From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Aug 1 13:43:19 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id NAA114426; Wed, 1 Aug 2001 13:43:19 +1000 (EST) Received: from post.super.net.pk ([203.135.48.19]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id NAA114402 for ; Wed, 1 Aug 2001 13:43:12 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.7.83]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id IAA15703 for ; Wed, 1 Aug 2001 08:41:33 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 08:42:52 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: S-Asia-IT Monthly Help File (August 2001) Message-ID: <3B67C10C.24403.508CF@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 before posting messages. In addition, this message contains information about subscribing, unsubscribing, posting, and archives of the mailing list. For more information 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 ------------------ To subscribe to 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 to 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 Thu Aug 2 04:34:52 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id EAA113166; Thu, 2 Aug 2001 04:34:51 +1000 (EST) Received: from post.super.net.pk ([203.135.48.19]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id EAA113141 for ; Thu, 2 Aug 2001 04:34:45 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.5.20]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id XAA30637 for ; Wed, 1 Aug 2001 23:32:58 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 23:34:10 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [India] 50 million Social Fund for digital have-nots Message-ID: <3B6891F3.26687.77BD20@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk [source: http://www.indev.org/news/news.html ] 50 million Social Fund for digital have-nots Organized by Digital Partners, Vidya Pratishthan's Institute of Information Technology (VIIT), and the James Martin Company, and sponsored by the World Bank, the "Achieving Connectivity for the Poor in India" conference was held to develop initiatives and processes designed to harness the use of information technologies to support sustainable, rural development and poverty reduction in India. Initially conceived at the Digital Partners Seattle conference, Seeking Solutions to the Digital Divide, held in parallel with the WTO Ministerial Meeting there in late 1999, the Baramati conference similarly brought together IT professionals and entrepreneurs with a desire for social change, social entrepreneurs with a desire to use and harness the power of IT to help alleviate poverty, politicians and policy-makers from the local, regional and national levels, venture capitalists and representatives of local and international financial institutions, respected academics, and representatives of the poor themselves from different communities in the country. A Baramati Social Venture Fund has been formally established with the objective of raising $50 million over the next five years, in support of socially responsible IT efforts. [read story at http://www.inomy.com/midd2.asp?storyid=7200110§ion_code=17&subsect ion_code=46&page=Subsection%20Page1746 ] From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sat Aug 4 09:28:50 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id JAA111777; Sat, 4 Aug 2001 09:28:50 +1000 (EST) Received: from probity.mcc.ac.uk (probity.mcc.ac.uk [130.88.200.94]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id JAA111773 for ; Sat, 4 Aug 2001 09:28:46 +1000 (EST) Received: from fs1.ec.man.ac.uk ([130.88.27.100]) by probity.mcc.ac.uk with esmtp (Exim 2.05 #7) id 15SoN1-000OIS-00; Sat, 4 Aug 2001 00:28:43 +0100 Received: from UK-AC-MAN-EC-FS1/SpoolDir by fs1.ec.man.ac.uk (Mercury 1.48); 4 Aug 01 00:28:43 BST Received: from SpoolDir by UK-AC-MAN-EC-FS1 (Mercury 1.48); 4 Aug 01 00:28:33 BST From: "Dr Richard Heeks" Organization: Manchester University To: s-asia-it@apnic.net, afrik-it@listserv.hea.ie Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2001 00:28:28 GMT Subject: Workshop on ICTs and Development: Sept. 11th in Manchester In-reply-to: <3B66517B.26045.2722A2@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Windows (v3.12a) Message-ID: <64358A222A@fs1.ec.man.ac.uk> Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk ONE-DAY WORKSHOP: ICTs and DEVELOPMENT A one-day workshop on 'Information and Communication Technologies and Development' is to be held on September 11th in Manchester, England, as part of the 2001 UK Development Studies Association Conference. The following papers will be presented at the workshop: - ICTs and Growth of Peri-Urban Informal Sector Enterprises (Rob Aley) - International Organisations and ICTs for Development: Role of the World Bank (Saheer Al Jaghoub) - ICTs and Governance: Experience of South Indian States (T.G. Arun) - Studying Information Systems