references. The digital divide, as it is known in the US, has spawned a variety of related concepts: digital or social inclusion, community technology, community networks, telecenters, public access computing, and more. It has stimulated researchers from many disciplines to apply quantitative and qualitative methods and to develop experimental models and tools. If you are currently pursuing a doctoral degree and your research area includes the digital divide, please reply by January 22 to katewill@umich.edu with answers to the questions below: 1. Your name? 2. Your email address? 3. Your discipline (sociology, computer science, urban planning, public policy, communications, library/information studies, engineering, etc.)? 4. Your university? 5. What year did you begin your doctoral work? 6. One or two sentences on your dissertation topic (either tentative or firm)? 7. Other research you have done that relates to the digital divide (if any; URLs are helpful)? Please keep this project in mind as term begins and you plan your research and writing for the coming months. We will contact respondents with further information by February 15, 2000. Thank you very much. Kate Williams Research Assistant, Alliance for Community Technology Doctoral Student, U. of Michigan School of Information http://www.communitytechnology.org http://www.si.umich.edu http://www.umich.edu/~katewill/ katewill@umich.edu ----------------------------------------------------------- From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sat Jan 6 20:54:41 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id UAA73445; Sat, 6 Jan 2001 20:54:41 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id UAA73440 for ; Sat, 6 Jan 2001 20:54:36 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.129]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Sat, 6 Jan 2001 16:20:05 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id QAA00669; Sat, 6 Jan 2001 16:32:05 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: bytes-admin@goacom.com Date: Sat, 6 Jan 2001 15:47:40 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net, Cybercom MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01010615481200.00619@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Ill at the world's greatest fair? Turn to Internet by Sharat Pradhan, India Abroad News Service Lucknow, Jan 4 - Amidst Hindu holy men of all sizes and shapes at the largest human congregation on earth, turn to the Internet if you are ill. At the "Maha Kumbh Mela" -- literally the great fair of the urn -- that begins at Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh in a few days, doctors will be constantly online from capital Lucknow to advise the ill on the best immediate cure. The Lucknow-based Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) is planning to set up four telemedicine stations at the fairgrounds in Allahabad. The stations are kiosks where patients can ask health related questions via Internet to SGPGIMS doctors in Lucknow. The great Kumbh fair is held in four venues, in rotation every 12 years, on the banks of rivers considered holy by Hindus. The fairs attract millions of Hindu devotees and ascetics who swarm for a dip into the waters, believing that their sins will be washed away. The telemedicine stations would cost around Rs. 17 million, and would cater to the expected 25-30 million people who will converge at Allahabad during the month-long festival. The telemedicine facility is expected to make a lot of difference to fast access treatment, and help organizers the numerous problems of health and hygiene. To be set up in cooperation with the state's director general of medical and health services and the information technology secretary, the telemedicine stations would be thrown open to all. "All one would be required to do was give a detailed account of his ailment to persons manning the stations. Advice will follow from experts sitting at SGPGIMS here," said a senior government spokesman. "Telemedicine could make world of a difference to health care in this sprawling state as there could be no better and faster way to reach out to the millions of people who stood otherwise totally deprived of access to specialized tertiary medical care and treatment," said S.K. Mishra, professor of endocrine surgery at SGPGIMS. He said with the advent of satellite phones, telemedicine stations could now be set up in far out places where routine telecom services were still a distant dream. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is also helping in the effort, Mishra added. From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Jan 7 07:19:49 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id HAA79754; Sun, 7 Jan 2001 07:19:48 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi3.super.net.pk (pop-khi3.super.net.pk [203.130.2.13]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id HAA79744 for ; Sun, 7 Jan 2001 07:19:41 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 (khi-line-134.super.net.pk [203.130.5.69]) by pop-khi3.super.net.pk (8.10.0/8.10.0) with ESMTP id f06LE5c22855 for ; Sun, 7 Jan 2001 02:14:09 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sun, 7 Jan 2001 02:24:07 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: MahilaWeb: Women and Gender in Nepal Message-ID: <3A57D347.216.98F44E@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk [source: WIDEFORUM] Date sent: Thu, 28 Dec 2000 21:09:28 -0000 From: Sam Lanfranco Nameste, MahilaWeb is hosted on NepalNet site with the objective to inform and share information about women and gender in Nepal locally and globally. It updates information collected from NGOs, INGOs, GOs, Media and Private Sectors,on the 12 critical areas of concern of the Beijing Platform For Action (BPFA) and other gender issues in Nepal. MahilaWeb is electronic networking for gender equality and women's empowerment. There are 3 NGOs - Sancharika Samuha (SAS), Saathi and Center for Legal Research and Services (CLRS), which have taken the main responsibility of MahilaWeb for the pilot phase with Sancharika Samuha as the focal point of the network. Other I/NGOs, which have taken the responsibility of sectors are Care Nepal, Center for Micro Finance (CMF), Propublic, Center for Women and Development (CWD), and Women Awareness enter Nepal (WACN). We had already launched this website on July 2000, when the main project started. The content managers were then given computer training about designing the webpages as a result of which now new verson of Mahilaweb has been uploaded on website. We kindly request you all to visit our site http://www.Mahilaweb.org once and send your valueable comments if possible. Thank you We look forward to your kind cooperation and guidance. Regards MahilaWeb CLRS ------------------------------------------------------------ From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Jan 7 15:25:45 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA69996; Sun, 7 Jan 2001 15:25:45 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id PAA69973 for ; Sun, 7 Jan 2001 15:25:36 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.85]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Sun, 7 Jan 2001 10:51:10 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id AAA00771; Sun, 7 Jan 2001 00:11:22 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS: India logs on for some auction online Date: Sat, 6 Jan 2001 23:40:20 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: Cybercom MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01010623404211.00612@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India logs on for some auction online (Feature) By Rashmi Chakraborty, India Abroad News Service New Delhi, Jan 3 - Apoorva Sahni, a 24-year-old Mumbai-based marketing executive, logs on to the Net daily while the rest of the office has lunch. It's the perfect time for him to check out the auction scene -- online. Three months ago, purely out of curiosity, Sahni bid for a Nokia handset in www.bidorbuyindia.com. After bagging a bargain at Rs.6,500 ($140), he can't stop himself from bidding for more. That's online auction-mania for you, and it's catching on fast in India. Beside big names like baazee.com and bidorbuyindia.com (which is a partner channel with both rediff.com and indya.com), several others are striving to create a unique selling proposition. Adding to the uniqueness is the relatively new interest in the Internet in India -- there are an estimated 1.4 million Net users in India -- heavy-duty promotions by these Web sites, curiosity and very importantly, the Indian mindset of grabbing a good bargain. Baazee started in April 2000 and is described by chief marketing officer Gautam Thakar as a consumer-to-consumer (C2C) platform, patterned after international models like ebay.com in the U.S. "It is primarily a forum for users to transact any item they like. Not just secondhand goods," Thakar told India Abroad News Service. The idea is to include small merchant establishments like a dealer in electronic goods and anyone who has anything to sell and enable them to supply nationwide. Thakar claims the buyer has a big say in fixing the price. How does an online auction work? To bid for a product, all one has to do is register with the Web site; select the products from the categories listed and place a bid. Some special auctions start from Re. 1 onwards while for most of the products, the bidding starts way below the market price, with a gap of Rs.2,000-3,000. One is automatically informed over e-mail if outbid by someone else. "Online auctions allow me to go beyond buyers within my locality. Here I get bidders from all over the country and don't even have to pay towards advertising my product," 15-year-old Mumbai resident Gavin Pereira, who likes to sell online, told IANS. Talk about an early start! What also adds to the craze of bidding online for Indians -- they don't throw things away easily -- is the buyer mostly pays cash on delivery, doing away with the hassle of a credit card. This means the buyer doesn't have to worry about not owning one or online card fraud. "Cars have a big second hand market," says Thakar, adding that Baazee has tied up with Automartindia for this purpose. Bidorbuyindia has a tie up with Car Secure, from Indiacar.com. "I recently bought a secondhand Fiat Uno (1998) from Bidorbuy as it was a good deal on an old model and gave me the option of physically inspecting the car before I paid for it. Without that I would not buy anything expensive online," Satinder Narula, 37, a Delhi businessman, said. Online auctions even extend to the highbrow realm of fine art. Saffronart.com, an art portal with virtual installations, art gallery and information on most of the known names in the art world, conducted its first online auction between November 24-December 1, 2000. The response was overwhelming. But there is a certain amount of risk involved. A seller could back out of a transaction altogether if he is not making a decent profit. Secondly, inability to see a product before actually paying for it could have its pitfalls. But it doesn't scare never say die bidders. In November alone, Baazee.com had 434 registered users, with bidding levels up from 50 percent to 70 percent since the launch. "We have around 450 odd transactions closing everyday, most in the categories of electronics and automobiles," Thakar said. According to regular visitors, what most Indian auction sites need to do is to put a proper monitoring mechanism in place in order to avoid fraudulent sellers as well as buyers. As of now, most sites have a legal binding which says that once a person submits a bid he is bound to buy the product if he wins. Failure to do so only results in one's registration being suspended. --India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Jan 7 15:25:49 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA70028; Sun, 7 Jan 2001 15:25:49 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id PAA69974 for ; Sun, 7 Jan 2001 15:25:36 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.85]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Sun, 7 Jan 2001 10:51:02 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id AAA00774; Sun, 7 Jan 2001 00:11:22 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: Cybercom Subject: NEWS: Indian American-led IT leader acquires new logo Date: Sat, 6 Jan 2001 23:41:11 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01010623434612.00612@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Indian American-led IT leader acquires new logo from India Abroad News Service New York, Jan 4 - Indian American-led e-business software leader Computer Associates International Inc. (CA) has acquired a new logo in a bid to better reflect the company's focus and leadership in this information technology sector. "For nearly 25 years, CA has created the most advanced and far-reaching software in the world," said Sri Lankan-born Sanjay Kumar, 39, who was recently appointed president and CEO of the firm and has been credited with many significant initiatives in the company. The company has more than 18,000 employees wide. "As we begin 2001, CA is refocusing our efforts on developing and supporting the software that manages e-business. Our new brand identity reflects not only our e-business leadership, but also our focus on CA customers, shareholders, employees and partners," said Kumar. The logo, which seeks to reflect qualities of clarity, energy and innovation of the CA brand -- represents the company's renewed focus on e-business to accelerate growth, increase its industry leadership and unlock shareholder value, the company said in a statement this week. In straightforward colors and contemporary typeface, the new logo has the company's initials in lower case letters. The "a" in "ca" is centered inside a circle, which bisects the "c." The circle is designed to represent the lens of CA's new strategic focus and its dedication to leading in the e-business marketplace. "It's a colorful, fresh new look that offers the dynamic combination of high energy and vision with good old fashioned, feet-on-the-ground stability, strength and reliability," said Kumar. Kumar, who migrated to the U.S. when he was 14, joined the company in 1987 after it acquired UCCEL Corporation, of which he was a director of software development. He held senior positions in development, strategic planning and operations before being promoted as president and chief operating officer in 1994. Under his leadership, CA has emerged as one of the leading providers of highly scalable and stable e-business solutions. It has achieved leadership through a multi-dimensional strategy of developing hi-tech products in-house, acquiring and integrating key technologies, building strategic partnerships with hardware, software and consulting companies and strengthening client relationships. Kumar's initiatives have included the launching of a worldwide service organization and an expanded global channel organization. Kumar has also integrated innovative child development, fitness and other progressive quality-of-life programs for employees. Computer Associates revenues were more than $6 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2000. From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Jan 7 19:20:59 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id TAA95941; Sun, 7 Jan 2001 19:20:58 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id TAA95916 for ; Sun, 7 Jan 2001 19:20:53 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.68]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Sun, 7 Jan 2001 14:46:27 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id OAA00675; Sun, 7 Jan 2001 14:09:02 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: Cybercom Subject: [LINK] IPv6 forum for next generation Internet technology Date: Sun, 7 Jan 2001 00:29:12 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101070030221K.00612@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk ---------- Forwarded Message ---------- Subject: Fwd: [LINK] IPv6 forum to be created Date: Thu, 04 Jan 2001 11:12:35 +1000 From: Michael Lean >Extracted item for information. >Source: Ken Rutkowski's Daily Tech News Clicks Thursday December 28, 2000 >- - - - - >IPv6 forum to be created >India's Economic Times HP will announce the formation of IPv6 Forum India, >a forum for next generation internet technology, next month. The focus of >the forum is to promote India as a provider of IPv6 solutions, said Suresh >Kumar, general manager HP-ISO. Luxembourg-based International IPv6 Forum >is a worldwide consortium of internet vendors, research and education >networks. IPv6 is the next generation internet technology that gives >enhanced address space and additional functionality such as security, >privacy and quality of service for the internet ------------------------------------------------------- From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Mon Jan 8 05:32:01 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id FAA105706; Mon, 8 Jan 2001 05:32:01 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi3.super.net.pk (pop-khi3.super.net.pk [203.130.2.13]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id FAA105682 for ; Mon, 8 Jan 2001 05:31:48 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 (khi-line-040.super.net.pk [203.130.5.179]) by pop-khi3.super.net.pk (8.10.0/8.10.0) with ESMTP id f07JQIc04788 for ; Mon, 8 Jan 2001 00:26:20 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Mon, 8 Jan 2001 00:36:25 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: SAARC body recommends uniform phone rates Message-ID: <3A590B89.5321.DB711A@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk [SAARC is South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. URL: http://www.saarc-sec.org/ ] RECORDER REPORT ISLAMABAD : The SAARC Technical Committee on Communication and Transport, has identified major areas for cooperation recommending uniform telephone rates and a common driving licences besides finalising 10 projects to be financed under SAARC-Japan special Fund. The areas identified for cooperation included Communication, Transport, Shipping, Tourism, Postal services, Travelling, Telecommunication and Information Technology sector. The meeting of the committee which lasted for two days was attended by the delegates of Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka concluded here on Saturday, on a positive note to make best use of available resources for development of all member countries. <...> It decided in principle to hold seminar on highway safety; workshop on quality management and customer care in postal system; transport project planning course; workshop on cellular telephone; seminar on electronic Commerce; seminar on road slope stabilisation; 17th letter- writing competition; workshop on computerisation/modernisation of post offices; workshop on enforcement of traffic laws; workshop on urban transportation system. Copyright 2000 Business Recorder (http://www.brecorder.com) http://www.brecorder.com/story/000007/000007/00000712/0000071200010.sh tml?000007 From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Mon Jan 8 07:04:21 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id HAA116149; Mon, 8 Jan 2001 07:04:21 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id HAA116145 for ; Mon, 8 Jan 2001 07:04:17 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.29]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Mon, 8 Jan 2001 02:29:41 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id CAA00814; Mon, 8 Jan 2001 02:41:20 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS: Earth station commissioned in Indore Date: Mon, 8 Jan 2001 02:21:55 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: Cybercom , gii MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01010802222804.00607@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-IT-Madhya Pradesh Earth station commissioned in Indore By Namit Vaidya, India Abroad News Service Bhopal, Jan 7 - Madhya Pradesh has been put on the world's information technology (IT) map with the commissioning of the 17th earth station of the Software Technology Park of India (STPI) at Indore. The earth station, which was inaugurated by Information Technology (IT) Minister Pramod Mahajan Thursday, has been commissioned by Optel Telecommunications Limited, a unit of the Madhya Pradesh Electronics Development Corporation. The earth station will provide software companies in the state direct satellite connectivity to transnational markets. Indore already exports software worth Rs.400 million and the earth station will further boost the software industry and will encourage the setting up of more such industries in the region, STPI officials said. The earth station will also provide an international private leased circuit line to software companies. This will ensure quick and superior quality communication between the local industries and their markets in other countries. In terms of IT growth in the state, the commissioning of this facility will not only be beneficial to software exporters but also in generating employment opportunities in the state in a big way, STPI officials said. Plans are afoot to set up similar earth stations at Bhopal and Gwalior. --India Abroad New Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Jan 9 10:47:23 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id KAA78026; Tue, 9 Jan 2001 10:47:22 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi3.super.net.pk (pop-khi3.super.net.pk [203.130.2.13]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id KAA78006 for ; Tue, 9 Jan 2001 10:47:17 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 (khi-line-078.super.net.pk [203.130.5.217]) by pop-khi3.super.net.pk (8.10.0/8.10.0) with ESMTP id f090fec06426 for ; Tue, 9 Jan 2001 05:41:43 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2001 05:51:38 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [India] NASSCOM Lobbies for Tax-Free E-Commerce Message-ID: <3A5AA6EA.16482.1E873E@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk January 3, 2001 NASSCOM Lobbies for Tax-Free E-Commerce By Uday Lal Pai The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) has demanded a reprieve for taxation on e-commerce, changes in income tax, inexpensive computers for students, more economic reforms and enhancement of physical and telecom infrastructure. The association, in its pre-budget memorandum to Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday, demanded a five-year moratorium on taxation of e-commerce transactions and asked for changes in India's income tax act to boost the nation's infotech market. In the 10-point budget proposal, NASSCOM President Dewang Mehta said: "The government should refrain from imposing new and unnecessary regulations, bureaucratic procedures or taxes on commercial activities on Internet," it said. "Any move to impose new taxes on e-commerce transactions would be ill- founded and ill-fated. Even in the U.S., there is a three-year moratorium of e-commerce taxation. We should have a similar one for at least five years," he said. <...> The association welcomed the move to create a communication commission under the proposed convergence bill 2001, and urged the government to ensure that the bill is passed during the budget session. "The Indian Telegraph Act of 1885 should be completely repealed and clear-cut powers should be vested with the communication commission," Mehta said. "We also request the government not to put any new interferences in content creation through the convergence bill," he added. http://india.internet.com/news/article/0,1942,1281_549191,00.html From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Jan 10 09:09:42 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id JAA120374; Wed, 10 Jan 2001 09:09:41 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id JAA120349 for ; Wed, 10 Jan 2001 09:09:36 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.154]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Wed, 10 Jan 2001 04:34:59 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id CAA00983; Wed, 10 Jan 2001 02:48:03 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: gii Subject: NEWS-INDIA: TRAI allows basic telecom operators to provide limited mobility Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2001 02:28:08 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101100228320J.00898@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk TRAI allows basic telecom operators to provide limited mobility by Sumeet Chatterjee, India Abroad News Service New Delhi, Jan 8 - India's telecommunications watchdog Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Monday recommended that the basic service providers be allowed to provide limited mobility, using the wireless in local loop (WLL) technology. "Limited mobility should be allowed for WLL provided by basic services operators. The extent of mobility should be within the local area, that is the short distance charging area (SDCA)," a press statement issued by TRAI said here. Limited mobility, using WLL technology, is expected to enable faster rollout of a telecom network in both urban and rural areas and benefit consumers. The WLL system is an application of cellular technology to a fixed telephone set, whereby a consumer can avail limited mobility through that connection by using a single handset. As part of the service, basic operators will be permitted to sell handheld telephone sets that allow consumers to receive and make calls in a range of 20-25 kilometers from their homes at the same tariff as normal telephony, that is, Rs. 1.20 for a three-minute call. Basic service companies such as Hughes Telecom, Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd (HFCL), Shyam Telecom and state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) have expressed their keenness to deploy this technological innovation on their networks. The issue was hanging in balance for quite some time as the cellular mobile operators - whose fortunes will be affected by the introduction of limited mobility - wanted limited mobility to be treated as a full-fledged cellular service with separate license fee. TRAI, in its recommendations to the ministry of communications, however said that WLL with limited mobility should be provided as part of basic service license. "These recommendations are based, inter alia, on the fact that WLL mobility is not the same as that of the cellular mobile services and that customers should not be denied the benefits provided by technology if the disturbance expected in the level playing field can be addressed by making some necessary policy changes," said TRAI. According to the telecom watchdog, WLL service is a by-product of basic service and all calls from mobile WLL should be charged at the highest basic service call charge - Rs. 1.20 per 180 seconds for local calls. "The rental charge which will be cost based will be fixed by TRAI in the next three months, taking into account the relevant costs of the last mile connections through WLL," it said adding that the tariffs are specified within the framework of the basic service tariff structure. The recommendations reflect TRAI's views that consumers should not be denied a facility that can be made available through technological advancement, especially if any likely adverse effects relating to level playing field among service providers can be mitigated through policy initiatives, TRAI added. -- India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Jan 10 09:09:51 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id JAA120406; Wed, 10 Jan 2001 09:09:50 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id JAA120351 for ; Wed, 10 Jan 2001 09:09:36 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.154]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Wed, 10 Jan 2001 04:34:57 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id CAA00977; Wed, 10 Jan 2001 02:48:02 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: Cybercom Subject: NEWS-INDIA: Orissa starts e-governance with administrative teleconference Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2001 02:25:05 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101100225270H.00898@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-IT-Orissa Orissa starts e-governance with administrative teleconference by Jatindra Dash, India Abroad News Service Bhubaneswar, Jan 8 - Orissa began its e-governance march over the weekend with the first major teleconference of district chiefs through the indigenous INSAT-3B satellite. Chief Secretary D.P. Bagchi held the teleconference with the district chiefs of Bolangir, Kalahandi, Jharsuguda, Sundergarh, Angul, Boudh, Sambalpur, Subarnapur, Deogarh, Bargarh and Nuapara through the Gramsat project on Saturday, said Gandharba Behera, the chief executive of the Orissa Remote Sensing Application Center (ORSAC). The state government, assisted by the Indian government's Department of Space, established ORSAC in 1984 at Bhubaneswar under the Department of Science and Technology. Saturday's was the first administrative teleconference of 12 district chiefs through satellite, Behera said. Although some other states conduct teleconferences, this was the first time a conference like this took place in Orissa on such a large scale, he said. The chief secretary talked to the district chiefs from the ORSAC transmission studio in Cuttack, about 25 km from state capital Bhubaneswar. "Earlier the uplinking facilities were not in the state and we were operating via Ahmedabad (Gujarat). The facilities have been made available to us since November 2000," Behera told IANS. "We have television sets in 30 districts, 50 blocks and in 30 'gram panchayats' (village councils). The computers are directly linked with the transmission studio through INSAT-3B satellite. Whoever sits in these centers can see and hear the person sitting at the transmission studio at Cuttack," he said. The chief secretary talked to the district chiefs and reviewed various programs undertaken by the government in their respective districts, he added. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had inaugurated the Gramsat Pilot Project for Orissa in May last year. India's INSAT-3B satellite, launched in March last year, is also helping Orissa in the identification and mapping of watersheds, delineation of suitable areas for tea, coffee, horticultural plantations, crop acreage estimation, identification of potential firming zones in coastal waters, route planning for roads and railway alignment and coastal zone management planning, Behera said. The state government has now decided to use the transmission studio more often for such conferences, a top official said. --India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Jan 10 16:41:24 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id QAA114831; Wed, 10 Jan 2001 16:41:23 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi3.super.net.pk (pop-khi3.super.net.pk [203.130.2.13]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id QAA114807 for ; Wed, 10 Jan 2001 16:41:13 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 (khi-line-010.super.net.pk [203.130.5.149]) by pop-khi3.super.net.pk (8.10.0/8.10.0) with ESMTP id f0A6Z7c17023 for ; Wed, 10 Jan 2001 11:35:12 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2001 11:45:18 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [Pakistan] TeleCard, PTCL plan to install wireless local loop Message-ID: <3A5C4B4E.31938.20FDB1@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk TeleCard, Pakistan Telecommunication Company plan to install wireless local loop RECORDER REPORT KARACHI : TeleCard Ltd., has entered into a joint venture with Pakistan Telecommunication Ltd., to set up and install a wireless local loop costing $126 million. TeleCard and PTCL plan to install 125,000 wireless card payphones by the year 2004. The wireless local loop (WLL) network will provide services to urban, semi-urban and rural areas. The WLL project will utilise state of the art of wireless technology, which offers numerous benefits including higher network capacity, scalability, wide area coverage, exceptional voice quality and high- speed data communication capabilities. The project will be implemented in three phases, at a total estimated cost of around $126 million. Phase I of the project involves implementation of a 165,00 line network at a total estimated cost of $27 million, to be financed through an additional equity issue, vendor credit arrangements, rapid payback from the phone installations and internal generation from the existing payphones business. Copyright 2000 Business Recorder (http://www.brecorder.com) http://www.brecorder.com/story/000007/200101/20010110/200101100665.sht ml?Telecommunications From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Thu Jan 11 07:49:48 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id HAA100040; Thu, 11 Jan 2001 07:49:47 +1000 (EST) Received: from post.super.net.pk (smtp-khi1.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id HAA100016 for ; Thu, 11 Jan 2001 07:49:33 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 (khi-line-065.super.net.pk [203.130.5.204]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id DAA14783 for ; Thu, 11 Jan 2001 03:01:38 -0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 02:53:52 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: India Internet Usage Doubles Message-ID: <3A5D2041.29191.15E9792@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India Internet Usage Doubles Internet reach in India has doubled in the last six months. >From a total subscriber base of 1,022,754 in March, the number of Internet subscribers shot up to 2,045,509 in September. This growth is expected to remain the same for the next five years. Story: http://www.newsbytes.com/news/00/159407.html From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Fri Jan 12 08:22:29 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id IAA93789; Fri, 12 Jan 2001 08:22:28 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id IAA93770 for ; Fri, 12 Jan 2001 08:22:24 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.40]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Fri, 12 Jan 2001 03:47:47 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id DAA00918 for ; Fri, 12 Jan 2001 03:46:30 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: LINK: IT in tourism... meet in Goa Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2001 03:30:58 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101120327220I.00817@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk CALL FOR PAPERS & PARTICIPATION Western Regional Conference February 22 & 23, 2001, Panjim, Goa - India Theme - "IT in Tourism" The WRC 2001 conference aims to explore new frontiers in information technology developments in (and for) the tourism industry and examine the impact of IT on the current structure of the tourism industry. The conference will be a forum for researchers to present and discuss various aspects of tourism where IT can be leveraged to help participants become global players. TOPICS OF INTEREST: Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: * Information Technology in Tourism * E-Commerce and it's application to tourism * Enabling Systems for the Tourism Industry * Open-Source S/w & Systems for the Tourism Industry PRESENTATIONS Presentations being held: * Human Resource Management in Tourism * Struct. Networks for Info. Management in Tourism * Quality Management in Tourism * VLSI Design - Its impact on the Industry PAPER SUBMISSION: Contribution in form of original research papers, papers and case studies are invited from researchers, students and professionals in these and related topics. Please include your complete mailing address, email address, telephone and/or fax number. Papers should not exceed 15 double-spaced pages, including extract, figures and reference. An 800 word synopsis (text-only) on the paper intended to be presented should be sent by email to the Programme Committee at wrc-2001@csi-goa.org on or before 31st January 2001. Authors will be notified of acceptance by 5th February 2001. Final papers for presentation will be required by 15th February 2001. CONTACT DETAILS: For more information, please contact us by email at wrc-2001@csi-goa.org or wrc-2001@opspl.com, From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Fri Jan 12 08:23:05 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id IAA93862; Fri, 12 Jan 2001 08:23:04 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id IAA93858 for ; Fri, 12 Jan 2001 08:23:01 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.40]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Fri, 12 Jan 2001 03:48:29 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id DAA00851; Fri, 12 Jan 2001 03:18:47 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS-INDIA: Infosys to establish software development campus Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2001 02:53:13 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: Cybercom MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01011202533306.00817@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Infosys to establish software development campus by Mohammed Shafeeq, India Abroad News Service Hyderabad, Jan 11 - Infosys Technologies Ltd will establish a software development center in Hyderabad at a cost of Rs. 2 billion under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Andhra Pradesh government Thursday. The MoU was signed by Andhra Pradesh chief secretary P. V. Rao and Infosys chairman N. R. Narayan Murthy in the presence of state chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on the concluding day of seventh partnership summit here. Infosys will set up the software development campus near Indian School of Business (ISB) in two years. The state government has agreed to provide Infosys 30 acres of land near ISB. Infosys may purchase another 20 acres of land contiguous to the plot for its future expansion. After signing the MoU, Narayan Murthy told media persons that in the first phase of the project, seating facilities for 1,200 software professionals will be created at a cost of Rs. 800 million. The center will be completed in two more phases, creating additional seating facilities for 1,300 software professionals. Murthy said Infosys was following a strategy for setting up world-class software development campuses, which will cater to the overall well-being of its human resources and help tap local talent. He said he was delighted to expand the operations in Hyderabad, which was an important destination for investment in the field of IT. Chandrababu Naidu said the campus was proof of the quality and depth of IT talent available in Andhra Pradesh and of the confidence reposed by investors in the investor-friendly administration. --India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sat Jan 13 12:29:27 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id MAA109594; Sat, 13 Jan 2001 12:29:26 +1000 (EST) Received: from post.super.net.pk (smtp-khi1.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id MAA109572 for ; Sat, 13 Jan 2001 12:29:16 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 (khi-line-008.super.net.pk [203.130.5.147]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id HAA00737 for ; Sat, 13 Jan 2001 07:41:24 -0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2001 07:33:38 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Regional IT Cooperation Key To Asian Development - Yeo Message-ID: <3A6004D2.15290.9EF6D@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Regional IT Cooperation Key To Asian Development - Yeo A move toward regionalism, the sharing of information and communications technology and the integration of electronic trading standards is essential for continuing Asian economic development, said Yeo Cheow Tong, Singapore's Minister for Communications and Information Technology. Story: http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/160153.html From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sat Jan 13 14:30:59 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id OAA124589; Sat, 13 Jan 2001 14:30:58 +1000 (EST) Received: from web11405.mail.yahoo.com (web11405.mail.yahoo.com [216.136.131.235]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id OAA124585 for ; Sat, 13 Jan 2001 14:30:55 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <20010113043052.47536.qmail@web11405.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [216.252.166.227] by web11405.mail.yahoo.com; Fri, 12 Jan 2001 20:30:52 PST Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2001 20:30:52 -0800 (PST) From: Azad RMS Subject: Absurdity on its peak as Pakistan Government bans use of internet in Government offices To: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Dear All, This is pure and simple absurdity. It appeared in The Hindustan Times in its 22nd December, 2000 edition. Azad Pakistan Govt bans use of Internet Mubashir Zaidi (Islamabad, December 21) PAKISTAN'S MILITARY government has banned the use of Internet in government offices fearing an 'unauthorised' outflow of information. A report published in the English daily, The Nation, today said that the ban is ridiculous in wake of the expanding world of Internet. "The logic behind the ban was to restrict flow of unauthorised information. There is a possibility that some information which the government does not want to make public, could reach some undesirable person or an organisation through e-mail, chat or data-transfer facility," a senior official said. The paper said that the decision has badly affected the research-oriented institutions. Local researchers told the paper that a researcher needs an Internet connection and e-mail to correspond with foreign as well as local researchers, scientists and officials of various international organisations. "Many of us were left with no option but to acquire an Internet connection out of our own pocket. We, the researchers and scientists, wonder the government 'strategy' to restrict the flow of information. It was also against the spirit of government's own policy to provide Internet and e-mail facility in as many as 296 cities of the country. On one hand the government was spending an amount of Rs 5 billion on the development of IT sector with a view to promoting computer culture which certainly cannot be materialised without involving all government departments in this regard," the researcher said. ---------------------------------------------------- Random Quotation: If you're too open minded, your brains will fall out. ---------------------------------------------------- __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sat Jan 13 14:38:42 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id OAA125449; Sat, 13 Jan 2001 14:38:41 +1000 (EST) Received: from web11407.mail.yahoo.com (web11407.mail.yahoo.com [216.136.131.237]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id OAA125442 for ; Sat, 13 Jan 2001 14:38:39 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <20010113043837.12822.qmail@web11407.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [216.252.166.227] by web11407.mail.yahoo.com; Fri, 12 Jan 2001 20:38:37 PST Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2001 20:38:37 -0800 (PST) From: Azad RMS Subject: For Indian Computer Industry China, Russia pose IT Investment Threat To: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk FYI. Azad Andhra CM: China, Russia pose IT investment threat siliconindia Hyderabad Bureau Wednesday, January 10, 2001 HYDERABAD – China’s and Russia’s “fast” progress in information technology threatens to hog the IT limelight — and foreign company investments — from India, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh said on Wednesday. “India should be alive to the threats posed by the countries like China and Russia,” said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, “since China has 125 million telephone connections compared to India, which has only 30 million.” In fact, China is also far ahead of India in mobile phones, the CM said. Naidu also expressed his concern over the bandwidth crunch and poor IT infrastructure in India, specifically in Andhra Pradesh. Speaking at a seminar, “The Big Picture: India and IT Revolution,” organized as part of on-going “CII Partnership Summit-2001” here, the CM made an open request to the Indian government to say “goodbye” to the monopoly of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL), India's leading Internet service provider. “If you do not improve the infrastructure and ease bandwidth, we can not think of making big in the global market,” Naidu said. “However, the government is addressing the issues relating to infrastructure and planning to twin with the private sector in IT-related areas.” He added, “Andhra will become another Silicon Valley in India if proper IT-infrastructure is created by providing adequate bandwidth to the needy. “Why will entrepreneurs set up their companies in Silicon Valley once we provide adequate bandwidth in India? Easing bandwidth would be my first criterion even by putting pressure on the Indian government to solve the issue,” Naidu said. The government has to work in unison with the private sector to grow. It also has to be open to any innovative idea to make India a superpower in IT, he said. B. Ramalinga Raju, chairman of Satyam Computer Services Ltd., said, “The last decade, the mantra of every company was IT-enabled services. But now, IT out sourcing and business process outsourcing would rule the business and whoever understands this would reap the harvest of wealth.” “To make a call from India to US it costs Rs. 47 per minute, but if you call from the US it only costs 57 cents. We would lose the benefits of IT if the communication costs are not within the reach of the common man,” Raju said. Ramesh Vangal, chairman of Singapore’s ATIndia LLC, said India is no doubt making deep inroads into the global IT, but what the Indian companies need to focus is on quality and logistics. Firms should go an inch further in meeting the needs of customers in what is called customer relationship management (CRM). Indian companies should adopt CRM, otherwise they would be out of the race, he added. ---------------------------------------------------- Random Quotation: If you're too open minded, your brains will fall out. ---------------------------------------------------- __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email at your own domain with Yahoo! Mail. http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Jan 14 04:28:58 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id EAA91974; Sun, 14 Jan 2001 04:28:57 +1000 (EST) Received: from post.super.net.pk (smtp-khi1.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id EAA91936 for ; Sun, 14 Jan 2001 04:28:43 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.7.170]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id XAA15872 for ; Sat, 13 Jan 2001 23:41:00 -0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2001 23:33:17 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Profiling Indian Internet Users Message-ID: <3A60E5BD.10776.924D3@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Profiling Indian Internet Users 4 and 10 January 2001 By Eddie Cheung With a high poverty level, India seems an unlikely place to support a viable internet model. Beyond this glaring quality, the country also houses some of the world's best-run software firms and a seemingly endless supply of software engineers. It is the latter that will gradually transform India from the backwater of internet usage to an IT powerhouse. <...> Internet usage in India tends to follow the same pattern as other developing nations, with a majority of users being young and male. They also tend to be more educated. <...> Cybercafes in India play a critical role in introducing new users to the internet. Over time, however, as users become more comfortable with the internet, they tend to access the internet more from home. <...> Read complete story [w/ statistics and graphs, etc.] at Profiling Indian Internet Users: Part 1 http://www.emarketer.com/analysis/easia/20010104_india1.html?ref=dn and Profiling Indian Internet Users: Part 2 http://www.emarketer.com/analysis/easia/20010110_india2.html From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Jan 14 05:58:57 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id FAA102283; Sun, 14 Jan 2001 05:58:56 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id FAA102258 for ; Sun, 14 Jan 2001 05:58:51 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.143]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Sun, 14 Jan 2001 01:24:15 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id AAA00883; Sun, 14 Jan 2001 00:13:19 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: Cybercom Subject: NEWS-INDIA: Web sites taking devotees for a ride Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2001 23:45:02 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01011323451913.00611@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Web sites taking devotees for a ride by Sanu George, India Abroad News Service. Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 11 - Cyber age has brought its share of worries for the Sree Krishna temple at Guruvayoor in Kerala, with several Web sites apparently taking devotees, especially those abroad, for a ride by accepting orders for sanctified offerings from the temple, for a charge of course. Close to 300 Web sites are said to be taking orders for offerings. "A month ago we came to know through some people that certain Web sites are providing online services by sending the 'prasadam' (sanctified offerings) and also collecting money for conducting the temple proceedings," Guruvayoor Temple administrator K.M. Satheesan told India Abroad News Service. "This is a criminal offense and our executive meeting is scheduled for January 15 to take steps for combating this. This is against the law and we have not given permission to any Web site to conduct these on our behalf," said Satheesan. "We are also worried about the quality of the prasadam." "According to reports received we have come to know that these Web sites are charging exorbitant sums of money for conducting temple rites and sale of 'Kalabham'. For instance, if any devotee approaches us through the post, demanding a packet of Kalabham, we charge Rs.5 toward the cost of Kalabham and Rs.3 toward postage charges. Instead these Web sites are charging close to $30 toward these. It is the believers in foreign countries who have been taken for a ride," said Satheesan. "We have already sent notices to eight Web sites which we have come across saying that what they are doing is illegal. There is a provision in the IT (Information Technology) Act...forbidding these activities by Web sites. After we meet, there is definitely going to be action against these Web sites," said Satheesan. He said the temple's official Web site is being readied and would be commissioned shortly. "Our home page is already hosted and anyone could log on to http.personal.vsnl.com/devasom," he said. According to reports from Guruvayoor, in the first week of January close to 10,000 prasadam packets were sent by post to devotees in North India alone from the Kunnamkulam post office, with a letter mentioning that the prasadam was sanctified through temple rites. --India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Jan 14 05:58:58 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id FAA102291; Sun, 14 Jan 2001 05:58:57 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id FAA102276 for ; Sun, 14 Jan 2001 05:58:52 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.143]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Sun, 14 Jan 2001 01:24:18 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id AAA00892; Sun, 14 Jan 2001 00:13:19 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: gii Subject: Flag Telecom, Level 3 tie up for Pan-Asia submarine cable system Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2001 23:47:42 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01011323480716.00611@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Flag Telecom, Level 3 tie up for Pan-Asia submarine cable system from India Abroad News Service New Delhi, Jan 10 - Global network services provider Flag Telecom and the U.S.-based communications and information services major Level 3 Communications, Inc. have entered into alliance for a new multi-terabit intra-Asia submarine cable system. The six-fiber pair system is designed to offer intra-regional, city-to-city connectivity between the high traffic centers of Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo and Taipei, a joint press statement said here Wednesday. Level 3's existing North Asian cable system, which is currently under development, will form the eastern leg of the new system connecting Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. Flag Telecom will develop the western leg, connecting Hong Kong, Korea and Japan. "The first link of the system, between Hong Kong and Japan, is expected to enter service in the second quarter of 2001. Flag Telecom will be responsible for the integration of the eastern and western links of the system," the statement said. The whole system will be over 10,000 km in length and will be managed and operated by Flag Telecom. The total cost of the entire system is estimated to be $900 million, it added. "This agreement with Level 3 marks another major step in our strategy to develop a low-cost, scaleable global IP (Internet protocol) network to support our expanding network services business," Ed McCormack, chief operating officer of Flag Telecom, said. Flag Telecom expects to fund the costs of the system through a combination of cash on hand and pre-sales, he added. Steve Liddell, chief executive officer of Level 3 Asia, said that the agreement would allow the company to gain a diverse ring system by sharing the development and operating expenses with an industry partner and accelerate its speed to new markets. "The system will be the first multi-terabit cable to enter commercial service in Asia giving us the first mover advantage in the market and the ability to offer international broadband connectivity at industry leading pricing," Liddell said. The Eastern leg of cable system is ahead of schedule having already landed in Hong Kong. The cable will land in Korea and Taiwan later this year. Being fabricated by Alcatel and Fujitsu, the intra-Asia submarine cable system is expected to offer an initial combined capacity of 320 giga bytes per second (gbps), upgradeable to 2.5-3.8 tera byte per second (tbps). Flag Telecom has an exclusive arrangement with India's state-run Internet service provider (ISP) Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL). Flag's submarine cable landing station in Mumbai is owned by VSNL under an agreement signed between the two companies in 1997. As part of the agreement, VSNL has the exclusive rights to market the capacity in India though it has bought only 155 mbps from Flag for 25 years and Flag is not allowed to sell bandwidth capacity to private ISPs on its own. -- India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Jan 14 05:58:59 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id FAA102316; Sun, 14 Jan 2001 05:58:59 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id FAA102277 for ; Sun, 14 Jan 2001 05:58:54 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.143]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Sun, 14 Jan 2001 01:24:13 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id AAA00826; Sun, 14 Jan 2001 00:13:16 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS: Indian American's health portal attracts $32 mn in VC funds Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2001 23:25:01 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: Cybercom MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101132325200I.00611@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Indian American's health portal attracts $32 mn in VC funds by Sukhjit Purewal, India Abroad News Service Sunnyvale, (California), Jan 12 - Ehealthinsurance, an Internet-based provider of health insurance policies, which has an Indian American as its chairman, has attracted $32 million in a third round of venture capital (VC) funding. The funds for ViP Patel's company have come from new investors like Quest Mark Partners and the Sprout Group (Credit Suisse First Boston). Previous investors like Kleiner Perkins, Caufield & Byers, Goldman Sachs and Lightspeed Ventures Partners also contributed. Founded in 1997, the company offers more than 4,000 health plans from 54 health insurance carriers. Patel is the chairman of the company while Gary Lauer is its CEO. Company officials said the capital would be used for additional market expansion and for software development to enable more families and small businesses to use ehealthinsurance. Last month, Patel challenged the U.S. Congress during a congressional briefing to reduce the number of uninsured Americans in half by 2010. The three suggestions he made then were -- to provide tax credits for the uninsured, give subsidies for high-risk pools that provide health insurance to those who are hard to insure, and finally to create safe harbors for uninsured small businesses and their carriers to encourage partial reimbursement of employees for an individual health plan without the restrictions of a group plan. --India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Jan 14 05:59:02 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id FAA102348; Sun, 14 Jan 2001 05:59:02 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id FAA102298 for ; Sun, 14 Jan 2001 05:58:58 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.143]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Sun, 14 Jan 2001 01:24:22 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id AAA00880; Sun, 14 Jan 2001 00:13:19 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS: Islamic Web site for Sharia-compliant stock trading Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2001 23:44:21 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01011323441611.00611@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Cc: Cybercom Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk U.S.-IT-Muslims Islamic Web site for Sharia-compliant stock trading by Ela Dutt, India Abroad News Service New York, Jan 11 - An Islamic Web site has announced it is going to be open for online stock trading that complies with the Sharia (Islamic laws). The Web site ihilal.com has signed agreements with Dow Jones and Online Brokerage Solutions, Inc. to launch Sharia-compliant online stock trading services before the end of the first quarter of this year. The iHilal stock trading service will enable Internet trading of Sharia-compliant U.S. and Canadian equities, as well as shares of Sharia-compliant foreign companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The service does not permit un-Islamic transactions, including options trading, nor does it permit interest-based transactions, such as margin trading and short selling. The solution combines the capabilities of three financial providers: Dow Jones & Company, the world's leading stock market index provider, Online Brokerage Solutions, a U.S.-based provider of Internet brokerage services and ihilal.com, an Islamic financial Web site, founded by the Dubai-based Rasmala Private Equity Group and Accenture Technology Ventures (previously known as Andersen Consulting (AC) Ventures). "There are numerous online brokerage services worldwide, but none of them offer Muslims the opportunity to invest their money according to Islamic principles," said Ramzi Abu Khadra, CEO of iHilal. "We consider the launch of Islamic online stock trading a major breakthrough; the service will expedite the development of retail Islamic finance in general and will significantly empower Sharia-conscious investors," he added. Trading will be supported by a number of financial services, including an Islamic stock filter that is based on the components of the Dow Jones Islamic Market Index (DJIMI). "The Islamic filter will restrict investments to stocks that are Sharia-compliant," explained Rushdi Siddiqi, director, Islamic Index Group, Dow Jones Indexes. "The index will be updated quarterly, adding or dropping stocks in order to remain consistent with the Dow Jones Islamic stock screening methodology," Siddiqi added. The Sharia-compliant features of the service will be incorporated into the technological architecture and operational support provided by Online Brokerage Solutions. "We are designing and building the service to ensure full compatibility with the Dow Jones Islamic stock screening methodology, as well as general guidelines specified to us by iHilal and its Sharia advisory board," clarified Bob Vosburgh, CEO of Online Brokerage Solutions. The service will be launched before the end of the first quarter and iHilal plans to initially target the more than 200 million Muslims who live in North America, Europe and the Middle East. The company will gradually expand the service to include a global audience. Ihilal.com wants to be the world's first Web-based platform that allows investors to buy and sell Islamic financial products directly through the Internet. The Rasmala Private Equity Group, a Dubai-based investment consortium that includes a number of prominent private Muslim investors, the Saudi American Bank and Deutsche Bank and Accenture Technology Ventures spearheaded the company's founding. --India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Jan 14 05:59:06 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id FAA102364; Sun, 14 Jan 2001 05:59:05 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id FAA102329 for ; Sun, 14 Jan 2001 05:59:00 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.143]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Sun, 14 Jan 2001 01:24:26 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id AAA00841; Sun, 14 Jan 2001 00:13:17 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS: Canadian firm in deal with Modis for animation school Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2001 23:31:42 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: Cybercom MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101132331590N.00611@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Canadian firm in deal with Modis for animation school By Suman Guha Mozumder, India Abroad News Service New York, Jan 13 - With an eye on India's animation industry, a Canadian company has signed a multi-million dollar agreement with Modi Enterprises to open a school in Mumbai that will create skills to cater to the burgeoning demand for creative talents in the country. The Vancouver Film School (VFS), which offers nine full-time and 60-part-time courses to more than 3,000 students annually in Canada, has announced it will offer courses in classical animation, 3D animation, and New Media, from September, 2001 when the school is expected to open. The school will be located in a northern suburb of Mumbai in a mixed industrial-residential area that is close to entertainment companies that are interested in the school, company officials said. "India is a country of enormous talent which has not been utilized and it has remained relatively immune from the international entertainment industry," VFS founder and president James Griffin, told India Abroad News Service from Vancouver. "This will hopefully change once we set up the school," he said. Griffin, who was in New Delhi last month to sign the 50-50 joint venture agreement with K.K. Modi of Modi Enterprises, however, did not specify the financial component of the agreement. "It is in the order of a few million dollars," he said. The new company is named Modi VFS Institute. Griffin said the proposal for setting up the school had been in the works for some time. "The Modis felt that India can become a big content provider to entertainment industries and our study was that there is an important need for education for that to happen." The Modis estimate that animation is a 20 billion dollar industry worldwide and that India is uniquely poised to reap the benefits of the huge opportunity. While the Modi Group will manage school business and marketing responsibilities, VFS will be responsible for operations as well as shaping and delivering the curriculum, the details of which are being finalized. Griffin said the school will have facilities to accommodate between 500 and 700 students for fulltime courses and students will have 24-hour access to the latest equipment and software for content creation. "What we are initially trying to do is to get into a small school that works very well. Over time, we will better understand the market and then the school can be a frame of reference," he said. Griffin said he believes almost every country in Asia and the ASEAN are trying to get a foothold in entertainment service and content production while facing an absence of schools to train people to make that happen. He said with a group like Modi establishing schools in India, other markets will become possible. However, Griffin said at the moment the company does not have a firm plan for expansion, although the venture may lead to more schools not just in other Indian cities, but to other countries of the region. Asked if his company was testing the water by setting up the school in India, Griffin parried a direct answer. "In the worst case scenario, we will have a good stand alone school," he said. Graeme Gish, director of programming for New Media and Animation at VFS, who has just returned from a site visit to Mumbai, feels that the venture will allow opportunities for collaboration between Indian and Canadian students and will lead to cross-cultural learning. "It is going to be a two-way flow. We have identified people in India and will bring them here (in Canada) to train them. Initially, our instructors will train people there," Griffin said. Asked if there would be an impact on the film and entertainment industry because of the school, Griffin replied in the negative. "There is not going to be an impact immediately. But once they (Indians) realize they can make inroads in the international market, there will be impact," he said. --India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Jan 14 05:59:11 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id FAA102382; Sun, 14 Jan 2001 05:59:10 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id FAA102378 for ; Sun, 14 Jan 2001 05:59:07 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.143]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Sun, 14 Jan 2001 01:24:33 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id AAA00799; Sun, 14 Jan 2001 00:13:15 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: bytes-admin@goacom.com Subject: Fwd: [****] Bangla2000: a portal to Bangladesh Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2001 22:53:11 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01011322533809.00611@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk ---------- Forwarded Message ---------- Subject: [****] Bangla2000: a portal to Bangladesh Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2001 15:07:59 +1100 From: "T.Matthew Ciolek" The Asian Studies WWW Monitor: mid Jan 2001, Vol. 8, No. 134 --------------------------------------------- 11 Jan 2001 Bangla2000: a portal to Bangladesh M. S. Raunak, Dhaka, Bangladesh Supplied note: "[T]he only site where you can subscribe daily news to receive in email about Bangladesh. It provides daily news in both English and Bangla. Other portal services include Classifieds, Chat, E-cards, Web Directory, Yellow Pages, Matrimonial, Dhaka-today and many more. The portal also publishes monthly magazines: 'Women's World' and 'Business World.'" [A comprehensive, fast and elegant system - ed.] URL http://www.bangla2000.com Link suggested by: M. S. Raunak (raunak@dhaka.agni.com) * Resource type [news - documents - study - corporate info. - online guide]: Online Guide/News * Scholarly usefulness [essential - v.useful - useful - interesting - marginal]: V.Useful --------------------------------------------- Src: The Asian Studies WWW Monitor ISSN 1329-9778 URL http://coombs.anu.edu.au/asia-www-monitor.html Announce your new/improved Asian Studies' Web sites via http://coombs.anu.edu.au/regasia.html - regards - - Dr T. Matthew CIOLEK tmciolek@coombs.anu.edu.au Head, Internet Publications Bureau, RSPAS, The Australian National University, Canberra +61 2 6125 0110 fax: +61 2 6125 1893 http://www.ciolek.com/PEOPLE/ciolek-tm.html -- to join or leave the list send email to: majordomo@coombs.anu.edu.au message: subscribe asia-www-monitor or message: unsubscribe asia-www-monitor ------------------------------------------------------- From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Mon Jan 15 13:38:15 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id NAA125881; Mon, 15 Jan 2001 13:38:14 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi3.super.net.pk (pop-khi3.super.net.pk [203.130.2.13]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id NAA125855 for ; Mon, 15 Jan 2001 13:38:04 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 (khi-line-106.super.net.pk [203.130.5.245]) by pop-khi3.super.net.pk (8.10.0/8.10.0) with ESMTP id f0F3W5224083 for ; Mon, 15 Jan 2001 08:32:06 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 08:42:45 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Equal Access (= access) Message-ID: <3A62B805.15543.107B00F@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk [from The Drum Beat - 76 - Jan. 15, 2001] Equal Access (= access) - Global - is a digital satellite broadcasting service dedicated to serving the news, education, health and development needs of poor communities within the developing world. It will work closely with on-the-ground development organizations to create communications campaigns and educational programmes. = access will provide multiple high-quality digital radio networks and additional multimedia services. It will support the delivery of these services