in Development: The Concept of Context (Chrisanthi Avgerou & Shirin Madon) - Measuring Access and Use of ICTs on the Household Level: Concepts and Empirical Aspects (Romeo Bertolini) - Education, Exclusion and Poverty in the ICT Age (Kevin Carey & Rosario Gracia-Luque) - Realising the Impact of Internet Technologies in Africa (Mike Chivanga) - What Economic and Social Implications do ICTs Have for Poor Countries: The Case of Mozambique (Mridul Chowdhury & Magda Ismail) - Adoption, Implementation and Impact of ICTs in the Small Enterprise Sector in Botswana: Implications for Pro-Growth and Pro-Poor Policy Agendas (Richard Duncombe) - Donors, Development and ICTs: Blind Spots and Dazzle Spots (Richard Heeks) - Knowledge and Information Systems: How do the Urban Poor Access Information and Knowledge to Support Their Livelihood Strategies? (Lucky Lowe) - The Promise of e-Business for South Africa: Evidence from Two Buyer-Driven Value Chains (Gunasagren Moodley & Benjamin Roberts) - BytesForAll: Another Way of Doing Things in South Asia (Frederick Noronha & Partha Sarkar) - Information Systems in Urban and Rural Communities (Clare O'Farrell) - Information, Knowledge and Development (Mike Powell) - Basic Telecommunications in Rural Areas: The Case of Laos (Gi-Soon Song) - Disseminating Development Research via the Internet: Website Best Practices (Jon Taylor & John Bywater) We encourage you to attend the workshop. To do so, please register by printing and returning the booking form found at the DSA conference Web page: http://www.man.ac.uk/idpm/dsa01.html Please note that payment must be sent with your registration form, and both should be received by AUGUST 17th. The fee for the workshop is £120 including one night's accommodation, or £70 for attendance only. Both fees include Conference Dinner, lunch and teas/coffees. The workshop will begin at 9am on September 11th and will finish at 5.45 pm. It will be held as part of the DSA conference at Owens Park Hall of Residence, 293 Wilmslow Road, Fallowfield in Manchester. Accommodation will also be in Owens Park. A creche is available from 9am to 5pm. The Conference Dinner will be held from 7pm in Manchester Town Hall. The workshop is organised by the DSA's Science, Technology and Development study group, and supported by the International Federation for Information Processing Working Group 9.4 on 'Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries'. If you have any queries about the workshop, do please get in touch. Richard Heeks --------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr Richard Heeks Senior Lecturer, Information Systems & Development Institute for Development Policy & Management University of Manchester Precinct Centre Manchester M13 9GH U.K. Phone: +44-161-275-2870 Fax: +44-161-273-8829 Email: richard.heeks@man.ac.uk IDPM Web: http://www.man.ac.uk/idpm --------------------------------------------------------------------- From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sat Aug 4 11:37:41 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id LAA127589; Sat, 4 Aug 2001 11:37:41 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi4.super.net.pk ([203.135.48.18]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id LAA127581 for ; Sat, 4 Aug 2001 11:37:35 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.7.38]) by pop-khi4.super.net.pk (8.11.3/8.11.3) with ESMTP id f741Z6231130 for ; Sat, 4 Aug 2001 06:35:08 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2001 06:37:22 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Internet explosion in India Message-ID: <3B6B9822.18728.420B3F@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk August 3, 2001 Internet explosion in India NEW DELHI - India will be the second largest Internet-user market in the Asia-Pacific region with its population of Netizens increasing to a mammoth 40 million from the current 6 million by the end of 2005, Internet research firm Gartner says. The number of regular Internet users will reach 7.9 million by the end of 2001, the firm said. "India had 4 million regular Internet users by the year-end of 2000, resulting in the highest regional growth rate from 1999 to 2000 and representing a 255 percent year-to- year increase," a Gartner statement says. "India will be the second largest Internet-user market in the region following only China. The current 6 million frequent users as per July 2001, which represents 0.6 percent of the population, will increase to 40 million [3.8 percent] by the year-end of 2005," said Kingshuk Hazra, an analyst for Gartner Asia-Pacific. The firm also projected exponential growth of Web services and technology by 2005 as a result of Internet and e-commerce growth. The report said cyber kiosks were the top net access channels in India, which will be reinforced for years to come with low rates, high availability and social interaction of the core user group - students. The top four online activities are e-mail, chat room participation, career searches and finding new sites, it said, adding that advertisers and retailers must target these areas. "However, online purchasing will remain low with security concerns, higher costs and low credit penetration." <...