to rural and urban poor communities through the donation of community-based receivers, computers and solar power systems. http://www.eqaccess.org Contact Kimberly Weichel kweichel@igc.org From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Mon Jan 15 13:38:16 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id NAA125895; Mon, 15 Jan 2001 13:38:16 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi3.super.net.pk (pop-khi3.super.net.pk [203.130.2.13]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id NAA125854 for ; Mon, 15 Jan 2001 13:38:04 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 (khi-line-106.super.net.pk [203.130.5.245]) by pop-khi3.super.net.pk (8.10.0/8.10.0) with ESMTP id f0F3W1224080 for ; Mon, 15 Jan 2001 08:32:03 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 08:42:45 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Subject: [India] MP government to introduce e-governance Message-ID: <3A62B805.19800.107B0C1@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-MIME-Autoconverted: from Quoted-printable to 8bit by ns.apnic.net id NAA125880 Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Jan 14 2001 MP government to introduce e-governance BHOPAL THE MADHYA Pradesh government has embarked on an ambitious task to introduce e-governance that seeks to computerise and network all government departments, and set up computer kiosks across the state to reduce transaction time and costs for citizens interacting with state agencies. The computerisation of various departments has already started and is likely to be completed by April this year, according to a senior information technology department official. After networking all the state agencies, tenders will be invited from private companies to set up 7,500 computer kiosks in various parts of the state that will be linked to the government network. The kiosks will enable people in remote areas to transact most of their work —- be it obtaining government documents and records, getting licenses, permits or certificates or paying taxes —without visiting the government offices, the official said. Priority is being given to computerising the revenue earning departments like commercial tax, land records and transport. Subsequently all other departments will be computerised and linked to the government network. The computerisation of the commercial tax and land records departments will not only allow the citizens to pay taxes and land revenue online through the kiosks, the government will also be able to keep a track of the tax dues and revenue earnings. Similarly, with the computerisation of the transport department, the people will be able to register their vehicles, obtain licenses and road permits etc. through the kiosks. The facility of digital signatures will be use d for issuing certificates, permits and licenses. The transport department is also going to introduce a digitized “smart card” to vehicle owners, which will contain all the information about the registration of the vehicle, the vehicle owner and license etc. Under the pr oject, the toll barriers will also be computerised and connected to the government network. “The idea behind introducing this system is not only to ensure convenience to the people but also to make it easier for the government to function while removing red-tapism and ensuring transparency,” the official said. The government will not invest any money in setting up the kiosks and will give them on contract to private entrepreneurs, the official added. However, the fee to be charged by the kiosk operators for offering services wi ll be decided by the government and a strict vigil will be kept to ensure that the people are not over-charged. Moreover, those setting up the kiosks will be required to use fiber optic cable, which ensures faster Internet access, and will either have to lay their own cable or take it on lease from the State-run Bharat Sanchar Niga m or private sector telecom services provider AirTel. BSNL and AirTel at present have a network of 18,000 km of fiber optic lines laid across the state for telecom services and another 15,000 km of fiber optic line is likely to be added this year. The official said India’s diversified conglomerate Reliance Industries, which is laying its own network of fiber optic lines for long distance telephony, has evinced a keen interest in the kiosk project and is working on the modalities with the government. — IANS http://www.economictimes.com/today/14tech12.htm From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Mon Jan 15 15:11:54 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA72726; Mon, 15 Jan 2001 15:11:53 +1000 (EST) Received: from inbound.satyam.net.in ([202.144.76.6]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id PAA72718 for ; Mon, 15 Jan 2001 15:11:47 +1000 (EST) Received: from arun.satyam.net.in (210.214.83.151) by inbound.satyam.net.in (NPlex 4.5.051) id 3A616950000075CB; Mon, 15 Jan 2001 05:05:06 +0000 Message-Id: <5.0.2.1.2.20010115103637.01d05660@imap.satyam.net.in> X-Sender: indata@imap.satyam.net.in X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.0.2 Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 10:37:25 +0530 To: Azad RMS , s-asia-it@apnic.net From: Arun Mehta Subject: Re: Absurdity on its peak as Pakistan Government bans use of internet in Government offices In-Reply-To: <20010113043052.47536.qmail@web11405.mail.yahoo.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Not just absurd, I am told it is also completely untrue. Arun At 1/13/2001, Azad RMS wrote: >Dear All, > >This is pure and simple absurdity. It appeared in The >Hindustan Times in its 22nd December, 2000 edition. > >Azad > > > >Pakistan Govt bans use of Internet >Mubashir Zaidi >(Islamabad, December 21) > >PAKISTAN'S MILITARY government has banned the use of >Internet in government offices fearing an >'unauthorised' outflow of information. From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Jan 16 03:03:31 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id DAA102439; Tue, 16 Jan 2001 03:03:31 +1000 (EST) Received: from eximc-3.lse.ac.uk (eximc-3.lse.ac.uk [158.143.100.33]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id DAA102420 for ; Tue, 16 Jan 2001 03:03:24 +1000 (EST) Received: by eximc-3.lse.ac.uk with Internet Mail Service (5.5.2650.21) id ; Mon, 15 Jan 2001 17:01:52 -0000 Message-ID: <43CE1CB09DEDD11196DF000629054FBB052FC541@exchs2.lse.ac.uk> From: "Nath,V (pgt)" To: "'s-asia-it@apnic.net'" Subject: More News on ICT and Knowledge networking Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 17:01:45 -0000 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2650.21) Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Dear Colleagues, You may like to view more news relating to ICT and Knowledge networking which would be of interest to people in both Developed and Developing COuntry on the website of KnowNet Initiative at http://www.knownet.org (under the heading - News Clippings) or alternatively at http://www.cddc.vt.edu/knownet/internetinfo-news.html The KnowNet initiative centers around using and propagating ICT models for creating an open system for recognising, valuing, enriching and sharing of local knowledge, in parallel with human capacity building efforts. This will lead to a two-way process of people accessing information and knowledge for development and also information and knowledge finding its way to the probable users. KnowNet aims to empower communities to use ICT models for creating of Livelihood Opportunites, to evolve better Coping Mechanisms, and seek better Governance to improve their Quality of lives, on the basis of their own knowledge and efforts. Some resources have already been developed and hosted on the website at http://www.knownet.org under the KnowNet Initiative namely KnowNet Weaver http://www.knownetweaver.org - a tool kit for creation of interactive websites and TechKnowNet http://www.techknownet.org - an email administered /on-line training course for web development for layperson. Both these resources are free and are being put to use through the help of remote KnowNet volunteers. Many more resources are in the pipeline. To stay updated about the developments of KnowNet Initiative or to become a part of this open initiative, write to us at knownet@knownetweaver.org Warm Regards, Vikas Nath ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Inlaks Fellow, 2000-1, London School of Economics Global Knowledge Leader (India), Entovation Internation Innovator, KnowNet Initiative, http://www.knownet.org Team, DevNet Jobs, http://www.devnetjobs.org HomePage: http://www.vikasnath.org Email: knownet@knownetweaver.org or V.Nath@lse.ac.uk Phone: +44 (0) 7887 92 0080 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Jan 16 13:28:59 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id NAA117498; Tue, 16 Jan 2001 13:28:58 +1000 (EST) Received: from akunet.org (zahravi.akunet.org [208.244.71.8]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id NAA117494 for ; Tue, 16 Jan 2001 13:28:53 +1000 (EST) Received: from akunet.org [208.244.71.68] by akunet.org with ESMTP (SMTPD32-6.00) id A02F2EAA025A; Tue, 16 Jan 2001 08:29:51 +0500 Message-ID: <3A63C272.88946A94@akunet.org> Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 08:39:30 +0500 From: Ahmed Omair X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.76 [en] (Win95; U) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: S-Asia-IT Subject: The Net in India: a luxury few can afford Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk eMarketer: The Net in India: a luxury few can afford Jan 08 2001: With a high poverty level and unequal income distribution, web access in India is limited to the privileged few that can afford it. Internet use in India currently stands at 0.4 percent of the adult population, or 1.8 million people. Although the online population is expected to grow, the highly unequal distribution of income in India means that only a small proportion of the population can be considered potential Internet users. However, these potential web users are well-educated, cosmopolitan, and early adopters of new technology and electronic devices. As is the case in other developing nations, the majority of India's existing Internet users are young, well-educated males. Almost half (49 percent) are in the 18 to 24 age group, while 77 percent are male. One obstacle facing the growth of India's online population is the country's poor telecoms infrastructure. At 2.2 lines per 100 citizens, telephone penetration in India is extremely low. Many of the lines that do exist are not of a high enough quality to support adequate Internet connection speeds. In addition, the national telecom provider, VSNL, holds a near monopoly in India's telecoms market, hindering development by private ISPs. [SOURCE: http://www.nua.ie/surveys] From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Jan 16 15:58:52 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA72874; Tue, 16 Jan 2001 15:58:52 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id PAA72867 for ; Tue, 16 Jan 2001 15:58:47 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.116]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Tue, 16 Jan 2001 11:23:56 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id LAA00643; Tue, 16 Jan 2001 11:36:01 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: Cybercom Subject: NEWS: BSES to provide unlimited Internet for Rs.999 a month Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 10:56:28 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01011610565005.00611@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-IT-BSES BSES to provide unlimited Internet for Rs.999 a month by Shiv Kumar, India Abroad News Service Mumbai, Jan. 15 -- Bombay Suburban Electric Supply Limited (BSES), the private sector electricity company which supplies power to suburbs in India's commercial capital Mumbai, is entering the Internet Service Provider (ISP) business in a big way. BSES has announced plans to sell its Internet services under the brand name powersurfer.net. A subscriber can avail broadband Internet connectivity by depositing a sum of Rs.5,000 or by paying Rs.999 a month without incurring any additional charges like telephone dial-up expenses, said BSES managing director R.V. Shahi. The customer also won't be required to install expensive cable modems as subscribers to Internet on cable services do. The company has rolled out a fiber optic network covering most of the city and its suburbs and will begin offering "continuously on" broadband Internet connectivity from February. According to BSES officials, the company is connecting its power stations and sub-stations in Mumbai using fiber optics. "We will put up nodes in every building from where individual subscribers will be linked up to receive 64 kbps connectivity," an official of Regale Technologies, a BSES franchisee who is servicing the northern Mumbai suburbs of Kandivli and Borivli, said. BSES, which also plans to put up its own international satellite gateway from February, is aggressively marketing the new broadband service. "BSES broadband Internet access costs just Rs.1.40 per hour all inclusive," said a BSES official. On the other hand, Internet access by the state-owned international telecommunication service provider Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) and other private Internet Service Providers (ISP) cost more than Rs.30 an hour. In addition to Internet access being priced at Rs.7.50 per hour, a subscriber has to pay telephone dial-up charges of Rs.24 per hour. BSES has a right of way in Mumbai, which enables it to dig up roads and lay cabling, allowing it to have a big advantage over other potential ISPs like cable operators. As in other Indian cities, Mumbai's cable television operators string cables up on trees. In addition, access to Internet on the cable requires the purchase of a cable modem, which is priced at Rs.8,000 a piece. This has hampered the growth of Internet services offered by cable operators. Incidentally, Indian business conglomerate Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has a 26.6 percent stake in BSES. RIL is entering the broadband business in a big way by way of cabling and exploiting its synergies with BSES. The RIL-BSES combine is likely to emerge as a major player in the convergence arena with a huge stake in the infrastructure and content areas, according to analysts. Reliance Industries has indicated it will play a big role in the content business and set up huge multiplexes in Mumbai as part of its business plan. --India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Jan 17 06:12:04 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id GAA120921; Wed, 17 Jan 2001 06:12:04 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id GAA120902 for ; Wed, 17 Jan 2001 06:11:59 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.78]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Wed, 17 Jan 2001 01:37:19 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id BAA00720; Wed, 17 Jan 2001 01:48:58 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: Cybercom Subject: NEWS: BSES to provide unlimited Internet for Rs.999 a month Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 10:56:28 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01011610565005.00611@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-IT-BSES BSES to provide unlimited Internet for Rs.999 a month by Shiv Kumar, India Abroad News Service Mumbai, Jan. 15 -- Bombay Suburban Electric Supply Limited (BSES), the private sector electricity company which supplies power to suburbs in India's commercial capital Mumbai, is entering the Internet Service Provider (ISP) business in a big way. BSES has announced plans to sell its Internet services under the brand name powersurfer.net. A subscriber can avail broadband Internet connectivity by depositing a sum of Rs.5,000 or by paying Rs.999 a month without incurring any additional charges like telephone dial-up expenses, said BSES managing director R.V. Shahi. The customer also won't be required to install expensive cable modems as subscribers to Internet on cable services do. The company has rolled out a fiber optic network covering most of the city and its suburbs and will begin offering "continuously on" broadband Internet connectivity from February. According to BSES officials, the company is connecting its power stations and sub-stations in Mumbai using fiber optics. "We will put up nodes in every building from where individual subscribers will be linked up to receive 64 kbps connectivity," an official of Regale Technologies, a BSES franchisee who is servicing the northern Mumbai suburbs of Kandivli and Borivli, said. BSES, which also plans to put up its own international satellite gateway from February, is aggressively marketing the new broadband service. "BSES broadband Internet access costs just Rs.1.40 per hour all inclusive," said a BSES official. On the other hand, Internet access by the state-owned international telecommunication service provider Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) and other private Internet Service Providers (ISP) cost more than Rs.30 an hour. In addition to Internet access being priced at Rs.7.50 per hour, a subscriber has to pay telephone dial-up charges of Rs.24 per hour. BSES has a right of way in Mumbai, which enables it to dig up roads and lay cabling, allowing it to have a big advantage over other potential ISPs like cable operators. As in other Indian cities, Mumbai's cable television operators string cables up on trees. In addition, access to Internet on the cable requires the purchase of a cable modem, which is priced at Rs.8,000 a piece. This has hampered the growth of Internet services offered by cable operators. Incidentally, Indian business conglomerate Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has a 26.6 percent stake in BSES. RIL is entering the broadband business in a big way by way of cabling and exploiting its synergies with BSES. The RIL-BSES combine is likely to emerge as a major player in the convergence arena with a huge stake in the infrastructure and content areas, according to analysts. Reliance Industries has indicated it will play a big role in the content business and set up huge multiplexes in Mumbai as part of its business plan. --India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Jan 17 20:18:09 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id UAA105913; Wed, 17 Jan 2001 20:18:09 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id UAA105889 for ; Wed, 17 Jan 2001 20:17:56 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.87]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Wed, 17 Jan 2001 15:43:08 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id PAA01008; Wed, 17 Jan 2001 15:11:12 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: Cybercom Subject: LINK: Inter-Fone launches VoIP System Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 14:47:39 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101171453260C.00628@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Subject: Inter-Fone launches VoIP System Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2001 05:30:07 -0500 From: "newsrelease@ejourno.com" For immediate release Inter-Fone VoIP System for the Millennium - Announces launch of add on single channel VoIP Gateway for PC. Shrewsbury,MA/United States/January 12, 2001/19:30/ Ejourno.com INTER-FONE, U.S.A. is pleased to announce the launch of their latest phone-to-phone communication system. The Inter-Fone (IF-T-130) card uses state-of-the-art technology to send and receive voice signals over your any TCP/IP Protocol connection on Dial up, DSL, Broadband, Cable connection for Internet, Intranet, LAN, Lease line or V-SAT connection. This card converts the P.C into a Single Line Gateway and enables the users to make or receive calls using any local phone in the city to any phone in any corner of the world, having a similar setup. This lowers the long distance calling cost, since all the calls are made at normal local telephone billing. Inter-Fone is a revolutionary TCP/IP Telephony Gateway audio card that gives you high quality sound over your TCP/IP connection using any ordinary analog telephone or PBXs. One can call PC-to-PC, PC-to-Phone, Phone-to PC or Phone to Phone. The card is designed specifically to enhance voice over the TCP/IP Protocol by providing full-Duplex Audio and Hardware based Echo Cancellation and Audio Acceleration, featuring a new higher-performance Digital Signal Processor (DSP). After installing Inter-Fone (IF-T-130) card, users simply pick up the receiver of the phone to make a call, or answer the call. The interactive automatic response system (ARS) helps the user to make their calls without any difficulty. With the help of multi cards one can convert the same system into multi channel gateway allowing multiple users talking at same time, using the same single line Internet connection.

Billing system for setting up small phone-to-phone gateway will be launched by end of February 2001. Allowing people to setup their own small calling company with the nominal investment. PCI Version of the cards will be launched by second quarter of 2001. Company will be introducing the Web to Phone facility, utilizing your own gateway, allowing people to call free of charge directly from there PC to your Phone / Mobile phone from any where in the world. Using Inter-Fone one can setup the small level Call Centers for small / medium size companies having various branches in different cities, providing total flexibility to the customers to reach the head office at local calling cost. Minimum requirements for setting up the gateway are, Any mode of TCP/IP Protocol connection using lease line, V-SAT Connection, cable connection or normal Dialup connection at 33.6 KBPS or higher, with Pentium-166 MHz processor or higher, Windows 95/98 Os, 64 MB RAM, 1 free ISA Bus slot, IRQ, Internet connection and an ordinary phone line. URL: http://www.Inter-Fone.com This News Release comes with supporting information: http://www.ejourno.com/download1.asp?file=9577_1.ejo&nreleaseid=9577 Inter-Fone_Backgrounder.doc http://www.ejourno.com/download1.asp?file=9577_2.ejo&nreleaseid=9577 Inter-Fone_photographs.doc For further information contact: Bijal Doshi
Director
NIKE PROJECT CONSULTANTS PVT. LTD.
Tel: 022 821 8003 / 508 755 6029 info@inter-fone.com From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Jan 17 21:34:37 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id VAA115882; Wed, 17 Jan 2001 21:34:37 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi3.super.net.pk (pop-khi3.super.net.pk [203.130.2.13]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id VAA115771 for ; Wed, 17 Jan 2001 21:33:58 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 (khi-line-026.super.net.pk [203.130.5.165]) by pop-khi3.super.net.pk (8.10.0/8.10.0) with ESMTP id f0HBRNl08023 for ; Wed, 17 Jan 2001 16:27:23 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 16:38:14 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: SCIENCE INITIATIVE FOR DEVELOPING WORLD Message-ID: <3A65CA76.20261.5D75BF@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk [from The World Bank Development News (January 16, 2001)] SCIENCE INITIATIVE FOR DEVELOPING WORLD. With science going truly global, "we have very high hopes" on the Millennium Science Initiative (MSI), in catalyzing science and technology development in many countries, more so in the developing world, the Hindu (India) reports Professor Phillip A. Griffiths, Director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, has said. Funded in its initial phase by the World Bank and the US-based Packard Foundation, he said the MSI sought to help a small number of outstanding research institutes in selected countries around the world, where scientists could do research in their home countries and also "train the next generation of scientific leaders". Speaking on "The Changing Character of Scientific Research", under the auspices of the Chennai Mathematical Institute and the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, he said, as the World Bank felt that the MSI could succeed only if "guided from outside the traditional bureaucratic and management structures", it was decided to leave this task to an NGO, the Science Institutes Group (SIG). Griffiths, who is also the Chairman of SIG, a small association of leading scientific institutions around the world, said, "it is essential to keep more of these leaders at home to serve as mentors and models who communicate the excitement and value of research". Under the MSI, the first full programs were now under way in Chile and Mexico, he said, adding, other countries close to initiating their programs include Brazil and Venezuela. The SIG had also done extensive preliminary work in Vietnam, Africa and West Asia. Griffiths said many of the institutes under the MSI program would be "located within existing institutions". They would have small permanent staff and a "flow-through of younger scientists", who would advance their education in the context of research and then return to their host institutions, he said. While the autonomy of these institutions would give them a flexibility, he said creating international partnerships and networks "is one of the goals of the Millennium Science Institutes". Such collaboration should benefit researchers in both the developed and the developing world. From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Thu Jan 18 16:10:05 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id QAA128783; Thu, 18 Jan 2001 16:10:05 +1000 (EST) Received: from post.super.net.pk (smtp-khi1.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id QAA128758 for ; Thu, 18 Jan 2001 16:09:56 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 (khi-line-121.super.net.pk [203.130.5.121]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id LAA26540 for ; Thu, 18 Jan 2001 11:22:12 -0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2001 11:14:34 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Subject: Arun Mehta's Profile: Call for cyber activism Message-ID: <3A66D01A.13863.22DDA4@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-MIME-Autoconverted: from Quoted-printable to 8bit by ns.apnic.net id QAA128780 Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk [Arum Mehta also manages India-GII, a mailing list that discusses the status of telecom and information infrastructure in India. ik] [from HT Horizons, 17 January 2001] Call for cyber activism (Radhika Sachdev) Arun Mehta is very, very angry with the Indian government’s “dog in the manger” policy on telecom management. So, the key objective before his ‘Society for Telecommunication Empowerment’ (STEM) is to lend an “electronic voice” to the masses at the grassroots, through satellite broadcasting and low-cost Internet telephony. In other words, assist rural communities to set up short-wave radio stations that have made powerful inroads in low-literacy pockets of Philippines, Indonesia etc, during post-Internet boom. After graduating from IIT-Delhi with a distinction in electrical engineering, followed by an MS in Computer Science from New York and a doctorate in Applied Control Theory from Germany, Mehta chose not to follow the footsteps of his riding-the-dotcom-wave batchmates. Instead, he, along with STEM members, began lobbying for Net-based telephony to percolate down to India’s poor, through policy interventions and litigations. Indeed, it was Mehta who dragged VSNL to court when it blocked users’ access to certain Internet sites as a fallout of the Kargil war. He filed a petition in Delhi High Court, charging VSNL of interfering with his right to access basic information and the fight is still on. Those who know Mehta well, know that this soft-spoken, low-key engineer is no stranger to cyberactivism. Right from his student days, Mehta and band (passouts of IIT-D) have been championing the cause of the “voiceless” through a student-run ‘Forum for Right to Electronic Expression’’ (FREE), that in its adult avtar became STEM. The first major victory for these cyber activists came in 1994, when FREE forced the ministry to withdraw it’s license fee of Rs 15 lakh on the Bulletin Board Service, and also prevented the closure of Ernet, India’s only ISP in 1994. In October 1999, when the telecom ministry finally allowed lease time to 108 private FM channels, consumers were delighted, but STEM felt it was “too little and late”. About 75% of the population still does not get an FM coverage, when radio is one medium with which even the illiterate can communicate. Production of radio content is also cheap and easy. “I firmly believe that cheap Net-based telephony could be a boon to India’s poor,” he says. Son of a refugee from Pakistan, Mehta hails from a family of “social entrepreneurs”. Over the past 30 years, he has been actively involved with national and international voluntary organisations, Amnesty, World Bank, British Council etc., striving to bridge the digital divide. Though extremely modest about his achievements, Mehta’s authored several books on IT; designed software training and convergence programmes for the needy. His focus: Use of net as a strategic resource. To the youth he says, “Learn IT and teach others.” His own inspiration has come from the book Organising for Social Change that outlines 3 principles of direct action: Win real, concrete improvements in people’s lives; give them a sense of their own power; and, try to alter this power equation. Elaborating, he says, “Ask yourself whether the issue will get enough people to join you. Don’t resort to short-cuts, it will automatically lead you to an organisation that works on solid processes.” Sound logic. Sound reasoning. Sound values. Sound inspiration. http://www.hindustantimes.com/nonfram/170101/hth02.asp From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Fri Jan 19 04:16:31 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id EAA99906; Fri, 19 Jan 2001 04:16:31 +1000 (EST) Received: from rmx452-mta.mail.com (rmx452-mta.mail.com [165.251.48.46]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id EAA99902 for ; Fri, 19 Jan 2001 04:16:26 +1000 (EST) From: irfankhan@altavista.net Received: from weba1.iname.net (weba1.iname.net [165.251.4.11]) by rmx452-mta.mail.com (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id NAA09370 for ; Thu, 18 Jan 2001 13:16:23 -0500 (EST) Received: (from root@localhost) by weba1.iname.net (8.9.1a/8.9.2.Alpha2) id NAA05558; Thu, 18 Jan 2001 13:16:21 -0500 (EST) MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <010118131621J8.15499@weba1.iname.net> Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2001 13:16:21 -0500 (EST) Content-Type: Text/Plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: Press release: OECD E-Commerce Conference Calls for Enhanced Co-operation between Developed and Developing Countries Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk [Previous Posting on S-Asia-IT: 3 Dec 2000 "OECD sees future of developing countries in open telecoms"] Press release: OECD E-Commerce Conference Calls for Enhanced Co-operation between Developed and Developing Countries Paris, 16 January 2001 An OECD conference on e-commerce and emerging-markets opened with calls from representatives of both developed and emerging-market countries for enhanced international co-operation in the area of information and communication technology. Inaugurating the OECD’s Emerging Market Economy Forum on Electronic Commerce, the Crown Prince of Dubai, His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, urged governments and companies in developed countries and multilateral organisations to join forces in an "international gathering devoted to assisting governments and private sectors in developing countries in the area of information technology." OECD Secretary-General Donald J. Johnston said OECD countries are eager and willing to share their experience and expertise in this area, but he underlined the importance of appropriate regulatory structures in all countries as a stimulus to private investment. He also called on developed nations to assist the world’s poorest countries and regions in building the essential infrastructures for e- commerce by opening up their markets to the goods and services of the developing world. "Not only is the world unsustainable in the long run with billions of people condemned to poverty’" Mr. Johnston affirmed. "Expanded trade and investment opportunities for OECD Members will depend upon sustainable economic growth and social stability in every region of the globe." Dubai, which is hosting the OECD conference, has launched a major investment programme associating government spending with private sector initiative to build an e-commerce hub. Citing this, Sheikh Mohammed called on developing countries to lay the foundations for growth by investing more in education and training and ensuring they have appropriate legislation and regulation for e-commerce development. Internet technology is changing very rapidly, and regulatory systems based on the rules used for traditional communications may not be appropriate, said Richard Beaird, the Chairman of the OECD’s Committee on Information, Computer and Communications Policy and Deputy Chief Co-ordinator for Telecommunications in the U.S. State Department. "An increasing number of emerging-market and developing countries have found – as have OECD countries – that opening markets to competition encourages investment and generates benefits for consumers and business," he observed. The Chief Minister of the Indian state of Andrha Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu, told delegates that his government is making a major push to develop the infrastructures for e-commerce as "a strategic tool of leapfrogging development." Welcoming the OECD conference, he said that it "gives a message to the whole community how everybody has to use information technology for the benefit of the whole community." The OECD provides a forum for governments to develop best-practice policy responses to a range of economic challenges and has extensive expertise in the area of e-commerce. As part of international efforts to address the so-called digital divide between nations and citizens with access to advanced communication technology and those without, the OECD is participating in the Digital Opportunity Taskforce, or DOT Force, set up by the Group of Eight industrial nations last July, and discussions at this conference will help to feed into the DOT Force’s work. For regularly updated information on the conference, please consult the OECD’s website on http://www.oecd.org/dsti/sti/it/ec/act/dubai_ec/. For further details and to arrange interviews with participants, journalists are invited to contact Nicholas Bray on (33) 6 07 47 85 82 or Meggan Dissly on (33) 6 70 88 86 12 or fax (971) 4 301 7661. See also Issues paper [http://www.oecd.org/dsti/sti/it/ec/act/dubai_ec/products/Dubai_issues.pdf ] and Joint Statement by the Alliance for Global Business [http://www.oecd.org/dsti/sti/it/ec/act/dubai_ec/BGFDraft_Dubai_Statement_FINFIN.pdf ]. http://www.oecd.org/media/release/dubai1601.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------- Get your free email from AltaVista at http://altavista.iname.com From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Fri Jan 19 10:52:58 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id KAA85562; Fri, 19 Jan 2001 10:52:57 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi3.super.net.pk (pop-khi3.super.net.pk [203.130.2.13]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id KAA85535 for ; Fri, 19 Jan 2001 10:52:48 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 (khi-line-114.super.net.pk [203.130.5.114]) by pop-khi3.super.net.pk (8.10.0/8.10.0) with ESMTP id f0J0kJl02803 for ; Fri, 19 Jan 2001 05:46:20 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2001 12:09:24 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: OECD, UN see growing rich-poor IT access divide Message-ID: <3A66DCF4.28731.5510E4@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk January 18, 2001 OECD, UN see growing rich-poor IT access divide DUBAI: OECD and United Nations officials warned on Wednesday of a growing gap between rich and poor nations in information technology (IT), which they said was essential for economic growth. "Information and Communications technologies and e-commerce have been identified as unique opportunities for development," Herwig Schlogl, Deputy Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said. "Leapfrogging into the future is not an abstract notion. It is a real opportunity for developing countries and poverty reduction," he told a conference on e-commerce in Dubai, the trading hub of the United Arab Emirates. The OECD, whose members comprise most developed nations in the world, said that late last year the number of Internet hosts to population was higher in North America than in Africa by 540 to one, double the ratio in 1997. "The estimate of Internet hosts worldwide in October 2000 was 94 million of which 95.6 per cent are in OECD area," Rouben Indikjian, head of banking at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said. "From the remaining 4.4 per cent, more than half are the hosts from China, Taipei, Singapore, Hong Kong, Israel, while Argentina, Brazil, Malaysia and South Africa account for another 24 per cent," he told the conference. Quoting OECD statistics, Indikjian said 95 per cent of secure Internet servers and 97 per cent of web sites were concentrated in the OECD area with the United States maintaining a dominant position there. Schlogl said developing countries should help make new technologies available by deregulating their economies, building adequate infrastructure and providing creative models for individual access. "In some countries universal access is not yet a reality. Access requires legislation and regulations that encourage competition among firms and technologies, affordable prices, inter-operability and interconnection of national and global networks," he said. He said Dubai has been identified as a 'model case' of how a developing country can emerge as a regional hub for information technology. "Dubai will send positive signals to the region," he said. Last year, Dubai launched Internet City, the region's first IT free zone, and Dubai Ideas Oasis, an IT incubation and venture capital community. Dubai's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum told the conference earlier that the digital gap could threaten world security and called for an international body to assist developing countries improve access to new technologies. http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/jan2001-daily/18-01- 2001/business/b2.htm From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Jan 21 00:47:33 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id AAA111356; Sun, 21 Jan 2001 00:47:33 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id AAA111284 for ; Sun, 21 Jan 2001 00:46:56 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.180]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Sat, 20 Jan 2001 18:00:46 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id RAA01210; Sat, 20 Jan 2001 17:19:25 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: Cybercom Subject: NEWS-INDIA: Technology classes through cable TV Date: Sat, 20 Jan 2001 15:02:48 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net, gii MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101201503200R.00611@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Technology classes through cable TV by Deepshikha Ghosh, India Abroad News Service New Delhi, Jan 15 - Budding engineers and software technologists in the country and abroad can now attend classes in the elite Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) without clearing the entrance examination. The only hurdle they may encounter is the local cable operator. The IITs in Delhi and Mumbai will produce technology instruction programs for Gyan Darshan, the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry's educational channel, to be launched on January 26. The hour-long programs, tentatively called "IIT at your doorsteps," are being shot in studios within the campus and will include actual classroom lectures. "We want to share the knowledge and expertise available at the IIT with others who may not have access to it but are equally eager," Kushal Sen, professor, educational technology department, at IIT Delhi, told Indiaabroad.com in an interview. There are only five IITs in India, but about 1,265 technical colleges -- 771 awarding degrees in engineering and technology and 494 awarding Masters in Computer Applications (MCA) -- in the country with a total intake of 205,153 (1999-2000) students. These students are expected to benefit from the program, if the local cable operators agree to air the channel. Instead of poring over books for hours in the library or logging on to the Internet, students can just switch on the television for some quality learning. Sen said the channel would shortly be available for transmission in Europe too. "India's reputation in the field of technology has generated a lot of interest about the IIT. So foreign students can also get a feel of an IIT education," he said. The content may be hardcore engineering courses to begin with -- computer science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and textile. "Subsequently we may bring out some programs which are not so technical, but related to technology, like banned dyes, machinery, new ways of teaching, etc.," said Sen. These would be targeted at students, teachers and industrialists. The classroom has been simulated in a studio, where the chalk-talk mode of teaching has been replaced with projections and graphics. "But the class interaction will be real," Sen said. It is certainly not for the masses, but for those who are interested, the IITs promise "high quality" content, which will be both interesting and important for targeted viewers. And the content will be modified and updated each time a new course is added to the IIT curriculum. Gyan Darshan, a proposed 24-hour channel, will be launched as a social responsibility rather than a means of commercial return. According to an Information and Broadcasting Ministry official, terrestrial telecast of the channel is not possible and it could be beamed only through satellite, via cable operators. The HRD ministry will provide the funds for the channel while the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) will provide the content. --India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Jan 21 04:28:57 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id EAA73447; Sun, 21 Jan 2001 04:28:57 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi3.super.net.pk (pop-khi3.super.net.pk [203.130.2.13]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id EAA73412 for ; Sun, 21 Jan 2001 04:28:32 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.7.52]) by pop-khi3.super.net.pk (8.10.0/8.10.0) with ESMTP id f0KILcl04920 for ; Sat, 20 Jan 2001 23:21:42 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sat, 20 Jan 2001 23:32:47 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: India drafts law on 'converged' comms regulator Message-ID: <3A6A201F.3466.47B64A@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India drafts law on 'converged' comms regulator By Jagdish Rattanani, Total Telecom Mumbai 17 January 2001 India's high-level ministerial group on convergence approved Tuesday a draft bill that could lead to a dramatic overhaul of the way the Internet, broadcasting and telecommunications industries are regulated. In the Communications Convergence Bill 2001, the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Convergence proposed the creation of a Communications Commission that would function as an all-powerful regulator for the three marketplaces under a common law, repealing all previous acts governing these sectors. The goal is to have one body that handles all convergence issues from a single forum and which has a better understanding of how one area of technology can impact on another. The new Commission would have powers to grant licenses, resolve disputes and work as the spectrum management agency. It would also have the powers of a civil court in India and would adjudicate on all disputes, and ensure fair and equitable services in the information technology, communications and broadcasting sectors. Market watchers consider it likely that the Commission would on the whole remain a recommending agency and a regulator, like the existing telecoms regulator the TRAI, but with jurisdiction over all communications matters. The government would retain the actual policy- making powers. If passed into law, the Convergence Bill would repeal The Indian Telegraph Act, The Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act and The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, which governs the TRAI. General comments on the draft bill will be invited next week. It will be sent to the Union Cabinet by April, and then to Parliament for final approval. The GoM on Convergence is headed by Finance Minister Yeshwant Sinha, and also includes the Minister for Information Technology Pramod Mahajan, Communications Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj and Law Minister Arun Jaitley. It is not yet clear whether the different ministries will also be reorganized into one single ministry, along the same lines as the proposed new regulator. http://www.totaltele.com/view.asp?ArticleID=35813&pub=tt&categoryid=0 From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Mon Jan 22 04:30:30 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id EAA66128; Mon, 22 Jan 2001 04:30:30 +1000 (EST) Received: from post.super.net.pk (smtp-khi1.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id EAA66010 for ; Mon, 22 Jan 2001 04:29:52 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.5.25]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id XAA20557 for ; Sun, 21 Jan 2001 23:41:54 -0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sun, 21 Jan 2001 23:34:29 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: HOW DO POOR PEOPLE GET INFORMATION IN THIRD WORLD CITIES Message-ID: <3A6B7205.14388.1BAAAEF@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk [e-conference background paper] HOW DO POOR PEOPLE GET INFORMATION IN THIRD WORLD CITIES The Need for Information in the Growing Urban Centres Cities and towns are growing rapidly in developing countries throughout the world. Much of this growth is due to migrants and people who have grown up in the urban areas with little resources, adding to the already widespread informal or squatter settlements which now surround many Third World towns and cities. Most of the largest Third World cities have at least 50% of their population living in such informal settlements and in a few cities informal settlements comprise 70 to 80% of all housing. In newly-established informal settlements most people are often very poor and vulnerable and have little access to even the most basic of services. However, there is evidence from many cities that once informal settlements are legally recognised poor people, largely through their own efforts, can begin to create improvements in their own lives and in the facilities of their settlement. Gradually people begin to establish an expanding range of businesses, services such as transport, health, electricity and water supply are introduced and community-based organisations are set up with a mandate to work for the benefit of local people. What is less apparent is why significant improvements are evident in some informal settlements after only a few years, whereas in others improvement processes might take decades or hardly happen at all. These differences could partly be explained by macro effects, e.g. settlements in countries with higher overall economic growth rates would be likely to improve faster, but perhaps there are also factors related to the settlements themselves and their inhabitants which determine how quickly they are likely to improve. One factor which might be important in urban development is how well- informed people in cities are and how good are their sources of information. It can be considered that cities need information to function. People arriving in cities are faced with a plethora of information needs - how to get registered, how to set up a home, where to go for medical help, where to go to look for work, where to go for food and household items and where are the cheapest prices, how to get water, how to get transport, how to avoid being exploited or robbed, where to go for schooling, etc. etc. How do people get this sort of information? Summary of Findings from the First Phase of the Research ITDG has undertaken a pilot research study, funded by DFID, on strengthening the information systems and knowledge of poor urban people. This involved a literature review and field studies in informal settlements in Peru, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Both the literature review and the field research confirmed the importance of word of mouth communications for poor people to access information, but the radio was also an important secondary source of information for many. Familiar personal contacts were the primary sources of information in all three countries and social networks were important, with the people having the wider and more extensive social contacts generally being better informed and knowledgeable. However, the secondary sources of information were different in the three project countries. In Sri Lanka the state was the most important, in Zimbabwe NGOs and in Peru the private sector, including the media and commercial information services. Some similarities in the information needs of people emerged in the three countries, although there were also notable differences which largely related to particular local or country situations or contexts. Issues around information needs on income generation, healthcare (including children's health), education, housing , water and sanitation were identified in all the three countries. Locally or nationally specific issues included resident registration, the threat of flooding, prostitution and drug addiction, electricity supplies, retirement benefits and local institutional support - though not all of these could be addressed by a better information system. Significant differences between men's and women's information systems and needs emerged in all three countries. The field studies also helped to identify key informants - people playing a particularly important information provision role for communities, and some of these were followed up with supplementary interviews. Key informants were generally individuals, Community Based Organisations (CBOs), NGOs and Government institutions. In Zimbabwe, however, individuals were not mentioned. Specific groups or bodies mentioned included community and village development committees, housing co-operatives, the Local Board (in Zimbabwe), political leaders and women's societies. Useful characteristics of key informants were :- * Being able to provide information in an accessible format * Willingness to share information rather than hold onto it * Ability to access information and extensive outside links * Experience, education, skills, knowledge and reliability * Being close to the communities * Being interested in the development of the community and being willing to listen * Leadership and influence Identified constraints to poor people being better able to access information included :- * Too much information is supply-led rather than demand driven and poor people have little influence on this situation * Information is sometimes not in a suitable format * Some information is not reliable and cannot be independently verified * Some people or institutions act as 'gatekeepers' and make it difficult for others to get their information * Many poor people are unwilling to pay for information. * Few key informants match up to most of the seven desirable characteristics given above, and their own information sources would also be likely to be deficient * Access to Information and Communications Technologies (ICT's) is still very limited, few poor people have televisions and not that many have radios * Women's specific information needs might be overlooked or ignored * People might not prioritise information sources in an effective way, e.g. they are more likely to believe imported soap operas than information from a local medical centre. The current research will look in more depth at these constraints and how they might be overcome. Key Questions for the E-Mail Conference This E-Mail conference is being organised to allow fellow researchers, policy makers, donors, people working with poor communities, teachers or trainers, communications specialists and other people interested in issues around poor people's information needs, access and knowledge acquisition, to provide inputs into the current research phase. We hope that this conference would also be of benefit for your own work and that you find the contributions made by the various participants of interest. We would be particularly interested if you could help to identify specific activities or projects which have helped to inform poor people better or to strengthen their information systems. We would like to write up the best examples of these and disseminate them more widely as part of this project. All participants who register for the conference will receive the contributions from other participants, two-weekly summaries and a summary paper produced after the conference outlining and discussing the main conclusions. The conference is being moderated by Mr B.H. Shadrach. Currently based in Loughborough, UK, Shadrach (b.h.shadrach@lboro.ac.uk) is involved in research activities relating to urban and rural people's knowledge and information systems in developing countries. Shadrach has been the founder member of the indev project (www.indev.org) and served as moderator for the recently concluded Tasknet discussion list (www.tasknet.nic.in). The conference will be run over ten weeks. The first four two-weekly sessions will aim to consider four themes, outlined below. The fifth session would aim to consider other relevant issues or questions attributed to the workshop participants and produce a round- up and summary together with consideration of the next steps. Before each two week session registered participants will also receive a message from the moderators giving more details, than shown below, about the theme of the forthcoming session and the questions to be addressed. The four themes are largely drawn from the priorities emerging from the first phase of the research. You might also wish to raise other issues around poor people's knowledge and information in an urban context, which are not included in the questions below. Please feel free to do so. If the moderators consider these relevant and useful it is hoped that they would be re-visited in the penultimate session of the conference. THEMES / QUESTIONS :- 1. - Where and How Do Poor People Get Information? (22/1/2001 to 4/2/2001) What research experience exists in identifying and assessing poor people's information sources and processes? What are poor people's own perceptions about their information needs? How important are linkages into information sources outside communities and how have such linkages been established? What mechanisms exist within poor communities for people to learn from each other and increase their knowledge? What barriers exist for poor people to improve their information access and how could these barriers be overcome? 2. - The Role of Information in the Development of Settlements and Livelihoods (5/2/2001 to 18/2/2001) How important is information to improve poor people's lives? How could it be possible to identify better what importance information on specific subjects has for poor people? How could the contributions in disseminating information of agencies such as the media, NGOs, commercial companies, local authorities, religious bodies, etc. be assessed? What part does information dissemination have in the take-up and development of technology options by the poor? 2. - Modelling / Analysing Information Flows (19/2/2001 to 4/3/2001) What are respondents own experiences of information dissemination for, with or by poor people? How can information flows in informal settlements be modelled and analysed? Can we learn lessons from other development sectors or fields of research - how have others done it? How can we assess how people made use of information? What would be the limitations to using a modelling approach? 4. - Strengthening Systems and Processes (5/3/2001 to 18/3/2001) How can NGOs and others strengthen poor people's information systems and knowledge? How could poor people become more involved in the strengthening process and contribute significantly to the design of the process themselves? What successful examples of strengthening information systems and processes for disadvantaged people (both in the North and the South) can participants identify, and what were the factors which contributes to the successes? How could strengthening information systems benefit the whole community and not just sections of it? 5. - Outstanding Issues and Conclusions (19/3/2001 to 30/3/2001) Further Background to the Research Study - The Importance of Personal Contacts Friends, relatives and neighbours are likely to be very important information sources for poor urban people, especially in the early stages of a settlement. Later key informants - people considered to be particularly well-informed who many other people go to for information, would also be likely to become important. Key informants could be individuals, e.g. a particular shopkeeper, or be institution-based, for example a religious centre. As a settlement develops, other organisations are likely to become linked to it. A nationally-based NGO might start up some activities in the area; people in the settlement might set up their own community organisation and affiliate it with a network of other similar organisations nationally or regionally-based; an industrial company might set up near the settlement taking most of its labour from the settlement; or the area might be recognised politically and have its own representative in the local authority or state or national Government. These additional institutional links are likely to help people access a wider and more diverse range of sources of information to enable the development of their settlement to continue. The development of information sources in emerging urban informal settlements is often more spontaneous rather than deliberately planned or organised. People are likely to emerge as key informants in communities, often without making deliberate or conscious effort to do so, or they might have a traditional role of providing information within a particular social structure, for example traditional healers. More formal information sources such as libraries, bookshops, Internet cafes or business development support services are rarely established in informal settlements and are usually located in the city centre or near to Government offices or universities and generally have an academic or professional client base rather than people from informal settlements. Additional factors making such formal information sources even less accessible for people from informal settlements would be that users would often need to be literate in a European language, or computer literate, and some information, such as sold publications, might have a price which would be more than many poor people would be willing to pay. At least in some settlements, poor people's information sources would, however, be limited or some of the information they get might not be all that useful to them. The usual route of friends, family, neighbours, key informants might not be of much help to get some of the information required, or the information provided is wrong or misleading, perhaps based on rumour rather than fact or perhaps mis- interpreted by the provider of information. People might still, though, act on wrong or misleading information and this could be potentially damaging to their livelihoods and the development of their communities. A question of fundamental importance is how can poor communities be better informed on the aspects of people's lives where there is the greatest need for useful, reliable and accurate information? - Inclusive Strengthening of the Information Systems of the Urban Poor One approach could be to extend formal information services into informal settlements, to develop, for example, a library service, Internet telecentres, advice centres or community-based radio stations. However, to do this globally in every settlement, the costs would be immense. The cost would not be just for the infrastructure and the facilities but also for training and maintenance. Because the client-base for these services would be likely to remain poor for a considerable time it would be unlikely that in the short to medium term the services would cover their costs and would need some subsidy. Additionally, even in settlements where such services are established they would not be used by the whole community. Particular groups, especially women and the elderly, might hardly use these services at all and they could become further disadvantaged. The better educated and more opportunistic people in the community might monopolise these services. This might help them to get ahead of their peers economically and socially and perhaps eventually to move to a more salubrious neighbourhood, taking their knowledge with them. A somewhat different approach would be much more people rather than facilities-centred, and this research project is exploring this approach.. The starting point would be to understand better who is already providing information in the area and what this information is for. This would help to identify the key informants - both members of the communities and institutionally-based. The question then to consider would be how key informants capacities - to be receptive to people's information needs, become better informed themselves and engage more actively in dissemination activities, could be strengthened. Important aspects of this approach would be to identify information gaps - topics on which little information accessible to the communities exists. Then how to fill these gaps would need to be considered as well as how key informants could become more linked in to more formal sources of information - bridging the physical, intellectual and resources gap between themselves and formal information centres and institutions - the so-called infomediaries. If such linkages could be established this could also allow key informants to feed back on the type of information the infomediaries have available, opening up possibilities for key informants to work together with the infomediaries to ensure that the infomediaries maintain information of value to the poor communities. Ultimately the infomediaries could feed back to their supporters - researchers, donors, project implementers and policy makers to ensure that projects and policies are developed which produce outputs of relevance and use to poor urban people. From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Mon Jan 22 04:44:10 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id EAA68138; Mon, 22 Jan 2001 04:44:09 +1000 (EST) Received: from post.super.net.pk (smtp-khi1.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id EAA68077 for ; Mon, 22 Jan 2001 04:43:44 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.5.25]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id XAA20786 for ; Sun, 21 Jan 2001 23:55:57 -0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sun, 21 Jan 2001 23:48:33 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [E-conf.] Knowledge and Info. Systems of the Urban Poor in Developing Countries Message-ID: <3A6B7551.4093.1C78A7D@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk From: Julie Woodfield E- CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT This is an invitation to subscribe to an electronic conference on the topic of 'Knowledge and Information Systems of the Urban Poor in Developing Countries'. This is part of the research study undertaken by ITDG http://www.oneworld.org/itdg/ and funded by DFID, on ways in which the information systems and knowledge of poor urban dwellers can be strengthened. It is hoped that this e-mail conference will allow fellow researchers, policy makers, donors, people working with poor communities, teachers or trainers, communications specialists and other people interested in issues around poor people's information needs, access and knowledge acquisition, to provide inputs into the current research phase and that it will also be of benefit to subscribers' own work. We would be particularly interested if you could help to identify specific activities or projects which have helped to inform poor people better or to strengthen their information systems. We would like to write up the best examples of these and disseminate them more widely as part of this project. The conference will run over ten weeks, in five two weekly sessions which will aim to consider the following themes: 1. Where and How Do Poor People Get Information? (22/1/2001 to 4/2/2001) 2. The Role of Information in the Development of Settlements and Livelihoods (5/2/2001 to 18/2/2001) 3. Modelling / Analysing Information Flows (19/2/2001 to 4/3/2001) 4. Strengthening Systems and Processes (5/3/2001 to 18/3/2001) 5. Outstanding Issues and Conclusions (19/3/2001 to 30/3/2001) More detailed information on these themes and further background to the project is available in the conference background paper attached. [posted separately] WHAT TO DO NEXT? To subscribe online, go to http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa.exe?SUBED1=urban-poor-info&A=1. Complete your email address and your name only, then choose 'join the list'. To subscribe by email, send the following message to jiscmail@jiscmail.ac.uk join URBAN-POOR-INFO FIRSTNAME LASTNAME (replacing FIRSTNAME LASTNAME with your own names). You will be sent an automated Welcome message, with further details and instructions. Julie Woodfield E-conference editor From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Mon Jan 22 11:56:13 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id LAA128093; Mon, 22 Jan 2001 11:56:12 +1000 (EST) Received: from post.super.net.pk (smtp-khi1.