> Source: http://atimes.com/ind-pak/CH03Df04.html From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sat Aug 4 11:37:43 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id LAA127618; Sat, 4 Aug 2001 11:37:42 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi4.super.net.pk ([203.135.48.18]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id LAA127584 for ; Sat, 4 Aug 2001 11:37:36 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.7.38]) by pop-khi4.super.net.pk (8.11.3/8.11.3) with ESMTP id f741Z9231135 for ; Sat, 4 Aug 2001 06:35:09 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2001 06:37:22 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: In Rio's Largest Slum, the Web Offers Threads of Hope Message-ID: <3B6B9822.24279.420A44@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk [from http://sdnhq.undp.org/observatory/ ] 3 August 2001 In Rio's Largest Slum, the Web Offers Threads of Hope "We always were interested in the Internet," said Maria Luiza Carlos, head of a community residents' association. "We just never had an opportunity before. Many people here don't have enough to eat, much less to buy a computer." The idea came from Viva Rio, a rights group that works in the favelas. It raised donations and funds from the Inter-American Development Bank and the European Union to put 24 computers in the rented storefront. (Source: International Herald Tribune) read story at http://www.iht.com/articles/28278.html From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Aug 5 00:02:44 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id AAA96138; Sun, 5 Aug 2001 00:02:43 +1000 (EST) Received: from itouch.net (mail.itouch.net [205.238.128.176] (may be forged)) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id AAA96134 for ; Sun, 5 Aug 2001 00:02:39 +1000 (EST) Received: from lake.ollusa.edu (smmax1-138.aip.realtime.net [205.238.181.138]) by itouch.net (8.8.8/8.8.8) with ESMTP id JAA10514; Sat, 4 Aug 2001 09:02:19 -0500 (CDT) Message-ID: <3B6C005D.A3065D61@lake.ollusa.edu> Date: Sat, 04 Aug 2001 09:02:05 -0500 From: Scott Walker Reply-To: walks@lake.ollusa.edu Organization: Our Lady of the Lake University X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.77 [en] (Win98; U) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: DEOS-L , dist-ed@explode.unsw.edu.au, s-asia-it@apnic.net, edtech-aus@cleo.murdoch.edu.au, TxDLA-Forum@txdla.org, Education Technology San Antonio Subject: EP ST U seeks P or T w/ISDN VC for short or long term relationship!! [or...All dressed up & no place to go] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk EDUCATION PROFESSOR IN A SMALL TEXAS UNIVERSITY SEEKS PROFESSOR OR TEACHER WITH ISDN VIDEOCONFERENCE CAPABILITY AS A GUEST SPEAKER At Our Lady of the Lake University in Texas I am teaching a new class, "Technology for Teaching" this fall for undergraduate students enrolled in our teacher education program. By way of this message I am seeking education technology practitioners and instructors (at any grade/education level) who would like to "come in" (by videoconference) as a guest speaker. -OR- An entire class (elementary - grad. school) that could come in to have a videoconference dialogue. ======================== SUBJECT: Open, but related to education technology. (Corporate training topics welcome from corporate trainers.) PURPOSE: To 1) demonstrate the use and capabilities of using videoconference technology; and to 2) bring in a guest speaker or guest "classroom" to gain an outside perspective on the subject to enhance student learning. TIME: Class runs from August 28, 2001 to November 29, 2001 Tuesdays and/or Thursdays 2:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Central Time (Chicago, Dallas, San Antonio, Mexico City) LONG DISTANCE FEE: I will initiate the call and therefore absorb any long-distance fees (including international long distance) VIDEOCONFERENCE REQUIREMENT: ISDN (H.320) capable videoconference OR an MCU I can dial into via ISDN to reach your site. STIPEND FOR SPEAKER: None...this would be out of the goodness of your heart and for the advancement of knowledge!! (I am willing to reciprocate and speak in your class via vid. conf., for what it's worth.) CONTACT PERSON: Scott Walker, walks@lake.ollusa.edu INTERESTED PERSONS: Anyone interesting in pursuing this idea, please reply directly to me rather than bothering everyone on this discussion group. [[Please pass this message on to potential interested parties.]] ========================= Regards, Scott Walker -- Our Lady of the Lake University Education Technology Coordinator 411 SW 24th