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id LAA128087 for ; Mon, 22 Jan 2001 11:56:06 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.7.96]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id HAA24419 for ; Mon, 22 Jan 2001 07:08:25 -0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2001 07:00:57 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [Pakistan] Dawn editorial on IT's progress in Pakistan Message-ID: <3A6BDAA9.733.38947@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Dawn, 13 Jan 2001 IT: good progress INFORMATION technology has emerged as the fastest growing sector in Pakistan. According to the science and technology minister, foreign companies have invested Rs 12 billion in this sector in the last few months alone. Given the rapid strides IT has made in the country, it is plain that when the government has the political will it can make things work. Of course the right man has to be placed on the right job and in this case a lot of credit goes to the minister, Prof Attaur Rahman, who is a scientist of repute. Since he was asked by this government to head the science ministry which was previously one of the most underrated ones, Prof Atta has brought his knowledge and commitment to bear on this erstwhile neglected area of national life. Hence the quick development which has come mainly on account of the right strategies adopted. The infrastructure for information technology has expanded enormously in recent months in terms of easy and affordable access, quality of service available and the number of Internet providers. With the Internet bandwidth cost having been reduced by 53 per cent and more cuts being in the offing, the information highway is no longer prohibitively costly to reach. Already the number of connections is over 150,000 - which means that the number of users is much higher. Bandwidth usage has gone up by 110 per cent. From 23 towns in August the facility has been extended to 300 cities and small towns all over the country. With tax incentives and other financial facilities being provided to IT investors, one can be certain that all this will prove helpful in the spread of information technology but also give a boost to the development of science in the country. The positive dimension is that the chunk of the IT budget is to be channelled into human resource development. This is to be in the form of scholarships for IT students and the establishment of IT institutions, including a virtual university. The importance of this cannot be overemphasized. Already it is being felt that the quality of Pakistan's IT technicians is not always of the desired level because a number of substandard institutions claiming to be training people in information technology have mushroomed all over but they actually teach very little. It is a positive development that the government is aware of these constraints and deficiencies and is trying to remove these and improve the overall training facilities. One only hopes that the Internet will ultimately be used to usher the country into the 21st century. This calls for two basic issues to be addressed in all earnestness. One is the question of the spread of education in the country. The other is the approach adopted vis-a-vis the use of information technology. Given the dismal state of education in Pakistan as shown by the appallingly low enrolment ratios and poor standards, IT may serve to further divide society between the haves and the have-nots. At present it is only the affluent classes which enjoy the benefits of a good education in private schools and universities which are beyond the reach of the low-income groups. If IT remains the exclusive preserve of the rich, the social cleavage will widen. Similarly, it is important that IT is used to promote knowledge, education, enlightenment and economic development. It is after all a means to an end and not an end in itself. From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Mon Jan 22 23:43:17 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id XAA75807; Mon, 22 Jan 2001 23:43:16 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id XAA75717 for ; Mon, 22 Jan 2001 23:42:28 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.199]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Mon, 22 Jan 2001 16:15:51 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id QAA01646 for ; Mon, 22 Jan 2001 16:27:22 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: BYTESFORALL: Jan 22, 2001 issue Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2001 16:21:37 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101220144060R.00612@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ _/ _/ b . y . t . e . s . f . o . r . a . l . l. issue dated 22 Jan 2001 _/ u n s u b s c r i p t i o n info at the end of the message _/ _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ BYTES FOR ALL web site (http://www.bytesforall.org) has been designated by the Changemakers.net Library as one of the top Web sites for social entrepreneurs, and has been entered into the collection at http://www.changemakers.net/library/fieldlink.cfm?field=Asia. Changemakers.net (http://www.changemakers.net/) is an initiative of Ashoka - Innovators for the Public and is the leading Web site that focuses on the rapidly growing world of social entrepreneurship. Its mission is to provide inspiration, resources, and opportunities for those interested in social change throughout the world. Congrats to Partha Sarkar who is the person primarily working on creating and updating the bytesforall.org web site. LOW-COST RADIO NETWORKS, DATA THRU THE PC: Atul Asthana is looking to provide low cost radio networks for villages to exchange data thru PCs. He writes: "The prime objective is to improve quality of life and empower villagers to take control of their fate. This requires extending PC based networks to villages in the local language. The connectivity is a bottleneck. POTS cannot be relied upon. I guess the best alternative is V/UHF radio based ip network. The rquisite hardware and software (for communication) needs to be located." Asthana says the idea is to provide a communication terminal (PC) with information retrieval and uploading apps running, so that a villager can findout rates in local 'mandi' (market) , post complaints to an official or the village doctor can refer to some medical expertise or get some governmental info. This requires a single terminal in a village (to start with), operating in local lingo (rather script) and manned by a person who is literate and can operate the terminal. The bandwidth requirements are max 10kbps (at present), and he's looking at the use of old discarded PCs operating Linux and connecting thru (presently POTS) a radio network. Low-cost of operation, infrastructure and good reliability would be critical factors. "I'll need your help in any aspect viz. hardware, connectivity, end application, user education (and requirement of villagers). I've gone thru the WLL, packet radio, GSM etc. tech/cost analysis and none of these seem to be fit, they are either overkill on cost or technology (read complexity) or not suitable for web based/IP networks (full duplex connectivity)," writes Asthana. PROF ASHOK JHUNJHUNWALA, OF IIT-MADRAS responded to say that the technology they've been working on -- CorDECT WLL -- is "a very cost-effctive solution if you want one or two telephones in every village in a taluk (sub-district). It provides telephone and Internet simultaneously. We are installing it for small businesses." ARUN MEHTA IN DELHI SUGGESTED THAT in a low-density rural environment, where there are no phones, you have to look for wireless connectivity. The only frequency band (in India) for which it is relatively easy to get a license within a few months is the 2.4 GHz. Equipment is available for the purpose, but that isn't yet cheap..." Dr Mehta also suggested that satellite broadcasting could work out "fairly inexpensive" if a large number of villages all wanted this. But the problem of the "return path" still remained, and for this wireless is a "viable possibility". CHINA WEB USERS TOP 22.5 MILLION, BUT GROWTH SLOWS: China says more than 22.5 million of its 1.3 billion people are now on the Internet, but industry watchers said on growth cooled over the last six months because the keenest users like students and young urbanites were already signed up. Future growth prospects remained bright, however, thanks partly to a recent drop in telephone fees. The cuts will help make Internet use mainstream by attracting low-income families, analysts said. China's number of Web surfers more than doubled in 2000 to 22.5 million from 8.9 million, the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) said. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010118/wr/tech_china_dc_2.html RESOURCES ON INTERNET IN AFRICA: Geoffrey Williams says that probably the best resource on internet in Africa is Mike Jensen's work at http://www3.sn.apc.org/africa PHONE-TO-PHONE, VIA THE NET: INTER-FONE, U.S.A. has announced the launch of their latest phone-to-phone communication system. The Inter-Fone (IF-T-130) card uses state-of-the-art technology to send and receive voice signals over any TCP/IP Protocol connection on Dial up, DSL, Broadband, Cable connection for Internet, Intranet, LAN, Lease line or V-SAT connection. This lowers the long distance calling cost, since all the calls are made at normal local telephone billing. URL: http://www.Inter-Fone.com ONLINE COURSE, ICTs FOR THE THIRD WORLD: Dr Barbara Fillip is developing this course, and a tentative syllabus is posted at http://homestead.juno.com/bfillip (click "online Course) Barbara Fillip, is a researcher/consultant at Arlington, VA. THE NET IN INDIA, LUXURY FOR A FEW: With a high poverty level and unequal income distribution, web access in India is limited to the privileged few that can afford it. Internet use in India currently stands at 0.4 percent of the adult population, or 1.8 million people. Although the online population is expected to grow, the highly unequal distribution of income in India means that only a small proportion of the population can be considered potential Internet users. One obstacle facing the growth of India's online population is the country's poor telecoms infrastructure. At 2.2 lines per 100 citizens, telephone penetration in India is extremely low. Many of the lines that do exist are not of a high enough quality to support adequate Internet connection speeds. [SOURCE: http://www.nua.ie/surveys] INDIA- INTERNET USAGE DOUBLES: CT Mahabharat writes that Internet reach in India has doubled in the last six months. From a total subscriber base of 1,022,754 in March, the number of Internet subscribers shot up to 2,045,509 in September.http://www.newsbytes.com/news/00/159407.html KNOWNET OFFERS UPDATES relating to ICTs and knowledge networking. The KnowNet initiative centers around using and propagating ICT models for creating an open system for recognising, valuing, enriching and sharing of local knowledge, in parallel with human capacity building efforts. This will lead to a two-way process of people accessing information and knowledge for development and also information and knowledge finding its way to the probable users. Some resources have already been developed and hosted on the website at http://www.knownet.org under the KnowNet Initiative namely KnowNet Weaver http://www.knownetweaver.org - a tool kit for creation of interactive websites and TechKnowNet http://www.techknownet.org - an email administered /on-line training course for web development for layperson. Both these resources are free and are being put to use through the help of remote KnowNet volunteers, says Vikas Nath http://www.knownet.org http://www.cddc.vt.edu/knownet/internetinfo-news.html Equal Access (or, = access) is a digital satellite broadcasting service dedicated to serving the news, education, health and development needs of poor communities within the developing world. It will work closely with on-the-ground development organizations to create communications campaigns and educational programmes. = access will provide multiple high-quality digital radio networks and additional multimedia services. It will support the delivery of these services to rural and urban poor communities through the donation of community-based receivers, computers and solar power systems. http://www.eqaccess.org Contact Kimberly Weichel SOURCE: The Drum Beat Jan 15, 2001 EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS FROM INDIA: This is an Indian governmental initiative to disseminate educational material produced by four apex Indian organisations: National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), National Open School (NOS), Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and the Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC). E-mail: response@ei-india.org URL http://www.ei-india.org/ PAKISTAN PLAN TO INSTALL WIRELESS LOCAL LOOP: TeleCard Ltd., has entered into a joint venture with Pakistan Telecommunication Ltd., to set up and install a wireless local loop costing $126 million. TeleCard and PTCL plan to install 125,000 wireless card payphones by the year 2004. The wireless local loop (WLL) network will provide services to urban, semi-urban and rural areas. It will utilise state of the art of wireless technology, which offers numerous benefits including higher network capacity, scalability, wide area coverage, exceptional voice quality and high- speed data communication capabilities. [Info through s-asia-it@apnic.net mailing list/Irfan Khan] http://www.brecorder.com/story/000007/200101/20010110/200101100665.sht ml?Telecommunications PERMISSION FOR SATELLITES FOR RURAL COMMUNICATIONS: Gary Garriott informs that the US Federal Communications Commission has authorized VITA to operate two low orbiting satellites that constitute the VITAsat 'virtual constellation.' In late November 2000 the FCC granted VITA Special Temporary Authority to operate the HealthSat-2 satellite and a transponder on the UoSAT-12 satellite, which VITA calls VITAsat-1R and VITAsat-2. Both satellites will be used in an innovative system to provide communications services to isolated rural areas of Third World countries. The temporary authority allows VITA, in coordination with its partners Wavix (http://www.wavix.com), SatelLife, (http://www.satellife.org), and Surrey Satellite Technology, Ltd. ((http://www.sstl.co.uk) to begin operations after nearly a decade of development, experimentation, and demonstration. VITAsat will deliver sustainable, low-cost communications and information services for humanitarian purposes to remote communities having no access to line-based or wireless telephone service. VITAsat's targeted information content and services are designed specifically to meet the needs of small businesses, local NGOs (non-governmental organizations), educators, health workers, researchers, administrators, agricultural extensionists, natural resources managers and other relief and development workers. The system uses simple, reliable, store-and-forward email messages relayed to the Internet via the orbiting satellites and gateway stations. Advanced compression technology and software that allows access to web pages using email make the vast information resources of the web available via VITAsat anywhere in the world. SOFTWARE FOR THE DISABLED: Prema Prabakar writes from a non-profit organisation working for the disabled. She says: "We have joined hands with Indira Ghandhi College Trichy (South India) to develop softwares for assisting disabled.The Computer Science department of the college and the principal Dr.K.Meena are assisting in this task." This was earlier announced in the journal of the Computer Society of India, a national-level body of professionals. CELLULAR OPERATORS HEAR A RURAL BEEP: Reports in The Economic Times (Mumbai, India) reports that operators across India are seeing more than 50 per cent of all incremental growth in cellular business coming from small towns and rural areas. Says the report: "And we are not talking about the now legendary mobile-toting rich farmers atop tractors. The cellular has reached the man on the cycle, the fisherman and the village sarpanch in not so prosperous villages and towns." http://www.economictimes.com/today/21tech01.htm PAKISTAN -- UNDP PROJECT TO BOOST I.T. EDUCATION: Nadeem Hameed reports that UNDP resident representative Onder Yucer has presented a feasibility report for the Virtual Information Technology University / South Institute of Information Technology (VITSU/SIIT). Prepared by the UNDP for the Government of Pakistan, the report provides a basis, both technical and financial, to set up the VITU/SIIT at an envisaged total cost of Rs. 1.193 billion (US $21 million). Based on the fact that there is a severe shortage of quality IT faculty in Pakistan, and a growing demand for large numbers of qualified IT graduates both within and outside Pakistan, the Virtual Information Technology University (VITU) would be expected to bring together a critical mass of experienced faculty to provide world-class education in the IT sector to a large student body. Student enrolment is expected to reach 96,000 after five years. IT TO FIGHT POVERTY: Dr.Bhausaheb Ubale of the International Centre for Eradication of Poverty suggests a pilot project in District Satara in Maharashtra State. The Centre will be divided into two sections: (1) Computer lab. for training trainers, computer literacy training to students and others in villages; and also training in hardware maintainance. (2) Information and Communication /Technologies Centre and Community Resource Centre which will provide diverse information services in response to community needs: public telephone and fax, government service directories, regional employment listings, agricultural prices from brokers in several cities, posting crop and pest observations for the agricultural extension agent, electronics mail for distance education radio courses, and self-placed training, and information about appropriate technology and its applications. At the end Dr.Ubale requested people of Indian origin settled in the West to donate their skills and expertise in every field. He added that "our efforts are not charity driven; they are designed to empower poor people. It is a fact that a large number of people in India are caught up in the poverty trap. Hence, it is particularly important for us (people from India settled in the West) to recognize that we have a moral responsibility to help those whom we have left behind and who are struggling to break the cycle of poverty". http://www.eradicatepoverty.com 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 bYtES For aLL is a voluntary, unfunded venture. CopyLeft, 2000. bYtES For aLL volunteers team includes: Frederick in Goa, Partha in Dhaka, Zunaira in Karachi, Zubair in Islamabad, Archana in Goa, Arun-Kumar in Darmstatd, Shivkumar in Mumbai, Sangeeta in Nepal, Daryl in Chicago and Gihan in Sri Lanka. To contact them mail bytes-admin@goacom.com TO UN / SUBSCRIBE simply send a message to fred@bytesforall.org with UNSUBSCRIBE BfA or SUBSCRIBE BfA as the subject line. 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Jan 23 01:08:45 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id BAA86733; Tue, 23 Jan 2001 01:08:44 +1000 (EST) Received: from web5102.mail.yahoo.com (web5102.mail.yahoo.com [216.115.106.72]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id BAA86714 for ; Tue, 23 Jan 2001 01:08:41 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <20010122150836.16406.qmail@web5102.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [63.109.248.59] by web5102.mail.yahoo.com; Mon, 22 Jan 2001 07:08:36 PST Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2001 07:08:36 -0800 (PST) From: Samreen Zehra Subject: IT Scholarships To: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk COMPUTER AND IT TRAINING SCHOLARSHIPS FOR FACULTY, STUDENTS, STAFF AND ADMINISTRATORS Dear Faculty/Student/Staff/Administrator, National Education Foundation (NEF) CyberLearning, a non-profit organization dedicated to bridging the Digital Divide since 1994, is offering "No Excuse" tuition-free on-line training in Information Technology to the first 10,000 applicants. NEF, nominated for the prestigious Ford Foundation Leadership Award, offers two on-line programs recently acclaimed by Forbes Magazine as the "Best of the Web" and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce: 1) Personal Computing (300+ self-study and instructor-led courses including all Microsoft Office in English and Spanish, Web Design, Lotus Notes, Internet, E-mail, E-commerce etc, tuition value of $1,000) for a $75 registration fee, the only cost. 2) Information Technology (650+ self-study and instructor-led courses, including the above and 350+ Certification courses in Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, Novell, Web Master etc, tuition value of $3,000) for a $270 registration fee, the only cost. For either program, registration is valid through June 30, 2001 and there are no tuition costs for classes. The registrant receives free unlimited access to the courses, a 24x7 online library, 24x7 tech support, chat areas, skill tests and evaluations. This is an exceptional value and a great way for anyone to upgrade IT skills and learn new skills. To sign up, visit www.cyberlearning.org and click on "PC Scholarships(300+ Courses)" or click on "IT Scholarships (650+ Courses)." Then, complete the "Teachers and Others in Education" application. Many schools reimburse the fee or pay with Purchase Order, since CyberLearning courses are included in the Federal Learning Exchange. Thousands of teachers, students and staff are already enrolled in the program. To bridge the Digital Divide, NEF also provides "No Excuse" IT training scholarships to disadvantaged school and college students and teachers anywhere in the Nation. Please forward this information to all interested faculty, teachers, students, staff and administrators. Groups can sign up using school credit card or Purchase Order. To unsubscribe, please reply with "unsubscribe" in the subject line. About NEF: The non-profit National Education Foundation CyberLearning has provided tuition-free IT training to thousands of students, teachers, government and non-profit employees and disadvantaged individuals since 1994. NEF is well on its way to training 100,000 IT professionals and a million disadvantaged students nationally through its "No Excuse" IT Training Program. NEF has earned many distinctions including "The Ivy League of IT Training," "1995 Fairfax Human Rights Award," and " A Leader in Bridging the Digital Divide." "You are helping to empower America. I salute you for your ongoing commitment to creating a better America," --- President Clinton "Congratulations on a wonderful program," --- Congressional Leader Tom Davis (R-VA) "This is an awesome opportunity. You are making a difference."-- Washingtonjobs.com "NEF can make a positive difference in the lives of a great number of individuals." --- Microsoft " The best online IT training program I have come across. I am using it to train my students in IT certification," --- Doug Bertain, Palo Alto High School IT Teacher " I just want to say thank you on behalf of the many people that benefit from your incredible benevolence." --- Lilia Nunez, a registrant and a Digital Divide program beneficiary "I have found the CyberLearning online courses to be extremely easy and useful. I liked pre-course self-assessment and IT books online and available 24/7. The course screens were interactive and made me feel as if I was in the application itself. The site looks and feels very professional. The list of courses is huge. It includes something for almost everyone. I find this to be a very worthy cause." --- Ken Horowitz, IT Training Coordinator __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices. http://auctions.yahoo.com/ From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Jan 23 13:41:59 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id NAA71783; Tue, 23 Jan 2001 13:41:58 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id NAA71752 for ; Tue, 23 Jan 2001 13:41:53 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.110]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Tue, 23 Jan 2001 09:07:14 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id JAA01019; Tue, 23 Jan 2001 09:18:02 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: gii Subject: LINK: One million IT jobs in five years, promises Naidu Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 08:11:33 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01012308115903.00609@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-IT-Andhra Pradesh One million IT jobs in five years, promises Naidu by Mohammed Shafeeq, India Abroad News Service Hyderabad, Jan 22 - Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu says his government will create one million jobs in the information technology (IT)-enabled services sector in the state in the next five years. The government proposes to take IT literacy to every nook and corner of the state and will involve all educational institutions, including those in the private sector, in its efforts, Naidu said while addressing a Global Leadership 2020 Program here. Naidu said his government was working hard to develop Hyderabad as a knowledge hub for the entire world and also as a transit hub between Europe and China. Speaking of his "Vision 2020," he said the government was taking all steps to achieve the goals envisaged in the document prepared in association with consultants McKinsey and Co. to make the state the best in the country. He said when he became chief minister five years ago, he had a dream which appeared impossible. "Now, because of the hard work, vision, leadership and development of human resources, that dream is becoming a reality," he said. The chief minister said Andhra Pradesh had benefited immensely from the development of the IT sector. He said in 1995, Hyderabad had only 44 software firms and the number of such companies had now grown to 977. He said Andhra Pradesh was drawing inspiration from the success stories of China, Singapore, Malaysia and Dubai. Naidu said apart from software, his government would promote biotechnology. He pointed out that Hyderabad had 20 corporate hospitals and 35 bulk drug companies. The city, he said, had all the advantages to accommodate world-class companies. "In another four or five years the city will be totally transformed," he claimed. The chief minister said the government had created an atmosphere conducive for foreign investments. During the recent Partnership Summit of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here, the state received commitments for Rs. 700 billion in investment, he said. The government would soon appoint an escort executive for every important project to expedite the process of clearances from various government departments, he added. About 50 mid-level executives from seven global companies in North America, Europe and Asia are participating in the weeklong Global Leadership 2020 Program, sponsored by the Tuck School of Business of the U.S. and the CII. The course director of the program, Vijay Govindrajan, a professor at the Tuck School of Business, said the participants would study the problems and challenges faced by Indian companies in competing in the global market. --India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Jan 23 13:42:00 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id NAA71785; Tue, 23 Jan 2001 13:41:59 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id NAA71753 for ; Tue, 23 Jan 2001 13:41:54 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.110]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Tue, 23 Jan 2001 09:07:16 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id JAA01052; Tue, 23 Jan 2001 09:18:06 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS: U.S. team in India to explore Media Lab Asia venture Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 08:47:28 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: gii MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101230847510E.00609@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-U.S.-MIT U.S. team in India to explore Media Lab Asia venture by Dipesh Satpathy, India Abroad News Service New Delhi, Jan 22 - A six-member Massachussets Institute of Technology Media Lab (MITML) team is on a weeklong visit to India to explore avenues for setting up a lab for Asia in the country on the lines of one in the U.S. that pioneered collaboration between academia and industry focusing on basic research without traditional disciplinal barriers. Although China was also being considered for the project, MIT has informally agreed to set up Media Lab Asia (MLA), the second such project outside the USA after Media Lab Europe (MLE), in India, sources in the Ministry of Information Technology here said. The location of its centre, which is linked to the presence of top-class academic and research institutes in a city, is however yet to be decided, they said. MLA that would address three grand challenges -- education, health and financial sustainability -- is aimed at making sound education accessible to all children, providing state-of-the-art public health tools and medical information to all, and creating a culture of micro-enterprise, in which all have the knowledge, opportunity and access needed to start and run their own small businesses. "Our trip is still exploratory," team member Neil Gershenfeld, who arrived here Monday morning, told IANS. Others in the team led by MITML's Academic Director Alex Pentland are Barry Vercoe, Michael Best, Deb Roy and Vikram Kumar, all from MITML. The team will visit, Lucknow, Kanpur, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and meet IT Minister Pramod Mahajan, senior government officials, scientists, people from the entertainment industry and the financial sector. The plan also includes meetings with chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. The current visit is a part of the process taken up by a joint Indo-U.S. task force on the issue to formulate a proposal, which would be submitted to the government by the first week of next month, sources said. Signing of an MLA agreement between the two countries is also planned. The team's tour follows the visit of a three-member Indian team led by S. Ramakrishnan, senior director in the IT Ministry, to the U.S. last month to discuss MLA. Other members were Sanjay Dhande, dean, research and development, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and Prakash Javdekar, a member of MLA'S screening committee. Visits have also been planned to IITs in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, the National Center for Software Technology (NCST) and ICICI Ltd in Mumbai, Electronics Research and Development Center of India (ER&DCI) in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, Center for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC) and a private company Geometric Software in Pune, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore, Bhatkhande School of Music in Lucknow and a few NGOs that include one floated by IIT Kanpur to popularize electronic gadgets for the handicapped in rural areas, according to sources. Sponsors from the IT industry, which would be a prime stakeholder in the venture, would also be eligible for the intellectual property (IP) generated at MLA and MLE free of license and royalty fees, the sources added. MLA would comprise, in addition to a central lab, a number of regional labs, where companies, non-government organizations (NGOs), students, and community members could discuss their needs, problems and probable solutions. MLA would enable India envision tomorrow's technology, products, concepts and services and provide a competitive edge to address global markets, senior IT ministry officials said. The initial goal of the MLA project, the sources said, was to generate $1 billion in direct funding over a period of 10 years. The Indian government is expected to pay $200 million, much of it as seed money to attract other investors, and $400 million is to come from private foundations, companies and individuals. The rest would be procured from governmental bodies like the World Bank, as per initial plans. At maturity, the research and development activities of the regional media centers are expected to generate between $30-60 million annually, and India has suggested an initial budget of $10 million for the first year of the project. MITML, since its inception in 1985, has 40 registered patents to its credit. Its contributions include advances in electronic paper, new forms of data hiding, wearable computers, musical jackets and quantum computing. Its annual budget is about $30-35 million. -- India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Jan 24 03:08:31 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id DAA118098; Wed, 24 Jan 2001 03:08:30 +1000 (EST) Received: from guardian.apnic.net (guardian.apnic.net [203.37.255.100]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id DAA118089 for ; Wed, 24 Jan 2001 03:08:29 +1000 (EST) Received: (from mail@localhost) by guardian.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id DAA29358 for ; Wed, 24 Jan 2001 03:08:28 +1000 (EST) Received: from mail.uthplanet.com(202.9.136.18) by int-gw.staff.apnic.net via smap (V2.1) id xma029356; Wed, 24 Jan 01 03:07:55 +1000 Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.212]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Tue, 23 Jan 2001 22:31:47 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id WAA01007; Tue, 23 Jan 2001 22:44:48 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: FEATURE: India faces huge digital divide, in spite of change Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 20:04:30 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: Cybercom MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01012320050205.00615@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India faces huge digital divide, in spite of change (Feature) by Sumeet Chatterjee, India Abroad News Service New Delhi, Jan 23 - As the rest of the world talks of a slowdown in the U.S. economy, e-commerce, portals and cyber money, India worries that the rapid strides being made in information technology (IT) will widen the gap between the country's privileged urban population and its forgotten rural populace. Even its heyday fortunes, about a year ago when venture capital flowed like manna in the desert, were only for a chosen few. And though the number of Internet users continues to rise steadily, the trickle down effect, notwithstanding a few villages that now do their accounts on computers, has been nonexistent. On the one hand, professionals in the information technology (IT) sector continue as the apples of the eye for most developed and computerized economies, including the United States, Germany and Japan. On the other, Internet blue chips, online shopping and nanosecond e-mail have failed to cure century-old malaises like illiteracy, poverty and unemployment in India. What's more, the digital divide is not restricted to less developed states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Orissa with traditionally weak infrastructure but also the new "IT states" like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. "For any revolution to take place, there are certain prerequisites. The digital revolution too requires an enabling environment, which India has not put in place as yet," said Amul Gogna, executive director of the Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency (ICRA), an independent credit rating firm. And the main woe is infrastructure. Access to technology is constrained by infrastructure parameters like electricity, the number of personal computers (PCs) and telephone lines. Per capita electricity consumption in India remains around 363 kw, far below the 4,959 kw in Hong Kong, one of the region's technology powerhouses, the 5,421 kw in Britain and the 11,822 kw in the U.S. India has 22 telephone lines per 1,000 people compared with 70 in neighboring China and three PCs per 1,000 compared with nine in China. The installed base of PCs in the country is five million, which means only five out of every 1,000 people have a PC. The software industry is undoubtedly the bright star of the Indian economy that is growing by around six percent a year and faster than the three to four percent growth rate in earlier decades. The expected $6 billion of software sold abroad in the current financial year - equivalent to 13 percent of India's exports - will help the country to ride out high global oil prices, partly offsetting its estimated $20 billion oil import bill. But the new economy industry has directly benefited only a small proportion of the population. Software companies employ just 340,000 out of India's one billion-strong population. "IT has as yet failed to touch the lives of the average citizen in the rural areas," Gogna told IANS. But in several parts of the country, farmers are beginning to realize how real-time information, made available either through state-sponsored or private initiatives, can help them earn better prices for their crops. In Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district, for example, villagers get the latest quotations for their potato crop from the state's wholesale markets for as little as Rs.5. In the process, they have found that their average realization has gone up by as much as 33 percent as middlemen have been done away with. A study by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) forecasts that the number of Internet subscribers will gallop to 3.5 million from the current 950,000 by the end of 2002. But experts feel the lack of access to communications and IT tools -- coupled with the high percentage of illiteracy in the rural areas -- act as major roadblocks in the nation's fight against socio-economic problems and its leapfrog to a knowledge-based society. Some like Nasscom chief Dewang Mehta no doubt feel the same tools that critics say are widening the gap between the "haves and the have-nots" could be successfully deployed for a "digital unite." "The division between the rural and urban areas was there in India for the last so many years. So there is no question of digital technology creating a divide between rural and urban areas. In fact, it is being effectively used to bridge the gap in several states," says Mehta. But the political leadership in some states is unconvinced. In Bihar, for instance, the political leadership does not consider IT a useful tool but an elitist phenomenon with little relevance to India. Experts, therefore, argue that if the political leadership in states like Bihar has such convictions, the people there will lag behind their counterparts in other states in today's knowledge-based age. In such a scenario, they feel, IT cannot be termed as the cause for the divide. Mehta says, "Issues like taking the IT revolution to rural India cannot be left to the government alone to solve and private sector participation is needed to bridge the gap." At the current rate, that will take a long time. -- India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Jan 24 05:03:32 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id FAA69135; Wed, 24 Jan 2001 05:03:32 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id FAA69128 for ; Wed, 24 Jan 2001 05:03:27 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.103]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Wed, 24 Jan 2001 00:28:45 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id XAA01215; Tue, 23 Jan 2001 23:08:01 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: Cybercom Subject: NEWS: India to emerge as global hub for developing multi-lingual computing tech Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 23:02:06 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101232303180B.00615@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Sounds good... but can someone enlighten us as to what is the actual practical position on the ground? FN *************************************************************** India to emerge as global hub for developing multi-lingual computing tech by Sumeet Chatterjee, India Abroad News Service New Delhi, Jan 23 - India has the technical expertise and skilled manpower to emerge as the global hub for the development of multilingual computing technology which will facilitate greater human interaction with computers, a senior government official said Tuesday. "India can emerge as a global hub for developing language technology which is an important tool in bridging the digital divide," Vinay Kohli, secretary in the ministry of information technology, said while addressing a seminar on technology development in Indian languages (TDIL) here. According to Kohli, the market potential of multilingual computing technology in India is Rs. 1.20 to 1.25 billion over a period of five years. Kohli said that the government has decided to join hands with research institutions to focus on development of computing technology in different languages to promote the use of information processing tools for languages studies and research. "While English is spoken by less than five percent of the country's total population, there are 18 constitutionally recognized languages which are spoken by a major part of the population," he said. Om Vikas, head of TDIL Program in the ministry of information technology, said India's competence in the long term would lie in developing language technologies for other countries. "Chinese will be number one in language-wise world population by end of 2050 at 1.384 billion, followed by Hindi at 0.556 billion, up from 0.316 billion in 1996," Vikas said adding that the industry should explore the possibility of developing technologies in Indian languages and integrate them for innovative user products and services. Vikas said in a multi-linguistic country like India people should be able to use computers and other IT systems in there own languages and drive benefits of enhanced productivity and better quality of life. "National excellence in the millennium shall be determined by the extent to which information technology can deliver its potential in local languages," he said. S. Ramani, director (research and development) of software development firm Silverline Technologies, said that the issue of intellectual property rights acts as a major roadblock in the development of multi-lingual computing technology in India. "While getting a product patented in India is counter productive because the same program can be developed in some other country using a different language. A world-wide patent is usually very expensive in terms of effort and cost," he said. According to Ramani, computer assisted translation has the potential to emerge as a profitable IT-enabled service in India in the next couple of years. -- India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Jan 24 15:11:12 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA84026; Wed, 24 Jan 2001 15:11:12 +1000 (EST) Received: from web11405.mail.yahoo.com (web11405.mail.yahoo.com [216.136.131.235]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id PAA84005 for ; Wed, 24 Jan 2001 15:11:10 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <20010124051107.83165.qmail@web11405.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.251.158.186] by web11405.mail.yahoo.com; Tue, 23 Jan 2001 21:11:07 PST Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 21:11:07 -0800 (PST) From: Azad RMS Subject: Re: Absurdity on its peak as Pakistan Government bans use of internet in Government offices To: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Arun Mehta wrote: > Not just absurd, I am told it is also completely untrue. I also checked using my sources in Isloo and came to know that the newsitem was based on some kind of misunderstanding. I apologize for circulating something that was not true. Azad __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices. http://auctions.yahoo.com/ From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Jan 24 15:15:28 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA85457; Wed, 24 Jan 2001 15:15:28 +1000 (EST) Received: from web11401.mail.yahoo.com (web11401.mail.yahoo.com [216.136.131.231]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id PAA85450 for ; Wed, 24 Jan 2001 15:15:26 +1000 (EST) Message-ID: <20010124051524.44157.qmail@web11401.mail.yahoo.com> Received: from [193.251.158.186] by web11401.mail.yahoo.com; Tue, 23 Jan 2001 21:15:24 PST Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 21:15:24 -0800 (PST) From: Azad RMS Subject: First Time in South Asian: Indian actress launches online novel To: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Dear All, This IT amazes all of us. Look at this e-venture by Tara Deshpande: http://news.bbc.co.uk/low/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1132000/1132950.stm It is an exciting news for Film and Literature buffs. Azad __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - Buy the things you want at great prices. http://auctions.yahoo.com/ From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Jan 24 17:40:15 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id RAA105028; Wed, 24 Jan 2001 17:40:15 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id RAA105017 for ; Wed, 24 Jan 2001 17:40:09 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.180]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Wed, 24 Jan 2001 13:05:25 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id NAA00692; Wed, 24 Jan 2001 13:15:13 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: Cybercom Subject: NEWS-INDIA: India faces huge digital divide, in spite of change Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 12:56:30 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: gii , s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01012413115609.00625@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-IT-Divide India faces huge digital divide, in spite of change (Feature) by Sumeet Chatterjee, India Abroad News Service New Delhi, Jan 23 - As the rest of the world talks of a slowdown in the U.S. economy, e-commerce, portals and cyber money, India worries that the rapid strides being made in information technology (IT) will widen the gap between the country's privileged urban population and its forgotten rural populace. Even its heyday fortunes, about a year ago when venture capital flowed like manna in the desert, were only for a chosen few. And though the number of Internet users continues to rise steadily, the trickle down effect, notwithstanding a few villages that now do their accounts on computers, has been nonexistent. On the one hand, professionals in the information technology (IT) sector continue as the apples of the eye for most developed and computerized economies, including the United States, Germany and Japan. On the other, Internet blue chips, online shopping and nanosecond e-mail have failed to cure century-old malaises like illiteracy, poverty and unemployment in India. What's more, the digital divide is not restricted to less developed states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Orissa with traditionally weak infrastructure but also the new "IT states" like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. "For any revolution to take place, there are certain prerequisites. The digital revolution too requires an enabling environment, which India has not put in place as yet," said Amul Gogna, executive director of the Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency (ICRA), an independent credit rating firm. And the main woe is infrastructure. Access to technology is constrained by infrastructure parameters like electricity, the number of personal computers (PCs) and telephone lines. Per capita electricity consumption in India remains around 363 kw, far below the 4,959 kw in Hong Kong, one of the region's technology powerhouses, the 5,421 kw in Britain and the 11,822 kw in the U.S. India has 22 telephone lines per 1,000 people compared with 70 in neighboring China and three PCs per 1,000 compared with nine in China. The installed base of PCs in the country is five million, which means only five out of every 1,000 people have a PC. The software industry is undoubtedly the bright star of the Indian economy that is growing by around six percent a year and faster than the three to four percent growth rate in earlier decades. The expected $6 billion of software sold abroad in the current financial year - equivalent to 13 percent of India's exports - will help the country to ride out high global oil prices, partly offsetting its estimated $20 billion oil import bill. But the new economy industry has directly benefited only a small proportion of the population. Software companies employ just 340,000 out of India's one billion-strong population. "IT has as yet failed to touch the lives of the average citizen in the rural areas," Gogna told IANS. But in several parts of the country, farmers are beginning to realize how real-time information, made available either through state-sponsored or private initiatives, can help them earn better prices for their crops. In Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district, for example, villagers get the latest quotations for their potato crop from the state's wholesale markets for as little as Rs.5. In the process, they have found that their average realization has gone up by as much as 33 percent as middlemen have been done away with. A study by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) forecasts that the number of Internet subscribers will gallop to 3.5 million from the current 950,000 by the end of 2002. But experts feel the lack of access to communications and IT tools -- coupled with the high percentage of illiteracy in the rural areas -- act as major roadblocks in the nation's fight against socio-economic problems and its leapfrog to a knowledge-based society. Some like Nasscom chief Dewang Mehta no doubt feel the same tools that critics say are widening the gap between the "haves and the have-nots" could be successfully deployed for a "digital unite." "The division between the rural and urban areas was there in India for the last so many years. So there is no question of digital technology creating a divide between rural and urban areas. In fact, it is being effectively used to bridge the gap in several states," says Mehta. But the political leadership in some states is unconvinced. In Bihar, for instance, the political leadership does not consider IT a useful tool but an elitist phenomenon with little relevance to India. Experts, therefore, argue that if the political leadership in states like Bihar has such convictions, the people there will lag behind their counterparts in other states in today's knowledge-based age. In such a scenario, they feel, IT cannot be termed as the cause for the divide. Mehta says, "Issues like taking the IT revolution to rural India cannot be left to the government alone to solve and private sector participation is needed to bridge the gap." At the current rate, that will take a long time. -- India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Jan 24 17:40:17 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id RAA105059; Wed, 24 Jan 2001 17:40:17 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id RAA105024 for ; Wed, 24 Jan 2001 17:40:13 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.180]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Wed, 24 Jan 2001 13:05:22 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id NAA00689; Wed, 24 Jan 2001 13:15:13 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: Cybercom Subject: NEWS: Karnataka teams with ISRO for communication network Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 12:55:15 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: gii , s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01012412555208.00625@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Karnataka teams with ISRO for communication network by Imran Qureshi, India Abroad News Service Bangalore, Jan 23 - Karnataka has become the first state in the country to sign up with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for the establishment of a space-based communication network that will be used for education, health, e-governance, planning and development. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the state government and ISRO, signed Monday, formalizes an already existing arrangement of mapping natural resources for development in areas as diverse as watershed project monitoring and evaluation to development of an information technology (IT) corridor in India's IT capital and rural health (telemedicine) and school network using the INSAT (geo-stationery spacecraft) system. "This is the first state with which we have signed the MoU. It is a very focused space-based program of action. We have now converted the Karnataka remote sensing center into a space applications center. We have also posted a senior officer from ISRO to head the center," ISRO chairman K. Kasturi Rangan said soon after the signing ceremony in the presence of Chief Minister S.M. Krishna. "The ISRO has already completed, in the last 10 months since Krishna took the initiative, to map 30 percent of the 36,000 water bodies in the state and the complete atlas would be ready by the end of 2001," he said. The mapping of ground water prospects would be ready by 2002, he said Mapping of water bodies and drinking water prospects is significant because after Rajasthan, Karnataka is the second state to have some of the largest arid zones in the country. "And, providing drinking water is our government's top priority. We want to provide 55 liters of potable water to every citizen of Karnataka," Krishna said. But, this is not all. By establishing a natural resources information system (NRIS), Karnataka will be able to plan not only its resources and programs for implementation at district level, but also at the sub-district and village level. An experimental mapping in the most backward of districts in the state, Bijapur, has already been completed. "The mapping of the IT corridor in south Bangalore would be of great help to the Jerong Corporation of Singapore which has been chosen by the state government to implement the corridor project," said Karnataka's IT secretary, Vivek Kulkarni, who signed the MoU on behalf of Karnataka with K.R. Sridhara Murthy, scientific secretary, ISRO. "The mapping of the IT corridor would be completed by March 2001," Rangan added. -- India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Thu Jan 25 13:17:54 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id NAA127339; Thu, 25 Jan 2001 13:17:54 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi3.super.net.pk (pop-khi3.super.net.pk [203.130.2.13]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id NAA127310 for ; Thu, 25 Jan 2001 13:17:46 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.7.59]) by pop-khi3.super.net.pk (8.10.0/8.10.0) with ESMTP id f0P3ArN23895 for ; Thu, 25 Jan 2001 08:10:54 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 08:22:28 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [Pakistan] Sustained efforts in IT sector needed Message-ID: <3A6FE244.32076.33C5A9@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk [On 23rd and 24th January 2001 Dawn, which is Pakistan's largest circulation English-language newspaper, organised a two-day event "IT: The Future of Pakistan". A special supplement was also published by the Dawn which is available at http://www.dawn.com/events/infotech/index.htm . The following newsitem -- and a couple of more items that I intend to share with S- Asia-ITers in days to come -- focuses on IT in Pakistan, and related issues. irfan] Sustained efforts in Information Technology sector needed By Nizamuddin Siddiqui and Khalid Rehman KARACHI, Jan 23: Speakers struck optimistic notes at the inaugural session of the country's largest infotech event, "IT - the Future of Pakistan", the doors to which were opened by the federal minister for science and technology on Tuesday morning. They were, however, of the view that though Pakistan had made a promising start in the field of information technology it must sustain its efforts for several years to come before it could achieve its goals. The speakers at the two-day event, organized by the Dawn Group of Newspapers at the Expo Centre, included the federal minister for science and technology, Prof (Dr) Attaur Rehman, and the vice- president of the Intel Corporation, Christian Morales. Mr Morales praised the government's policies as well as Pakistanis' capabilities but cautioned that the policies made today could haunt for decades to come. Prof Rehman said that the country must produce thousands upon thousands of qualified infotech professionals and upgrade the educational institutions before it could forge speedily forward in the information technology field. He announced several initiatives that his ministry was going to launch in the next couple of months. The minister said that whatever had been achieved so far was largely due to the efforts of the private entrepreneurs. Pointing towards the problems the bureaucrats and government functionaries posed, he said: "I have been trying to get round the government rather than through it." The minister was of the view that the governments were like black holes which often were their own worst enemies. "I was humbled by the support the Pakistani entrepreneurs from the United States to Australia extended to me." He announced that on March 23 internet kiosks would be opened at the country's airports. "These kiosks are being set up with the collaboration of Intel Corporation. And 1,800 internet kiosks will be set up at petrol stations throughout the country with the help of Pakistan State Oil," he added. Similarly, the newly-reduced bandwidth rates would come into force in March after the submarine cable was made operable, he said. To encourage the local scientists and engineers as well as to attract Pakistanis working abroad to return, the minister stated, their salary structures were being revised upward. "We had formed a committee for the purpose which had submitted a proposal, which in turn has been approved by the finance ministry." Prof Rehman said that under the new scheme of things the salary of a scientist or engineer would be linked to the number of internationally-cited research papers he produced. "This way a good scientist can earn up to Rs100,000 a month." The minister informed the audience that to organize a rather disorganized IT education sector the government planned to establish national testing and accreditation organizations. The organizations would help standardize IT certification. He observed that the world had become a knowledge- and technology- driven place. The globe's haves were the countries, which had mastered hitech and the have-nots were the peoples which were not well educated. He said that the gap between the haves and have-nots was widening. The information technology afforded the developing countries like Pakistan a chance to catch up with the developed world. "This opportunity has not been created by us but the opportunity nevertheless is there." Giving examples of how wide the technological gap was, he said that one company in Hong Kong had an annual sales of $3 billion which was one-and-a-half times the total annual development budget of Pakistan. Similarly, the budget of a Singaporean university was to the tune of $600 million to $700 million which was about eight times the total budget of his ministry. The minister made passionate appeal for investments in education, knowledge or human resource development. Addressing the elite gathering, Christian Morales of the Intel Corporation said that Pakistanis were a highly talented people and if the right kind of policies were adopted it could become a major player in the international IT market. "Pakistan can learn a lot from countries like Malaysia in this regard." Mr Morales was of the view that the country had several universities and institutions which were producing good quality technocrats. "Keep on building your capacities and initiatives and soon you could be a major player." He said the worldwide e-business market - that is business conducted online - was expanding rapidly and by the year 2004 it would be to the tune of $7 trillion, which is the size of the United States economy. "In Asia alone the size of e-business will be $1 trillion, that is the size of the Chinese economy." Mr Morales and his team demonstrated several products. He also described his organization's endeavours in the field of e-business. Hameed Haroon, the chief executive of Dawn Group of Newspapers, expressed the hope that the mega event would act as a catalyst for change. http://www.dawn.com/2001/01/24/top5.htm From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Thu Jan 25 13:33:13 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id NAA129146; Thu, 25 Jan 2001 13:33:13 +1000 (EST) Received: from post.super.net.pk (smtp-khi1.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id NAA129127 for ; Thu, 25 Jan 2001 13:33:05 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.7.59]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id IAA06603 for ; Thu, 25 Jan 2001 08:45:40 -0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 08:37:49 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [Pakistan] Law on IT testing service, accreditation agency soon Message-ID: <3A6FE5DD.2097.41D63F@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk [Dawn's "IT: The Future of Pakistan" (23-24 Jan 2001)] Law on Information Technology testing service, accreditation agency soon By Our Staff Reporter KARACHI, Jan 23: An ordinance on the national IT testing service and national IT accreditation agency would be promulgated soon, said the federal secretary for IT and telecommunication at the concluding session of the seminar held on Tuesday in connection with 'IT - the Future of Pakistan'. "The ordinance is just round the corner," said Abu Shamim Arif. "It's a matter of days not weeks." The secretary said the ordinance was not aimed at stunting in any way the increase in the number of new infotech institutions. "The idea is not to restrict the growth of these institutions but to act as a guide or facilitator for them." Elaborating, Mr Arif stated that under the ordinance a body would be formed for granting accreditation to the educational institutions which met certain basic requirements. "Initially," he said, "not many IT institutions are likely to be accredited. However, some of the institutions denied accreditation will make improvements and will subsequently be accredited. We hope that a majority of the institutions will finally win accreditation after making due improvements." Mr Arif said the infotech sector faced a "phenomenal" shortage of qualified professionals. The government was trying its best to bridge this gap within the shortest possible time. He described in some detail the steps his division was taking to facilitate growth in the field of information technology. He told all those present that the government was trying to form virtual IT universities but the shortage of faculty members was threatening to become an Achilles' heel. "One way to combat this problem is to subsidize vis its to the country of qualified Pakistani expatriates as visiting professors during Sabbaticals etc." Mr Arif said the government was ready to subsidize the cost of these visits to the tune of 75 per cent. "We will public ise this initiative in the media soon." The government didn't intend to impose any restriction on the individuals who wanted to go abroad for seeking employment, he said. "We have said time and again that we don't want to impose restrictions on the movement of these people." A person who invested a lot of money on his education was entitled to making his own decisions, he said. The secretary was of the view that the people going abroad after acquiring IT qualifications might in fact be an ass et, and prove beneficial for Pakistan in the long run. Mr Arif stated that the real test of the success or failure of the government's IT policies lay in earnings from exports of software. He, however, said the private entrepreneurs tended to give low figures for software exp orted. He announced that the government was planning to establish an "export house" in San Francisco. "A person has also been selected for this important assignment." The secretary added that similar houses were planned for the United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore too. Speaking at the concluding session, Humanyun Mazhar, a private entrepreneur, stated that the country's information technology sector represented enormous potentials. However, Pakistan couldn't achieve its goals until soun d policies were adopted and then sustained for several years. Mr Mazhar presented a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of the infotech sector. He was of the view that the Pakistani technocrats were a competitive and capable lot. "And what is more these are English-speaking people. This is a big advantage." He said at the moment the country had good infrastructure and policies. Mr Mazhar, however, pointed out that there was a dearth of funds in the country. He also lamented the lack of qualified professionals. Mr Mazhar said that retaining good professionals was as important, if not more, as attracting expatriates. He stressed that the government's policies must be consisten t and transparent. Kasim Kasuri, belonging to a private educational institution, compared the merits and demerits of the virtual universities with those of the traditional ones. Zaheer Alam Kidvai, a well-known educationist, spoke on employ ing the internet and infotech in beneficial ways in the education sector. http://www.dawn.com/2001/01/24/top6.htm From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Thu Jan 25 14:32:02 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id OAA71295; Thu, 25 Jan 2001 14:32:02 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi3.super.net.pk (pop-khi3.super.net.pk [203.130.2.13]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id OAA71274 for ; Thu, 25 Jan 2001 14:31:54 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.7.59]) by pop-khi3.super.net.pk (8.10.0/8.10.0) with ESMTP id f0P4PCN26114 for ; Thu, 25 Jan 2001 09:25:13 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 09:36:40 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: International Seminar on Digital Divide Opened in Sri Lanka Message-ID: <3A6FF3A8.24515.77B8DC@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk International Seminar on Digital Divide Opened in Sri Lanka January 23, 2001 - According to AFP reports, Kofi Annan asked developing countries to adopt investor-friendly policies to allow easier access to computers and telecommunications and called for investment and regulatory mechanisms to make information technology accessible to more people. He stressed, at the same time, the danger that the world's poor will be excluded from the emerging knowledge- based global economy. The seminar is organized by UNESCO, the Ministry of Information and the Media of the Government of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation in association with the Kothmale Internet Project of Kothmale Community Radio. A successful link between the radio and the Internet was one of the reason why this rural region has been chosen for the meeting. Although the Kothmale Community Radio cannot be heard on the Internet, it surfs the net on behalf of listeners and helps them with queries on virtually any subject. By doing so it managed to take the world wide web to the local farming population with impressive results. The computers at the station are used freely by children who are seeing the technology for the first time. Many do not have electricity in their homes, but they are already designing web pages. Participants of the four-day workshop are discussing case studies and models, exchanging experiences, views, strategies and techniques for the successful integration of the full spectrum of communication and information technologies at community level. Representatives from DOT (Digital Opportunity Task) Force comprised of the Group of Eight industrial countries (G-8) attending the meeting will be shown the project. They will work on sending a message from Kothmale to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos next week where business executives will be discussing the digital divide. The seminar webpage is at http://www.unesco.org/webworld/public_domain/kothmale.shtml Source: http://www.unesco.org/webworld/news/2001/010123_kothmale.shtml From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Thu Jan 25 14:32:10 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id OAA71327; Thu, 25 Jan 2001 14:32:09 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi3.super.net.pk (pop-khi3.super.net.pk [203.130.2.13]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id OAA71275 for ; Thu, 25 Jan 2001 14:31:58 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.7.59]) by pop-khi3.super.net.pk (8.10.0/8.10.0) with ESMTP id f0P4PBN26111 for ; Thu, 25 Jan 2001 09:25:11 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 09:36:41 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [Pakistan] Questions raised about IT policy Message-ID: <3A6FF3A9.19361.77BA7F@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk [Dawn's "IT: The Future of Pakistan" (23-24 Jan 2001)] Questions raised about IT policy By Our Staff Reporter KARACHI, Jan 23: An academic from the Republic of Ireland discussed in some detail the Pakistan's information technology policy. He was speaking during one of the sessions of the IT symposium held on Tuesday. The academic - Diarmuid Hegarty of the Griffith College, Dublin - informed the audience that continued stress on good education had made his country one of the biggest exporters of software. The Irish had recognized the importance of IT as early as the 70s and sound policies were adopted then. He said that the Pakistani IT graduates were as good as any in the world. Mr Hegarty, however, stated that Pakistan's tax incentive package was not as strong as that of his own country. The academic said Pakistan should perhaps attach more importance to the peripherals and telecommunications etc. "These areas offer comparative advantage to developing countries, like Pakistan." Mr Hegarty was of the view that standardization of curriculums could prove counterproductive. "There may be a tendency here to rest for two years after curriculums are standardized once. This could be dangerous since during the years the bureaucrats and academics are resting the originally standardized curricula will become outdated." There should be some standardization but some room should be allowed for innovation so that new courses could be designed and offered, ensuring vibrancy in the IT education sector. He suggested that the Pakistani IT institutions should move away from employing the lecture-based "chalk-and-talk" method of teaching students, specially where the classrooms are overcrowded. Ideally one group should have only 30 to 40 students. Mr Hegarty also raised questions about the government's proposed accreditation body. "An element of subjectivity may creep into the decision-making of such a body at some point of time." He suggested an alternative system under which the IT students took national examinations every year. "A rating of the institutions could be made on the basis of the institutions' performance. Such a system will be objective in nature." Speaking on the occasion, Syed Hamza Matin, stated that there was a lot of hype about IT but it was not clear yet if the vision would be realized or not. "In Pakistan we lack good business sense as well as funds to make our dreams come true." He, however, said that like the Gold Rush of California the enthusiasm in Pakistan about IT would be beneficial in more ways than one. William Tiga Tita, a senior official of the Group of 77 nations, invited Pakistani entrepreneurs to enter into meaningful e-business - that is business on line - with the 133 countries he represented. He described in detail his portals and websites. Mr Tita said that e-business 'deconstructed' the traditional "value chains" and then reconstructed these in new fashions. He said that the elimination of middlemen was one example of the 'deconstruction' of the "value chains". http://www.dawn.com/2001/01/24/nat1.htm From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Thu Jan 25 14:32:11 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id OAA71343; Thu, 25 Jan 2001 14:32:11 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi3.super.net.pk (pop-khi3.super.net.pk [203.130.2.13]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id OAA71273 for ; Thu, 25 Jan 2001 14:31:51 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.7.59]) by pop-khi3.super.net.pk (8.10.0/8.10.0) with ESMTP id f0P4P7N26107 for ; Thu, 25 Jan 2001 09:25:09 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 09:36:40 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [OECD e-commerce Conference] Bridging the 'digital divide' Message-ID: <3A6FF3A8.5784.77B9A7@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk [OECD E-Commerce Conference, Dubai (16-17 January 2001)] Bridging the 'digital divide' By Ramesh Jaura BONN - Leapfrogging into the future with the help of information technology is a real opportunity for developing countries and poverty reduction. However, efforts to bridge the "digital divide" will succeed only if they are closely allied to the pressing needs of the countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Of