St. San Antonio, Texas, USA 78207 Univ. Office +210 434-6711 X304 Home Office +512 392-1930 Fax +603 719-9542 From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Aug 5 15:45:40 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA92478; Sun, 5 Aug 2001 15:45:39 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi4.super.net.pk ([203.135.48.18]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id PAA92451 for ; Sun, 5 Aug 2001 15:45:33 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.7.99]) by pop-khi4.super.net.pk (8.11.3/8.11.3) with ESMTP id f755gub26960 for ; Sun, 5 Aug 2001 10:42:57 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sun, 5 Aug 2001 10:45:22 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: [India] Govt urged to clear hurdles to internet spread Message-ID: <3B6D23C2.16357.4EE36F@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Aug 05 2001 Govt urged to clear hurdles to internet spread Imran Qureshi BANGALORE REMOVAL of barriers for the internet and e-commerce is the unanimous request being made to the government by big names in the world of information technology. The National Association of Software and Services Companies, a Boston Consulting Group study and Intel chief Craig Barrett have all asked for the path to be cleared for internet and e-commerce penetration. At the end of his visit to Bangalore, Barrett said the government could provide its services over the internet and, perhaps, even minimize tax on computers from the current 30-40 per cent to increase PC and, consequently, internet penetration. "The challenge before the government and industry is to expand their internet infrastructure aggressively to gain competitive advantage in the region," said Barrett. <...> complete story at http://www.economictimes.com/today/05tech01.htm From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Aug 7 19:27:05 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id TAA92649; Tue, 7 Aug 2001 19:27:04 +1000 (EST) Received: from isb.comsats.net.pk (comsats.net.pk [210.56.8.10]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id TAA92603 for ; Tue, 7 Aug 2001 19:26:44 +1000 (EST) Received: from zubair (210-56-9-151.Dialup.isb.comsats.net.pk [210.56.9.151] (may be forged)) by isb.comsats.net.pk (8.11.2/8.11.2) with SMTP id f779PNZ00178 for ; Tue, 7 Aug 2001 14:25:25 +0500 (PKT) From: "Zubair Faisal Abbasi" To: "South" Subject: e-global conference & exhibition 2001 Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 14:29:07 +0500 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) Importance: Normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200 Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Greetings from Pakistan and http://www.espots.org! Zubair ---- e-global conference & exhibition 2001 October 27-28 2001 Pearl-Continental Hotel & Aiwan-e-iabal complex, Lahore. The biggest-over opportunity to further the IT growth of Lahore; Pakistan’s software capital. Thousands of local and foreign trade visitors, government officials, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists will converge at his premier IT event. Be a part of the e-global Conference and Exhibition and capitalize on the region’s increasing challenges and opportunities in the area of information technology as the country negotiates its way towards the New Economy. [For further detals] http://www.eglobalconference.com From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Aug 7 21:08:26 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id VAA107866; Tue, 7 Aug 2001 21:08:26 +1000 (EST) Received: from prodserver1.goatelecom.com ([210.212.161.28]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id VAA107801 for ; Tue, 7 Aug 2001 21:08:00 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org by prodserver1.goatelecom.com (8.9.3/1.1.20.3/07Jul00-0916AM) id QAA0000025534; Tue, 7 Aug 2001 16:44:31 +0530 (IST) Received: from localhost (fred@localhost) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id QAA01139; Tue, 7 Aug 2001 16:07:09 +0530 Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 16:07:09 +0530 (IST) From: Frederick Noronha X-Sender: fred@localhost.localdomain To: India Gii cc: Cybercom Cyber Community of India List , s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: LINK: From South India, cheap telephone solutions to villagers (fwd) Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk ---------- Forwarded message ---------- THE n-LOGUE SOLUTION [Courtesy: BusinessWorld, May 21, 2001] ASHOK JHUNJHUNWALA'S n-Logue offers cheap access solutions to wire up rural India FOR MORE THAN a decade now, Ashok Jhunjhunwala, who heads the electrical engineering department in IIT-Madras, has been looking at ways of increasing the telecom connections for rural India -- quickly and cheaply. To this end, he put together a team of faculty members at IIT-M to form the Telecommunications and Computer Networking (TeNeT) Group with an overarching goal: 100 million telecom and Net connections in India. The group, which has developed various technologies, including the corDECT wireless in local loop (WLL), has unleashed its most potent weapon so far -- a complete 'access network solution' comprising wireless, DSL and fibre technologies that brings a cost-effective telecom solution to low-density, hard-to-reach rural areas. And learning from its experience with corDECT, which found no takers in the government, TeNeT has taken the plunge. Along with firms it has incubated -- Midas Communications, Banyan Networks are two of them -- it has formed a trust and floated a company, n-Logue, to push this technology. TeNeT hasn't found it difficult to persuade private investors to back the firm, which has one objective: to take phones and the Net to small towns and rural areas. Jhunjhunwala isn't disclosing the identity of the investors, but it's fairly certain that Ray Stata, former chairman of Analog Devices, is backing n-Logue. The corDECT WLL and other technologies developed by TeNeT will be the backbone for n-Logue's operations. The start-up has put together a three-tier business model to wire up rural India. The first tier is n-Logue, which provides phone connectivity along with a Net kiosk comprising a wireless terminal, a PC, power back-up and an STD/ISD meter for just Rs 35,000. That's amazingly low considering that a conventional phone connection alone costs upwards of Rs 30,000. Jhunjhunwala isn't saying how this is possible but insists that there's only a small subsidy element; n-Logue can supply the kiosks for just Rs 35,000 on a commercially viable basis. At the second tier, n-Logue will enter into agreements with local service providers (LSPs) -- medium-size entrepreneurs like cable operators. LSPs will install, maintain and market the wireless phone and Net connections bundled with the kiosk packages to small entrepreneurs -- kiosk operators. The advantage of this technology is that the phone can be used even when the Net connection is on. The bandwidth is higher too. The technology supports a guaranteed 70 kbps speed when the telephone isn't in use (the best modems available support only 56 kbps speed though the actual throughput depends on line congestion). But when the phone's in use, only 35 kbps is available. "The plan is to have 2,500 access centres in the next three years," says Jhunjhunwala. Each access centre will be run by an LSP, who will service up to 400 kiosks. That adds up to a million voice and Net subscribers. He is optimistic of a rollout plan that covers 5,000 villages this year, 10,000 in the next, and 200,000 in the third year. The model has been successfully tested in Kuppam (in Andhra Pradesh state of eastern India), Nellikuppam-Cuddalore district in a tie-up with EID Parry, Madura district (with MIT) in Tamil Nadu, Sikar in Jaipur and in MP's Dhar district for the Gyandoot programme. In Sikar, n-Logue will use the optic fibre being laid by the basic service provider, Shyam Telelink. The objective: at least one kiosk per village so that a population of 1.45 million -- spread across 946 villages -- is hooked up. The first LSP will begin operations next month although relevant content may be a hurdle. Jhunjhunwala has shown that it's not lack of capital but inability to leverage assets that hobbles India on the infrastructure front. Take, for instance, the railway network. There are 7,000 stations with an average distance of eight km between two stations. Many cover a big chunk of rural India. As the Railways has copper cables laid between most stations for its communications needs, it's ideal for increasing connectivity. Though the data capacity of this cable is limited, h-connect, a DSL product developed by TeNeT and Banyan, can raise the capacity to 2 mbps with little capital investment. In the professor's scheme of things, each station could become an access centre, with phone and Net connectivity in a 25 km radius. A pilot project by TeNeT, Sify and Railtel on the 60-km Vijaywada-Guntur section in Andhra Pradesh has shown how easily this can be done. But the government is yet to follow in its tracks. (ENDS) ========================================================================== ARTICLE COURTESY: BusinessWorld, 21 May 2001 * Magazine of the New Economy ========================================================================== Contact details: Ashok Jhunjhunwala, IIT-M Tenet, Professor Phone (Work) +91-44 235 2120 / +91-44 445 8366 Fax +91 - 44 235 2120 Head and Professor, Electrical Engineering Department, IIT-Madras, Chennai Tamil Nadu 600036 India. Email: ashok@tenet.res.in From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Aug 7 21:11:52 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id VAA108415; Tue, 7 Aug 2001 21:11:52 +1000 (EST) Received: from guardian.apnic.net (guardian.apnic.net [203.37.255.100]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id VAA108395 for ; Tue, 7 Aug 2001 21:11:51 +1000 (EST) Received: (from mail@localhost) by guardian.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id VAA10635 for ; Tue, 7 Aug 2001 21:11:48 +1000 (EST) Received: from unknown(202.88.138.82) by int-gw.staff.apnic.net via smap (V2.1) id xma010622; Tue, 7 Aug 01 21:11:34 +1000 Received: from mumbai.kochhar.com by mumbai.kochhar.com with DomainPOP (MDaemon.v3.5.7.R) for ; Tue, 07 Aug 2001 16:43:41 +0530 Envelope-to: vivek@mumbai.kochhar.com Delivery-date: Tue, 07 Aug 2001 07:09:05 -0400 Received: from quark.cpsr.org ([204.42.254.228]) by host.delhis.net with smtp (Exim 3.22 #1) id 15U4jR-0003VA-00 for vivek@mumbai.kochhar.com; Tue, 07 Aug 2001 07:09:05 -0400 Received: (qmail 280 invoked by alias); 7 Aug 2001 11:08:41 -0000 Mailing-List: contact india-gii-help@cpsr.org; run by ezmlm Delivered-To: mailing list india-gii@cpsr.org Received: (qmail 273 invoked from network); 7 Aug 2001 11:08:39 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO prodserver1.goatelecom.com) (210.212.161.28) by quark.cpsr.org with SMTP; 7 Aug 2001 11:08:39 -0000 Received: from bytesforall.org by prodserver1.goatelecom.com (8.9.3/1.1.20.3/07Jul00-0916AM) id QAA0000025534; Tue, 7 Aug 2001 16:44:31 +0530 (IST) Received: from localhost (fred@localhost) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id QAA01139; Tue, 7 Aug 2001 16:07:09 +0530 Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 16:07:09 +0530 (IST) From: Frederick Noronha X-Sender: fred@localhost.localdomain To: India Gii cc: Cybercom Cyber Community of India List , s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: LINK: From South India, cheap telephone solutions to villagers (fwd) Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII X-MDRcpt-To: s-asia-it@apnic.net X-MDaemon-Deliver-To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk ---------- Forwarded message ---------- THE n-LOGUE SOLUTION [Courtesy: BusinessWorld, May 21, 2001] ASHOK JHUNJHUNWALA'S n-Logue offers cheap access solutions to wire up rural India FOR MORE THAN a decade now, Ashok Jhunjhunwala, who heads the electrical engineering department in IIT-Madras, has been looking at ways of increasing the telecom connections for rural India -- quickly and cheaply. To this end, he put together a team of faculty members at IIT-M to form the Telecommunications and Computer Networking (TeNeT) Group with an overarching goal: 100 million telecom and Net connections in India. The group, which has developed various technologies, including the corDECT wireless in local loop (WLL), has unleashed its most potent weapon so far -- a complete 'access network solution' comprising wireless, DSL and fibre technologies that brings a cost-effective telecom solution to low-density, hard-to-reach rural areas. And learning from its experience with corDECT, which found no takers in the government, TeNeT has taken the plunge. Along with firms it has incubated -- Midas Communications, Banyan Networks are two of them -- it has formed a trust and floated a company, n-Logue, to push this technology. TeNeT hasn't found it difficult to persuade private investors to back the firm, which has one objective: to take phones and the Net to small towns and rural areas. Jhunjhunwala isn't disclosing the identity of the investors, but it's fairly certain that Ray Stata, former chairman of Analog Devices, is backing n-Logue. The corDECT WLL and other technologies developed by TeNeT will be the backbone for n-Logue's operations. The start-up has put together a three-tier business model to wire up rural India. The first tier is n-Logue, which provides phone connectivity along with a Net kiosk comprising a wireless terminal, a PC, power back-up and an STD/ISD meter for just Rs 35,000. That's amazingly low considering that a conventional phone connection alone costs upwards of Rs 30,000. Jhunjhunwala isn't saying how this is possible but insists that there's only a small subsidy element; n-Logue can supply the kiosks for just Rs 35,000 on a commercially viable basis. At the second tier, n-Logue will enter into agreements with local service providers (LSPs) -- medium-size entrepreneurs like cable operators. LSPs will install, maintain and market the wireless phone and Net connections bundled with the kiosk packages to small entrepreneurs -- kiosk operators. The advantage of this technology is that the phone can be used even when the Net connection is on. The bandwidth is higher too. The technology supports a guaranteed 70 kbps speed when the telephone isn't in use (the best modems available support only 56 kbps speed though the actual throughput depends on line congestion). But when the phone's in use, only 35 kbps is available. "The plan is to have 2,500 access centres in the next three years," says Jhunjhunwala. Each access centre will be run by an LSP, who will