utmost importance to the developing nations are areas such as health, education and transport. This was the consensus emerging from a business-government forum and an emerging market forum recently held in Dubai, organized by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Inaugurating the Emerging Market Economy Forum on Electronic Commerce, the Crown Prince of Dubai General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum urged governments and companies in developed countries and multilateral organizations to join forces in an "international gathering devoted to assisting governments and private sectors in developing countries in the area of information technology". The widening of the knowledge gap is denying most developing countries the opportunity for true participation in the new global economy, thereby exposing them to many risks beginning with the economy and extending to include overall stability and security, the Dubai ruler claimed. He added: "When we speak of a one world, one global economy, one international media city, we should also remember that security in the world is also indivisible. This in itself is an additional incentive for industrialized countries to assist in facilitating and accelerating entry of developing countries to the digital economy." Dubai has launched a major investment program associating government spending with private sector initiatives to build an e-commerce hub. Citing this, Sheikh Mohammed called on developing countries to lay the foundations for growth by investing more in education and training and ensuring they have appropriate legislation and regulation for e-commerce development. OECD secretary-general Donald J Johnston said the developed countries are eager and willing to share their experience and expertise in this area, but he underlined the importance of appropriate regulatory structures in all countries as a stimulus to private investment. He also called on developed nations to assist the world's poorest countries and regions in building the essential infrastructures for e-commerce by opening up their markets to the goods and services of the developing world. "Not only is the world unsustainable in the long run with billions of people condemned to poverty," Johnston said, "Expanded trade and investment opportunities for OECD members will depend upon sustainable economic growth and social stability in every region of the globe." As part of international efforts to address the so-called digital divide between nations and citizens with access to advanced communication technology and those without, the OECD is participating in the Digital Opportunity Taskforce set up by the Group of Eight industrial nations last July at their Okinawa summit. Participants in the Dubai consultations made numerous suggestions for ways to help less-favored countries take full advantage of information and communication technology. Among other things, they called for awareness- building exercises involving senior government officials; for government- backed venture capital funds to support IT initiatives; for publicity for successful pilot projects that can serve as examples to others; and for tax incentives to encourage IT companies to expand their operations in these countries. "We have been very impressed with what we have learned about what individual governments, civil society organizations and individual firms are doing in their own countries," OECD deputy secretary-general Sally Shelton Colby said. "The challenge is how to build on what is currently being done and on experience of what is successful and what is not." (Inter Press Service) http://atimes.com/media/CA23Ce01.html From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Fri Jan 26 12:51:23 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id MAA111834; Fri, 26 Jan 2001 12:51:23 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi3.super.net.pk (pop-khi3.super.net.pk [203.130.2.13]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id MAA111829 for ; Fri, 26 Jan 2001 12:51:18 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.5.23]) by pop-khi3.super.net.pk (8.10.0/8.10.0) with ESMTP id f0PLrkU17045 for ; Fri, 26 Jan 2001 02:53:48 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2001 07:56:12 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: (Fwd) IICD launches its new website on ICTs for development - Message-ID: <3A712D9C.26190.381A75@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk -------press release------ IICD launches its new website on ICTs for development Today, 25 January 2001, the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) officially launches its new website (http://www.iicd.org/). It provides valuable information on all its activities in the area of ICT for development purposes. The revamped website keeps visitors posted on all interesting developments in a more transparent and user-friendly way. The website has a new design and improved navigation structure, starting with the homepage that offers a clear overview of IICD's core activities, including links to the Global Teenager project and the ICT Stories pages. Next to general information on IICD, the website provides easy access to recent information on so-called Country Programmes. IICD's approach to ICT for Development, in which the institute acts as a catalyst, is based on an integrated three-prong strategy - a Country Programme. The facilitation of an ICT Roundtable Process constitutes the flagship of the Country Programme since it articulates the demand for ICT applications in developing countries. Local capacity development programmes support all emerging skills needs. Our advisory service caters to the information needs of in-country partners. In addition, best practices and lessons learned, emerging from each Country Programme, are disseminated to a broad public via web-based Information Services. Partnering is the connecting link between IICD's activities and resources that deepen the quality of such activities. The main sections of the website reflect these focal areas, while at the same time providing easy access to all recent news on IICD and its partners' activities via the 'Latest Developments' section. A Service Centre was created by Evident, the website-hosting organisation, to allow IICD and its partners to easily update all information on the site. IICD The International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) assists developing countries to utilise the opportunities offered by information and communication technologies (ICTs) to realise sustainable development. It focuses on good governance, environment, health care, education and socio-economic opportunities, such as e-commerce. Local ownership is the major spearhead in implementing the institute's strategy. IICD's role is to act as a facilitator and an independent broker in knowledge, partnering and funding. Focus countries are to date Burkina Faso, Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia, Mali, Uganda, Jamaica and Bolivia. More information For additional information, please visit our website (http://www.iicd.org/) ------- End of forwarded message ------- From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Fri Jan 26 20:44:05 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id UAA107396; Fri, 26 Jan 2001 20:44:05 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id UAA107389 for ; Fri, 26 Jan 2001 20:44:01 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.177]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Fri, 26 Jan 2001 16:09:14 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id QAA00979; Fri, 26 Jan 2001 16:02:27 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: Cybercom Subject: NEWS-INDIA: Trade2Gain ties up with transport firm for logistics solutions Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2001 15:10:17 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01012615092703.00627@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Trade2Gain ties up with transport firm for logistics solutions from India Abroad News Service New Delhi, Jan 25 - Trade2Gain, India's business-to-business (B2B) service provider of online private marketplaces, has tied up with Transport Corporation of India Ltd. (TCIL) for logistics solutions. As part of the alliance, Trade2Gain will offer bank-end logistics solutions to online buyers and sellers transacting business on the Trade2Gain Web site, a press statement issued by Trade2Gain said here Thursday. The tie-up will enable Trade2Gain to offer Transport Corporation's conventional, XPS Cargo and value added services to its customers, it added. "The Trade2Gain platform will facilitate customers to simplify and systematize logistical and other freight details online ensuring quick and reliable delivery of material," the statement said. "Our alliance with TCIL, which is the largest logistics provider in the country, will help our customers gain direct access to integrated logistics solutions," Subroto Banerjee, president of Trade2Gain, said in a statement. "The online information and booking facilities will reduce the costs of deciding viable logistics solutions. We stand committed to providing end-to-end solutions and value added services to our customers," he added. TCIL provides buyers and sellers comprehensive information about all transport and carriage options. The company also offers door-to-door pick-up and delivery, online tracking, 24-hour accessibility and provides wide reach with over 1000 branches all over India, the statement said. Vineet Agarwal, executive director of TCIL, said that there was an increased demand for comprehensive back end logistics support following significant growth in the number of online auctions. "We have been very cautious with our foray into the B2B space and we have chosen Trade2Gain as it is one of India's largest service providers of hosted marketplaces," Agarwal said. -- India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Fri Jan 26 20:44:06 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id UAA107415; Fri, 26 Jan 2001 20:44:05 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id UAA107390 for ; Fri, 26 Jan 2001 20:44:01 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.177]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Fri, 26 Jan 2001 16:09:17 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id QAA00976; Fri, 26 Jan 2001 16:02:27 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: Cybercom Subject: NEWS-INDIA: Video conferencing links between Andhra Pradesh prisons, courts Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2001 15:08:54 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01012615092703.00627@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-Andhra Pradesh-Jails Video conferencing links between Andhra Pradesh prisons, courts by Mohammed Shafeeq, India Abroad News Service Hyderabad, Jan 25 - Courts and prisons in Andhra Pradesh will have video conferencing links to obviate the need for producing undertrials before magistrates for remand extensions. Andhra Pradesh High Court chief justice Satyabrata Sinha inaugurated the first of these video conferencing links between the Chanchalguda central jail and the city criminal court here on Wednesday. The state government now plans to provide this facility between all prisons and courts as part of a major initiative to use information technology in prison reforms and herald a new era in the criminal justice system. Twenty undertrials were produced before metropolitan magistrate N.Ranoji immediately after the inauguration of the facility. The remand of the prisoners was extended till February 5. Chief Justice Sinha, state Chief Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu and high court judge N.Y. Hanumanthappa interacted with the prisoners about their cases and the conditions at the jail. Andhra Pradesh has 169 jails, including 10 central prisons and 350 courts. There are more than 10,000 prisoners in these jails, 80 percent of whom are undertrials. Speaking at the inauguration, Naidu admitted that undertrials were languishing in jails because the police were not in a position to produce them before magistrates. At present, about 1,000 police constables escort these prisoners to the courts daily, he added. He said the video conferencing facilities at all prisons and courts would help judges to enquire about prevailing jail conditions. "They can make surprise checks through this facility," he said. The video linkage would not only save money and human resources, but also the time of judicial officers. Prisoners too stood to benefit, as they would avoid the psychological pressure of waiting for hours to appear before the courts in person, Naidu said. Hanumanthappa, however, expressed doubts about the system's efficacy and warned about the possible of infringement of prisoners' rights by law enforcement personnel. He pointed out that prisoners might be threatened or coerced by the jail authorities not to speak out on issues like jail conditions. While lauding Naidu for ushering e-governance in the state, Chief Justice Sinha hoped this would not lead to a denial of rights guaranteed to every citizen under the Constitution. He suggested more court proceedings be conducted in jails to ensure the speedy disposal of cases. To a suggestion from Hanumanthappa, Naidu agreed to put up notice boards at all jails explaining to the prisoners their rights and the legal services they could avail from State Legal Services Authority (SLSA). --India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Jan 28 16:33:47 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id QAA102180; Sun, 28 Jan 2001 16:33:46 +1000 (EST) Received: from post.super.net.pk (smtp-khi1.super.net.pk [203.130.2.9]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id QAA102125 for ; Sun, 28 Jan 2001 16:33:23 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.7.76]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id LAA21533 for ; Sun, 28 Jan 2001 11:45:54 -0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2001 11:15:57 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [Pakistan] IT is not a magic wand Message-ID: <3A73FF6D.12203.6BAB0B@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk IT is not a magic wand By Pervez Hoodbhoy The present IT policy is forward-looking and far superior to other government policies, but nevertheless incomplete and shaky in places. Golden geese tend not to lay their eggs if mistreated Pakistan yearns for a magic lamp that can make wishes come true, a golden goose that can secure its future from want. Some think that this is now at hand. Information technology (IT) is being offered as a way to catapult Pakistan's stagnant economy into motion, generate vast amounts of foreign exchange through software exports, transform education, cause revolutionary increases in industrial productivity, modernize governmental administrative structures, create an informed citizenry, and much more. To see whether there really may be gold in the mines of cyberspace and whether we have what it takes to mine it, I recently met with IT's most passionate, articulate and powerful advocate in Pakistan, Dr Atta-ur-Rahman, minister of science and technology, and a first- rate scientist. Whizzing from one meeting to the other, and working while others sleep, he has come up with an impressive panoply of projects. These range from training for simple data-entry and medical transcription to elaborate projects for making physical and virtual IT universities, and from e-commerce and e-governance to business incubators and overseas marketing offices. As the minister breathlessly reeled off one plan after the other from a list of 29, several thoughts - and doubts - passed through my mind. Here, I wish to share my feelings on three key issues with the reader, hoping that they will help him or her to separate fact from hype, and the doable from the impossible. First, Atta-ur-Rahman gets full marks for aggressively working to make the internet more cheaply and widely accessible in Pakistan. Costs have plunged, free internet has been promised for universities, and access by a local telephone call has increased from 29 cities in August to 300 now. Although critics say that this bites into government revenues, I think it is a bold and correct decision. The number of connected cities and towns will be doubled by next June, and eventual plans call for internet provision even to distant villages. During this process, telephone networks will be completely digitalized, the optic fibre network expanded, and internet via cable will be permitted. These are impressive achievements and plans, but they also beg a fundamental question - what shall we do with the internet once we have it? Computer hardware prices drop by 20-30 per cent every year. In a decade or two, it will become cheaper to put a computer in every 'jhuggi' than to put the proverbial chicken in every pot. Will this really be revolutionary? Or, like someone with a recurring sickness, do we need both medicine and to change our bad habits to get well? To see the possibilities of the promised "internet revolution", I think that it is useful to compare it against an earlier "revolution", also mothered by communications technology. Today 70 per cent of urban households, and 30 per cent of rural ones, watch TV. But has this wide access really enabled Pakistan Television to fulfil the promises made at the dawn of the television age? Has television increased social awareness, improved education, or spread literacy? Has it promoted a sense of civil society, emphasized civic duties, or helped in creating better citizens? Opinions may differ, but personally I think the gains have been small. Although a wise use of television could have generated an almost revolutionary social transformation, tragically that opportunity was lost. The reason was not for want of production hardware - a grant of $100 million from the Japanese government for establishing Educational Television (ETV) a decade ago, and a relatively recent grant of $10 million to Allama Iqbal Open University for distance-learning studio facilities, led to the procurement of facilities (cameras, post-production units, computers, studios, etc) that were once the finest in Asia. However, the educational programmes produced by both institutions continued to be precious few in number. Worse, they generally were (and are) of such pathetic quality and content that often they insult the imagination and intelligence of viewers. We can, if we so choose to, learn much from the failure of television (also radio!). The mere existence of a medium does not guarantee the existence of a worthwhile message. While the interactivity provided by the Internet can be used to advantage, it can also easily be wasted - the user's educational level and goals decide between the two. Whether it be the television or the Internet, it is crucial to move away from total emphasis on the medium to a more balanced position that gives pre-eminence to generating high-quality materials specific to Pakistani users. Without this fundamental shift of mindset, for the bulk of users, computers and the Internet will be good only for e-mail, chat sessions and, like television, advertising and cheap entertainment. Disappointingly, even at the present time the importance and difficulty of generating content is only dimly realized, and it receives attention only in the margins of the present IT policy. If education is a major objective behind investing in the internet, then why is there no credible plan to generate multi-media materials for the teaching of school, college, and university subjects? Similarly, who will invest in the massive effort to make web-based vocational training courses? And where is the recognition that less than five per cent of Pakistanis are literate in English? Without addressing these fundamental questions, and coming up with credible solutions, we simply cannot claim to have a comprehensive IT policy. Second, Atta-ur-Rahman gets good marks for recognizing that Pakistan lacks - and must speedily increase - the number of computer scientists, programmers, networking specialists, and information technologists. Scolarships and Qarz-i-Hasna schemes for 1070 students in Bachelors and Masters IT degree programmes are being provided on a competitive basis, and a total of 10,000 students appeared in the National Entry Test last month. But who will train them in a country where competent faculty is scarece? In response to my question of how many PhDs in computer science are currently resident in Pakistan, he promptly responded "probably around seven or eight". While this reply should be appreciated for its candidness, it also underscores the fragile foundations for his move to create new high-level institutions within the country, a cornerstone of the new IT policy. The IT policy calls for setting up seven new IT universities, making major improvements in over 30 universities and institutes, and setting up a TV channel dedicated to IT. Fortunately by taking over existing buildings, there will be no major investments in bricks-and- mortar. Nevertheless to set up so many new universities is a tall order for which even 70-80 computer science PhDs, rather than the seven/eight at hand, would be far from sufficient. Where shall all the trained and experienced computer science faculty for the new universities and other professionals come from? Even so-called "top- class" teaching institutions like GIKI, NUST, and FAST cannot find the high-level computer people they need. Glancing through recent newspaper advertisements, I am struck by the number of universities and technical institutes that are seeking computer science department heads who "may be MSc in computer science although PhD is preferred". Should one then do without real computer science and concentrate on the "marketable" only? This is dangerous and ad hoc. Simply teaching software packages and languages is not good enough because they are applications of what someone else has developed and, useful as they are, there are few abiding principles to be learnt from them. Obsolescence is built into the product - packages and languages have the permanence of a Parisian fashion. For example, Cobol or Fortran programmers, as well as card-punch operators, are today seen as quaint relics belonging to the age of dinosaurs. We need to learn from past mistakes. I can say from experience that a build-now-get-faculty-later approach to higher education just doesn't work; the disastrous state of Pakistan's 24 state universities is solid proof. It may be that nothing short of an all-out national campaign to bring in hundreds of qualified foreign nationals, as well as Pakistanis living abroad, is going to change the situation. It is encouraging to note that preliminary steps in this direction have been taken and advertisements for hirinh high-level computer and IT specialists are expected to appear shortly in the international media. However, until there is some indication that this effort will bear fruit, it is unwise and premature to announce new universities. Thirdly, and finally, Atta-ur-Rahman has generated real enthusiasm among overseas Pakistanis who, stung by Indian IT advances and dismayed by Pakistan's backwardness, seem to be willing to put some hard cash into creating "business incubators" and loan banks for Pakistani IT entrepreneurs. The Bangalore model has become the dream and envy of our leaders today. Wealthy Pakistanis have created venture capital initiatives aimed at stimulating software production and export, and capturing software niche markets overseas. Streamlining laws, tax concessions, and developing a reliable communications network will certainly help in attaining this goal, but two major impediments cannot be ignored. The first is the generally poor educational quality of local computer science and IT graduates, the products of an educational system that went to pot decades ago. These are precisely the workers who are supposed to make the product and produce the wealth - management and finance are mere facilitators. But while the best local graduates are indeed world- class, the majority suffers from an acute lack of depth and breadth. In comprehension of English, they are way behind their Indian counterparts and we have not even begun to realize that the enormous success of India in computers and IT owes much to high Indian standards in mathematics research and teaching. The large and increasing emigration of the best IT workers (along with many other people with skills that are valued in the international marketplace) is another negative factor. Pulled by salaries that are huge on the Pakistani scale, and pushed by the growing pessimism about the country's future, there is an unending haemorrhage. I see long lines of visa applicants queue up before the European and US embassies on every working day. Nevertheless, one hopes that IT export plans will work, and work well. The growing number of software companies is a hopeful sign. Further, the energy and enthusiasm generated by IT is quite unprecedented and, in a country that has become increasingly cynical and less hopeful, provides a welcome relief. My personal belief is that despite hyperbole and exaggeration, advances in computer and communications technology definitely offer Pakistan the promise of a better future, one that we should eagerly grasp and invest in. The present IT policy is forward-looking and far superior to other government policies, but nevertheless incomplete and shaky in places. Golden geese are finicky and tend not to lay their eggs if mistreated. In the above I have discussed crucial policy flaws that, if not corrected, would negate positive gains. Finally, I wish to point out that no technology has ever made a real difference to society unless accompanied by an ideology of progress and rational apportioning of resources. The Taliban, for example, smash TV sets rather than trying to build or use them. Pakistan wastes its few scientific and technological resources to make nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, adding nothing to society or economy. Real progress will be possible only if Pakistani society is willing to use information technology as a vehicle that brings us closer to modernity, and makes us more accepting of science and reason in the arbitration of human affairs. http://www.dawn.com/events/perspective/infotech3.htm From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Jan 30 18:52:31 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id SAA103000; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 18:52:30 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id SAA102993 for ; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 18:52:25 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.217]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Tue, 30 Jan 2001 14:17:34 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id OAA00894; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 14:23:03 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS: 15-year-old dotcom entrepreneur launches travel info portal Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 08:57:40 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: Cybercom MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101300858250N.00612@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk 15-year-old dotcom entrepreneur launches travel info portal by Deepshikha Ghosh, India Abroad News Service New Delhi, Jan 25 - He isn't old enough to vote yet, but he is running a company, launching Web sites and studying for his school examinations all at the same time. He has launched a portal providing visa, passport and immigration information on 60 countries. And now he is set to launch Asia's first online classroom. And he's only 15. Meet India's youngest dotcom specialist, Siddharth Puri. His Web site, www.visaonnet.com, inaugurated by Information Technology Minister Pramod Mahajan Thursday, is supposedly the first such portal offering online visa and passport forms, travel guidance and airport information to travelers. It is a comprehensive guide to getting a visa, complete with downloadable forms, and has clocked over 100,000 hits even before the formal launch. Hours before the inauguration, Siddharth was still working hard at his terminal to be able to put up airport information by morning. Early last year, when Siddharth was seeking a visa to go to the United States with his father, he was struck by the long queue. "I cancelled my trip and promptly decided to develop a Web site to provide online visa forms. Now it has developed into something that offers much more than that," says the articulate teenager. Siddharth, a student of Air Force Bal Bharti School, Delhi, started his company, Cyberica Net Technologies, in February 2000 with just one engineer. In March he employed his father, Praveen Puri, who gave up his job in a multinational company to assist his son. The company today has five employees. Its young proprietor is careful not to disclose the turnover just yet. "I have invested about Rs. 150,000 on a server and a little more. So far I have earned zero money," says the young entrepreneur. After "fiddling" with the Net for two years, which also included a brief detour for the crucial Class 10 board examinations, it is very thrilling for him to see the results. He has done his share of legwork too. "It was a very trying time, calling up embassies, listening to the harsh voices of receptionists, trying to explain my concept," he says. He particularly remembers his encounter with a harsh embassy employee who argued with him over the availability of visa forms. Siddharth also hopes to have his online classroom "XI-g.com" on tomorrow, in time for the minister to have a sneak preview. Inspired by similar sites in the U.S., this portal would feature latest class news, homework updates, competition information and message boards for parents and teachers. "My classmates and I have already booked the domain name, hopefully it will be up soon," he says. --India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Jan 30 18:52:33 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id SAA103017; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 18:52:32 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id SAA102995 for ; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 18:52:28 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.217]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Tue, 30 Jan 2001 14:17:41 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id OAA01035; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 14:23:08 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS: Indian IT companies go Down Under Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 11:55:35 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: csi-goa@goacom.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01013011555420.00612@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Australia-IT-India Indian IT companies go Down Under by Paritosh Parasher, India Abroad News Service Sydney, Jan 29 - The Indian software development industry got another boost after it bagged a contract to develop software for an Australian company that was facing tremendous problems with Australian web developers. The contract is a latest in the growing number of Australian firms that are turning to Indian information technology (IT) companies for their software development solutions. It is also a reflection of an international phenomenon as more than 200 of Fortune 1,000 companies are outsourcing their software development needs to India. Rafael Chavan de Montero Ozbook, founder and CEO of Ozbooks, opted for software development in India after reportedly burning his fingers with two reputed Australian software-developing companies. He spent several hundred thousand dollars to get his Web site developed. But both failed to honor the agreement, Montero is quoted as saying in a report in the Sydney Morning Herald. Australia's book retailer Ozbooks, who retails books only on the Internet, set up its own software development facility Hilory Technologies in Chennai as it was facing consistent problems with Web developers in Australia, Montero said. Indian Web developer and co-founder of Hilory Technologies Sundarganapathi Gopalkrishnan, 25, would be looking after the company affairs in India, said reports in the Sydney Morning Herald. The new firm plans to move to Bangalore, the IT hub of India, in the near future. Montero got disillusioned with one of the two software developers when it demanded an exorbitant amount of money to add a goods and services tax (GST) functionality to the Ozbooks website. The amount, according to Montero, was the same as the original cost of the Web site itself. Montero is considering legal action against that firm. Gopalkrishnan contacted him at this stage looking for work. He was commissioned to add the GST functionality to the Ozbook Web site after "initial skepticism." The Indian software programmer reportedly completed the job in record time for "a fraction of the price" quoted in Australia, leading to the partnership in Hilory Technologies. Montero spent the same amount, Aus.