service up to 400 kiosks. That adds up to a million voice and Net subscribers. He is optimistic of a rollout plan that covers 5,000 villages this year, 10,000 in the next, and 200,000 in the third year. The model has been successfully tested in Kuppam (in Andhra Pradesh state of eastern India), Nellikuppam-Cuddalore district in a tie-up with EID Parry, Madura district (with MIT) in Tamil Nadu, Sikar in Jaipur and in MP's Dhar district for the Gyandoot programme. In Sikar, n-Logue will use the optic fibre being laid by the basic service provider, Shyam Telelink. The objective: at least one kiosk per village so that a population of 1.45 million -- spread across 946 villages -- is hooked up. The first LSP will begin operations next month although relevant content may be a hurdle. Jhunjhunwala has shown that it's not lack of capital but inability to leverage assets that hobbles India on the infrastructure front. Take, for instance, the railway network. There are 7,000 stations with an average distance of eight km between two stations. Many cover a big chunk of rural India. As the Railways has copper cables laid between most stations for its communications needs, it's ideal for increasing connectivity. Though the data capacity of this cable is limited, h-connect, a DSL product developed by TeNeT and Banyan, can raise the capacity to 2 mbps with little capital investment. In the professor's scheme of things, each station could become an access centre, with phone and Net connectivity in a 25 km radius. A pilot project by TeNeT, Sify and Railtel on the 60-km Vijaywada-Guntur section in Andhra Pradesh has shown how easily this can be done. But the government is yet to follow in its tracks. (ENDS) ========================================================================== ARTICLE COURTESY: BusinessWorld, 21 May 2001 * Magazine of the New Economy ========================================================================== Contact details: Ashok Jhunjhunwala, IIT-M Tenet, Professor Phone (Work) +91-44 235 2120 / +91-44 445 8366 Fax +91 - 44 235 2120 Head and Professor, Electrical Engineering Department, IIT-Madras, Chennai Tamil Nadu 600036 India. Email: ashok@tenet.res.in From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Aug 7 22:59:31 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id WAA124381; Tue, 7 Aug 2001 22:59:30 +1000 (EST) Received: from isb.comsats.net.pk (comsats.net.pk [210.56.8.10]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id WAA124375 for ; Tue, 7 Aug 2001 22:59:23 +1000 (EST) Received: from zubair (210-56-9-195.Dialup.isb.comsats.net.pk [210.56.9.195] (may be forged)) by isb.comsats.net.pk (8.11.2/8.11.2) with SMTP id f77CweZ21756 for ; Tue, 7 Aug 2001 17:58:40 +0500 (PKT) From: "Zubair Faisal Abbasi" To: "South" Subject: We believe in empowering potentials of 'Interactivity', 'Dignity', and 'Cooperation' Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 18:02:22 +0500 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200 Importance: Normal Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Greetings from Pakistan and http://www.eSpots.org ! I wish to invite my colleagues and friends to visit http://www.eSpots.org and participate in our progamme through opinion sharing, identifying areas of work, volunteering, and by developing/suggesting innovative ways you believe can leave footprints for the people who would follow etc. 01010---- We believe in empowering potentials of human 'Interactivity', 'Dignity', and 'Cooperation' ---- 0101010 eSPOTS.org believes in the value of human volunteerism and seeks to harness it for pro-poor development in technological innovations, diffusion and spread in society. We also seek to capitalize on the potentials of human innovations and information communication technologies in building social capital for community development, good governance, skill development, mutual learning and capacity building, pro-poor advocacy and research and leading to greater local, national, and international development cooperation. In our strategy, approach, and action we want pro-poor programmes and procedures take precedence and development interventions geared to benefit the marginalized and excluded segments of society specially the women and children. eSPOTS.org requests local, national, and the international volunteer organization and individuals to come forward, join hands, and work together with those who participate as social guides believing in empowering potentials of 'Interactivity', 'Dignity', and 'Cooperation'. Regards, Zubair Faisal Abbasi. Email: zubair@espots.org ++++++++ Pro-Poor means enhancing capacity of the POOR to perform PRO i.e., 'Poverty reduction', 'Remoteness reduction' and 'Opportunity generation'. From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Aug 8 04:25:17 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id EAA110597; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 