$300,000, to establish the new company in India as he had forked out to get one single Web site up and running in Australia, according to the report. The Chennai-based company has already started churning out revenue for Ozbooks as the first Web site developed by them, OzHiTech hit the Web a month ago. Software development is a booming industry in India and, according to India's National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) figures quoted in the report, the Indian IT software and services industry had grown from US$150 million a decade ago to almost US$9.5 billion in the 1999-2000 financial year. -- India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Jan 30 18:52:34 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id SAA103046; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 18:52:33 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id SAA102997 for ; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 18:52:30 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.217]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Tue, 30 Jan 2001 14:17:32 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id OAA00858; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 14:23:02 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS-INDIA: e-post to be launched in six states Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 08:36:37 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: Cybercom MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101300837020B.00612@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk e-post to be launched in six states by Krittivas Mukherjee, India Abroad News Service Kolkata, Jan 23 - The next time the postman rings the doorbell, don't be surprised if you are simply handed a piece of paper with a few words on it rather than a postcard, envelope or aerogramme. And mind you, the sender would spend nothing. It's the person the mail is addressed to who would have to shell out money to receive the message. This is how things will be when the Indian government goes hi-tech with its postal system. To start with, the e-post scheme would be introduced in the six states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra and West Bengal. e-post, as the electronic postal service to be introduced at select post offices has been christened, will entail downloading messages from the Internet, printing them and delivering them at the doorstep of the addressee. The facility would be available in three categories. The delivery of ordinary e-mail would cost Rs. 10 per message, premium mail would cost Rs. 15 per message and extraordinary mail, delivered by special messengers, would cost Rs. 20 per message. It was not yet clear what happens to a message whose addressee refuses to either receive it or pay for it. Union Minister of State for Communication Tapan Sikdar told reporters that the scheme would be test-run in the six states since they have the largest number of people staying abroad. The scheme would be introduced in about 200 post offices in the six states. Efforts are on to provide Internet connections to these post offices. "With private players cashing in through various speed post schemes, we cannot afford to lag behind. The objective of e-post is to offer an efficient and prompt communication facility," Sikdar said, adding that the need for such a service has been felt for long and the demand is "rapidly growing". But some quarters of the postal department are of the view that the scheme would not be cost-effective and lead to increased paperwork and a whole lot of complications for the department. An undeterred Sikdar, however, brushed aside such skeptics and said e-post would be popularized through a sustained advertising campaign. --India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Jan 30 18:52:49 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id SAA103093; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 18:52:48 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id SAA103069 for ; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 18:52:43 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.217]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Tue, 30 Jan 2001 14:17:55 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id OAA01032; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 14:23:08 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS: Pune University to launch online diploma courses Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 11:49:51 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101301149311Y.00612@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Cc: Cybercom Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Pune University to launch online diploma courses by V. Radhika, India Abroad News Service Pune, Jan 29 - In what it describes as the first effort of its kind in the country, Pune University will start offering online diplomas on a few select vocational courses from May. The first courses to scroll down on screens in virtual classrooms will be information technology (IT) and electronics. The four other courses that will follow are business and management studies, health and environment, communication and journalism and foreign languages. Targeted mainly at housewives, retired defense personnel and the post-VRS (Voluntary Retirement Scheme) group, which has a lot of spare time and energy, these courses, culminating in vocational diplomas will be offered online and through the television. "Our focus is very clear. It is not education for education's sake, for that is being done in university campuses. This program is only for vocational education and in the priority list, the topmost is IT," Bhushan Patwardhan, a leading academic of Pune University, told IANS. "We are not targeting students as much as senior citizens, VRS and defense personnel who retire early. They have discipline but need skills," he said. It was two years ago that Pune University signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ahmedabad-based Transnational Alternate Learning for Emancipation and Empowerment through Multimedia (Taleem), a literary, scientific and charitable trust with distance and open learning on its agenda. However, it was only two and a half months ago that this MoU actually translated into real action. "Early this year when Taleem entered into an MoU with Zee Interactive Learning Systems (ZILS), Mumbai, we also swung into action and started holding meetings regularly," said Patwardhan, who was assigned the task of interfacing between the university and Taleem. This interface took a formal shape with the setting up of a task force by the university. A brainstorming session was held on January 9 and 12, with top university officials and even outsiders participating. A significant change that had taken place in the meantime was that while the initial focus was on television as a medium for distance learning, now it is the Internet. "Two years ago the Internet invasion was yet to take place, but now that it is in place we are going to focus on virtual classrooms. The main advantage of the Internet is that it is interactive learning, while television is a one-way communication," Patwardhan said. Internet-based learning also means that the program is no longer bound to the university. "It now becomes an international program in the sense that anyone from any part of the world can have access to it. We are targeting not only the Indian market but international market, particularly developing countries (Middle East and Africa) and later, when we launch Indian systems of medicine Ayurveda etc., it will have tremendous popularity in the West," said an optimistic Patwardhan. On a par with the U.S., British or Australian systems, the interactive distance learning will award university diplomas on the basis of credit options earned within certain working hours, thereby doing away with a time-bound course duration. And it will also be the fist experience of its kind, where students get credits instead of a mere certificate of participation. The first batch, however, is likely to be awarded only a participation certificate. "Till we develop confidence that the quality of teaching is in place, we will not go for credits. For a year we will run on participation basis...We are in the process of formatting the course structure. In IT we will start with application of computers and will go on till software programs. It will be in the form of modules and students decide which modules they want to take," Patwardhan said. The program in all five courses will be audiovisual and will have a strong multimedia base. While initially the interaction between students and teachers will be on chat and e-mail mode, it will later be a virtual classroom with voice mail. "To create this new structure within the shortest time period, coordinators were appointed on January 12 for each subject. These coordinators will invite expert participation to create online curriculum for their subjects," Patwardhan said. While content will come from university, Taleem and ZILS will provide resources and delivery systems. ZILS centers will be utilized as contact points for practical learning when needed because some courses may not be hundred percent online. --India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Jan 30 18:52:52 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id SAA103111; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 18:52:52 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id SAA103089 for ; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 18:52:47 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.217]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Tue, 30 Jan 2001 14:18:01 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id OAA00966; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 14:23:06 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: csi-goa@goacom.com Subject: Stung by U.S. slowdown, India's IT firms eye new export markets Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 11:08:00 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101301108211C.00612@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Stung by U.S. slowdown, India's IT firms eye new export markets by Sumeet Chatterjee, India Abroad News Service New Delhi, Jan 28 - Stung by a slowdown in the U.S. economy, a slew of Indian information technology (IT) companies are changing strategies and exploring new markets for exports to insulate themselves against a possible drop in demand from U.S. clients. "Though the U.S. will remain a dominant market for software exporting companies, in the short to medium term export growth will mainly come from emerging markets such as Japan, Germany, Australia and Britain," Amul Gogna, executive director of Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency (ICRA), said. The U.S. accounts for about 60 percent of India's software services exports. Some of the biggest clients of Indian software majors in U.S. include Boeing Co., Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks, General Electric, Lucent Technologies and RSA Security. "The companies will have to explore new markets to ensure that their profit margins are not affected in case there is a demand slump in the U.S.," Gogna told IANS. And the process has already started. India's biggest software developer by market value, Wipro Ltd., last week opened a software development center in Britain to service clients in the European region. The Bangalore-based firm said the center would initially employ 50 software professionals. Wipro had earlier announced the opening of an office in France to boost business from Europe that accounted for 28 percent of its total revenue in the nine months ended December 31, 2000. Sixty-four percent of the company's total revenue came from North America in the same period. The company's revenue for the nine-month period grew by 39 percent to Rs. 21.5 billion and the profit after tax grew by 121 percent to Rs. 4.5 billion. "At present, the market is quite skewed to U.S. We are going in other markets to expand our export base," an official spokesperson of Wipro said. According to India's IT industry think tank National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), India's software exports crossed $4.0 billion in 1999-2000 and are estimated at $6.3 billion in the current fiscal year. Software exports are expected to grow roughly 50 percent every year to reach $50 billion in 2007-08, it said. J. A. Chowdhary, president of the Hyderabad Software Exporters Association (HYSEA), said the slowdown might reduce the profit margins of companies purely depending on "on-site consulting" model. "As many Indian IT companies are now exploring other markets such as Europe and Southeast Asia there might be an increase in percentage of market share from these countries which may accordingly change the percentage of business coming from U.S.," he said. Chowdhary, however, said that the diversification of export market had nothing to do with slowdown as the companies were already looking for new markets to expand their business. "Our percentage of the global IT market share is very small and we can provide a quality product at relatively lower cost in less amount of time," he said. According to World IT Services Association, global IT service spending is expected to become $476 billion by the year 2001. "Around 25 percent of this is expected to be outsourced and India's share is expected to be around 6.5 percent," it said. Hyderabad-based software development major Satyam Computer Services Ltd. is also looking at expanding its market in Europe, Japan and the Asia Pacific region. "We have reached a certain stage of infrastructure in the U.S. and now looking to expand ourselves in other countries also," S.V.L. Narayan, manager (corporate communications) of Satyam Computer, said adding that expansion plans has nothing to do with a slowdown in the U.S. economy. India's second biggest software developer Infosys Technologies recently announced that its exports in North America have come down to 72.87 percent of total revenue at Rs. 4.01 billion in the third quarter ended December 31, 2000, down from 78.25 percent in the corresponding period last year. Its exports in Europe, however, increased to 18.33 percent to Rs. 1.01 billion in the third quarter period, up from 11.48 percent in the same period previous year. Infosys posted a 136 percent rise in its revenues to Rs. 5.51 billion in the third quarter. "The European market for IT services is growing rapidly due to e-business initiatives...and shortage of IT skills in European corporations. This offers great potential for Indian companies with its vast pool of mathematically inclined English speaking workforce," Gogna of ICRA said. --India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Jan 30 20:45:32 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id UAA118600; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 20:45:32 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id UAA118576 for ; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 20:45:27 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.130]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Tue, 30 Jan 2001 16:10:36 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id QAA02113 for ; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 16:25:14 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS: Indian American teacher-student duo run software firm Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 15:09:05 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01013015091901.00825@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Indian American teacher-student duo run software firm by Ela Dutt, India Abroad News Service New York, Jan 23 - The two Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT) graduates were once student and professor at the prestigious Cornell University, then they rubbed shoulders as colleagues, and now they have co-founded a software company. S. Keshav, chief technology officer and director of Ensim Corporation, and Rosen Sharma, president and CEO of the company, moved from being professor and student to colleagues at Cornell University, and then in June 1998, they co-founded the software company Ensim, fielding new software platform for hosting services. Fourteen of them, professors and recent graduates from Cornell, loaded their belongings into an 18 wheeler and set off for Mountainview, California, in May 1999, where they set up shop on Shoreline Boulevard. They outgrew the space by January 2000. "We had to take people out for walks when we had to meet them," Keshav told India Abroad News Service. They converted a warehouse in Sunnyvale and raised $3.5 million mostly from Indian American entrepreneurs willing to bet on the team. They raised another $18 million soon after and ended a third round of an impressive $64 million this January 2001. Sharma, 28, and Keshav, 35, are graduates of IIT, Delhi, where Sharma was Keshav's student for a brief spell. A President's Gold Medallist from IIT, Delhi, Sharma interrupted his studies to found VxTreme, focused on client-server multimedia applications over the Internet. The company was acquired by Microsoft in July 1997. He went to Cornell to finish his doctorate but when he wanted to do a post-doctorate, the chairman said he was too brilliant to stay a student and in an unusual step, the university offered him an associate professorship. Keshav finished his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1991, and returned to teach in India in 1993 on leave from Bell Labs. "I felt I owed IIT something and contemplated moving back," he said. But opportunity beckoned and he went back to Bell Labs, left with the breakup of AT&T in 1996, and taught for three years at Cornell where his paths crossed with Sharma's again. Today Ensim gets its best talents from Cornell and IIT, Delhi. And recently the company acquired CyberMedia India. Ensim now employs 140 people, 35 of them at the India office. "We deal with the day-to-day stuff needed to keep hosting services running. Companies will need fewer people and can do things more efficiently and more accurately," with Ensim software, Keshav explained. "Our founding team was made up of three Indians, one Icelander and one Chinese. When we had about 30 people we put up a map which showed we covered practically every other continent." The two continue to pay back to IIT by mentoring other start-ups in the Valley founded by other IIT graduates. "We have a very healthy revenue this year and an even better one next year," he added, and said that while profits were very important, they were not the priority right now, nor is going public," Keshav said. "We have to walk this fine line between getting market domination and profitability. As we become an established player, profitability will become our primary goal. But at the moment this is not," he added. The company is partnering with AlteonWebSystems, Cisco, Compaq, F-Secure, HP OpenMail, Halcyon Software, Miva Corporation, Planet Intra, Portal Software, Redback Networks, RSA Security and Sun Microsystems. --India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Jan 30 20:45:40 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id UAA118619; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 20:45:40 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id UAA118577 for ; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 20:45:28 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.130]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Tue, 30 Jan 2001 16:10:38 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id QAA02116 for ; Tue, 30 Jan 2001 16:25:17 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: India faces huge digital divide, in spite of change (Feature) Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 15:09:46 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01013015095802.00825@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India faces huge digital divide, in spite of change (Feature) by Sumeet Chatterjee, India Abroad News Service New Delhi, Jan 23 - As the rest of the world talks of a slowdown in the U.S. economy, e-commerce, portals and cyber money, India worries that the rapid strides being made in information technology (IT) will widen the gap between the country's privileged urban population and its forgotten rural populace. Even its heyday fortunes, about a year ago when venture capital flowed like manna in the desert, were only for a chosen few. And though the number of Internet users continues to rise steadily, the trickle down effect, notwithstanding a few villages that now do their accounts on computers, has been nonexistent. On the one hand, professionals in the information technology (IT) sector continue as the apples of the eye for most developed and computerized economies, including the United States, Germany and Japan. On the other, Internet blue chips, online shopping and nanosecond e-mail have failed to cure century-old malaises like illiteracy, poverty and unemployment in India. What's more, the digital divide is not restricted to less developed states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Orissa with traditionally weak infrastructure but also the new "IT states" like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. "For any revolution to take place, there are certain prerequisites. The digital revolution too requires an enabling environment, which India has not put in place as yet," said Amul Gogna, executive director of the Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency (ICRA), an independent credit rating firm. And the main woe is infrastructure. Access to technology is constrained by infrastructure parameters like electricity, the number of personal computers (PCs) and telephone lines. Per capita electricity consumption in India remains around 363 kw, far below the 4,959 kw in Hong Kong, one of the region's technology powerhouses, the 5,421 kw in Britain and the 11,822 kw in the U.S. India has 22 telephone lines per 1,000 people compared with 70 in neighboring China and three PCs per 1,000 compared with nine in China. The installed base of PCs in the country is five million, which means only five out of every 1,000 people have a PC. The software industry is undoubtedly the bright star of the Indian economy that is growing by around six percent a year and faster than the three to four percent growth rate in earlier decades. The expected $6 billion of software sold abroad in the current financial year - equivalent to 13 percent of India's exports - will help the country to ride out high global oil prices, partly offsetting its estimated $20 billion oil import bill. But the new economy industry has directly benefited only a small proportion of the population. Software companies employ just 340,000 out of India's one billion-strong population. "IT has as yet failed to touch the lives of the average citizen in the rural areas," Gogna told IANS. But in several parts of the country, farmers are beginning to realize how real-time information, made available either through state-sponsored or private initiatives, can help them earn better prices for their crops. In Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district, for example, villagers get the latest quotations for their potato crop from the state's wholesale markets for as little as Rs.5. In the process, they have found that their average realization has gone up by as much as 33 percent as middlemen have been done away with. A study by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) forecasts that the number of Internet subscribers will gallop to 3.5 million from the current 950,000 by the end of 2002. But experts feel the lack of access to communications and IT tools -- coupled with the high percentage of illiteracy in the rural areas -- act as major roadblocks in the nation's fight against socio-economic problems and its leapfrog to a knowledge-based society. Some like Nasscom chief Dewang Mehta no doubt feel the same tools that critics say are widening the gap between the "haves and the have-nots" could be successfully deployed for a "digital unite." "The division between the rural and urban areas was there in India for the last so many years. So there is no question of digital technology creating a divide between rural and urban areas. In fact, it is being effectively used to bridge the gap in several states," says Mehta. But the political leadership in some states is unconvinced. In Bihar, for instance, the political leadership does not consider IT a useful tool but an elitist phenomenon with little relevance to India. Experts, therefore, argue that if the political leadership in states like Bihar has such convictions, the people there will lag behind their counterparts in other states in today's knowledge-based age. In such a scenario, they feel, IT cannot be termed as the cause for the divide. Mehta says, "Issues like taking the IT revolution to rural India cannot be left to the government alone to solve and private sector participation is needed to bridge the gap." At the current rate, that will take a long time. -- India Abroad News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Jan 31 15:51:40 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA102813; Wed, 31 Jan 2001 15:51:39 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id PAA102805 for ; Wed, 31 Jan 2001 15:51:35 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.216]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Wed, 31 Jan 2001 11:16:46 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id LAA00659; Wed, 31 Jan 2001 11:01:25 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net, Cybercom Subject: QUERY: Non-resident Biharis in the IT industry Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 10:38:43 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <01013110440205.00622@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Anyone having some information, please inform Dr SS Singh. I had recently come across an interesting publication put out in Bangalore, called IT LEADS-THE BLACK BOOK OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (see http://www.itleadsonline.com ) But while this book lists a number of IT firms in South India, it is unlikely to list the origins of those running the firms. Any useful information would be appreciated by the person below. Thanks, Frederick. ---------- Forwarded Message ---------- Subject: :NON RESIDENT BIHAREES NRBsin IT industry Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 17:15:59 +0530 From: "SS Singh" Hi The CPDS NGO(Center for Planning Development & Science) is organizing a workshop of Non Resident Biharees running /mamnaging/consulting through software companies abroad. Can you please help me with a e-list containg their e-mail addresses so that I could contact them for their ideas. After I have a list , I hope to get sponsorship of The Indian PLANNING COMMISSION. Kindly circulate my request /advise Thanking you in advance! Dr.Sitasaran Singh CMC CPDS, Pustak Bhandar Compound, G M Road, Patna 800 004. India Ph: (91 612)672958, 667536 From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Jan 31 20:01:49 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id UAA72838; Wed, 31 Jan 2001 20:01:49 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id UAA72736 for ; Wed, 31 Jan 2001 20:01:07 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.94]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Wed, 31 Jan 2001 15:26:01 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id PAA01240; Wed, 31 Jan 2001 15:38:45 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net, Cybercom Subject: Thanks to this Chennai-born, you've got 'secure' mail Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 15:11:45 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101311518210U.00622@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Thanks to this Chennai-born, you've got 'secure' mail by Ela Dutt, India Abroad News Service New York, Jan 31 - This Chennai-born electronics engineer's love affair with e-mail led him to found PostX Corporation, a leading provider of secure Internet communications. R.C. Venkatraman, CEO and chairman of PostX, has now taken the company to a stage where its customers include leading firms such as Ameritrade Holding Company, Charles Schwab, FleetBoston and R.R. Donnelley Financial and Eurobrokers, a subsidiary of Maxcor Financial. A graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (now Chennai), Venkatraman was at Apple Computers developing its e-mail architecture. After six years, it was natural for him to choose a field he knew the ins and outs of when he decided to branch out on his own in 1994. "It was a labor of love," Venkatraman told India Abroad News Service about developing the software product that forms the basis of PostX. He founded the company in 1996 and has top-name clients for the communications solutions he offers enabling businesses to implement secure, outbound business-to-customer communications utilizing both e-mail and the Web. The PostX Express(tm) platform delivers high volume, personal and confidential information to each customer and is designed for scalability and reliable delivery of millions of Internet communications daily, Venkatraman said. The company provides the foundation for highly personalized content and electronic branding opportunities including cross-selling and Web links. Venkatraman was senior engineering manager at Apple Computer where he was responsible for the architecture and development of e-mail and messaging products. Before joining Apple he was at Hewlett-Packard (HP,) where he developed the HP-UX network file transfer and remote-file access products. He has an MS in computer science from Iowa State University. Of his time at Apple, Venkatraman said, "That was so exciting and energizing and I saw a lot of opportunities in it. And I understood it well. I could see this would boom into something. At that time, e-mail was very much within groups. Now there are a half billion users worldwide." Venkatraman, who grew up in Gujarat, came to the U.S. in 1982, joined HP in 1984 after finishing his MS at Iowa State and left to join Apple in 1987-88. After trying his hand at a start-up that was a precursor to PostX, Venkatraman "decided to do something more fundamental". "With PostX we are much more of an infrastructure or platform that enables e-mail to be used for a variety of business applications. We had to put a bunch of things together in terms of engineering and technology," he said. While nothing happens without teamwork, Venkatraman acknowledges he was the primary driver behind conceptualizing PostX technology and figuring how to fine tune and adapt it to emerging trends and opportunities. "We've stayed pretty steady since then because we are moving for the long-term -- we are really in the business of moving communications from paper and stamps to the Internet. That requires a bunch of things to happen. You want to take the best characteristics of snail mail and combine it with what the Internet offers in terms of speed and low cost -- so privacy, reliability and security are important," he emphasized. And while there were some small competitors, Venkatraman said his company is the leader in enabling a lot of mission-critical applications. When financial institutions have to send out statements and bills, "they have to have a proven software or product. It needs to be provided by a very stable and well-backed company. Yes, there are small companies that are in the business, but that is a long haul from becoming an Internet communications provider," he contended. PostX derives its revenue from charging for every message sent by its clients. It also charges for installing, servicing and maintaining the software. "Our business model is similar to the traditional mail model. But they (clients) pay us a fraction of what they would pay by regular mail," Venkatraman said. "We are on the road to profitability and securing a plan to get there." Starting from just two persons, PostX now has 55 employees. One of the strategies PostX used was partnering with potential competitors like the U.S. Postal Service for starters in early 2000. "We are offering the electronic postmark that provides legal protection for documents sent electronically. It's the equivalent of mail fraud if someone tampers with your regular mail," Venkatraman said. As for the company's financial situation, while he declined to provide numbers, he said "significant growth in revenues is taking place." --India Abroad News Servicedea From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Jan 31 20:02:15 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id UAA72911; Wed, 31 Jan 2001 20:02:14 +1000 (EST) Received: from im.eth.net (mail.uthplanet.com [202.9.136.18]) by ns.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id UAA72787 for ; Wed, 31 Jan 2001 20:01:21 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org ([61.11.9.94]) by im.eth.net with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.5.1877.117.11); Wed, 31 Jan 2001 15:26:03 +0530 Received: from bytesforall (IDENT:fred@bytesforall [127.0.0.1]) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id PAA01231; Wed, 31 Jan 2001 15:38:43 +0530 From: Frederick Noronha Reply-To: fred@bytesforall.org Organization: Freelance Journalist To: s-asia-it@apnic.net, gii Subject: NEWS: Military school to train officers in cyber war Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 15:05:16 +0530 X-Mailer: KMail [version 1.0.29] Content-Type: text/plain Cc: Cybercom MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-Id: <0101311505490R.00622@bytesforall> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Military school to train officers in cyber war by V. Radhika, India Abroad News Service Pune, Jan 31 - This war is going to be fought not with guns but keys. This is a battle where bytes have more power than bullets. Welcome to cyber world, where cross-border warfare is going to be conducted through the control of the mouse. If the Pune-based Military Intelligence Training School and Depot's (MISTD's) plans come to fruition, men in uniform will be trained to take on hackers. The proposal is with the Army Headquarters and is likely to be implemented soon. MITSD, which is celebrating its diamond jubilee this year, trains officers from all the three services on intelligence. The MITSD Commandant, Major General S. Manimala, told India Abroad News Service: "It (the proposed course) has been in the thought process for four to five years now to cope with technological advances taking place in the field and the use of technology for acquisition of intelligence." "If this (technology) is the source of acquisition then there has to be a counter to it," he said. "So a group of experts were detailed to go into the nitty-gritty of it and will submit a project report," he adds. "Eighty percent of intelligence required for anyone is available on the Internet and 20 percent has to be substituted by other means," Manimala said. "But we need dedication and expertise to browse through and collate this information. A logical corollary is that if we are browsing, so are others. Therefore one needs to safeguard the important information one has and shut out access to others." Networked computers, besides facilitating state-of-the-art time processing, offer multi-tier backups. Hacking could paralyze the entire exercise and therefore the twin capabilities of offense and defense become crucial. The proposed course will not only train officers on gathering intelligence but also on countering a cyber probe or invasion. Acquisition and counter intelligence, said Manimala, will be the thrust areas. For some time now, the army has been talking about getting info-savvy and military institutions across the country have been looking at computers and networking as the next logical step in evolution. And then came the Computer Based Training (CBT) Modules to make training for war a cheaper option. But on the flip side is the threat of the enemy hacking into your system. "When you have information in a written form (in files) it is possible to keep it in lock and key, but now information can go across with pressing a button or through a small floppy. We realize that not only will this (being Web-savvy) be an area of specialization but also a threat to our future plans in war scenarios," Manimala said. "We have seen the so-called best systems like those of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the U.S.) being hacked. So instilling security measure to counter hacking is of top priority," he added. "As the military establishment gets more wired, cyber security is all the more important." Considering the nature of expertise required, Manimala said the military authorities would scout for talent in the civilian sector. "We require young blood," he said. While there are specialists in uniform, they cannot be posted at the same place for a long duration. Intelligence has acquired an important place in the defense establishment, particularly in the aftermath of Kargil.