04:25:17 +1000 (EST) Received: from prodserver1.goatelecom.com ([210.212.161.28]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id EAA110534 for ; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 04:24:44 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org by prodserver1.goatelecom.com (8.9.3/1.1.20.3/07Jul00-0916AM) id AAA0000014977; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 00:01:29 +0530 (IST) Received: from localhost (fred@localhost) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id QAA01415; Tue, 7 Aug 2001 16:50:01 +0530 Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 16:50:01 +0530 (IST) From: Frederick Noronha X-Sender: fred@localhost.localdomain To: Cybercom Cyber Community of India List cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS: India's IT industry pins turnaround hopes on new lobby group chief Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-IT-Nasscom (693 words) India's IT industry pin turnaround hopes on new lobby group chief By Sumeet Chatterjee, Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) India's over $8 billion information technology (IT) industry hopes that the new chief of the country's premier lobby group would help revive the fortunes of software companies battling to come out of a slowdown phase. Kiran Karnik, former head of Discovery Channel in India, will have a "tough and challenging" road ahead of him as president of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), industry representatives said Tuesday. The Nasscom chief's post fell vacant in April on the sudden demise of Dewang Mehta, who was president for the last 10 years, in a hotel room in Sydney. The dynamic 38-year-old Mehta's name was synonymous with India's booming software industry. "It will be a very challenging role for Karnik to step into Dewang Mehta's shoes. I think he has networking skills to build relationship with the government, industry and international organizations," said Bhupesh Lall, director (marketing) of software solutions firm PTC India. "Indian IT industry is itself very strong and therefore he wouldn't be selling a non-entity. But at the same time we would expect him to carry further what his predecessor had initiated," he told IANS. According to Lall, Karnik would have to explore the opportunity of increasing outsourcing software products and services from India by international companies to steer the industry out of the demand slowdown. Before joining Discovery Channel in India in 1995, Karnik had spend around 20 years in the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and was closely involved in pioneering efforts in the use of local television for rural development. He also managed the Indo-US Satellite Instructional TV Experiment (SITE) in the 1970s, the country's first large-scale satellite broadcasting initiative. Karnik has consulted for Unesco, the Ford Foundation and the World Bank, among others. Industry analysts say since Karnik does not have a software industry background he would have to embark on a thorough understanding of issues relating to the IT business. "As the chief of the country's premier lobby group, Karnik must have the vision to predict future trends. In the first few weeks, the president will have to work on building his own understanding and authority," said an analyst with a rating agency. "Though he would only be the paid chief executive of Nasscom, everybody would expect Karnik to recreate the hype that his predecessor created about the software industry," the analyst, who did not want to be named, said. For long Nasscom had been virtually a one-man show. Although the body had an executive committee and a chairman, the mop-haired Mehta did more than anyone else in the last few years to change the image of the country as an IT powerhouse. The Geneva-based World Economic Forum identified Mehta as one of the 100 Global Leaders of Tomorrow. Vinnie Mehta, director of Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT), said although Karnik has vast experience and networking skills, he would not have the advantage of being the helmsman at a time when the industry is riding on the crest of a wave. India's software and services industry growth, which expanded by 55 percent during fiscal 2001 to $8.6 billion, is expected to come off the boil in the current fiscal year due to an economy slowdown in the U.S. that accounts for over 70 percent of the country's exports. "Karnik is coming in a very different circumstances. We will have to give him time to adjust to the changed scenario and then chart the roadmap for growth by focusing on new export destinations," Mehta of MAIT said. Phiroz Vandrevala, executive vice-president of India's top software company Tata Consultancy Services, said: "He is widely recognized as one of the key figures in the broadcasting sector due to the numerous initiatives that he took in the development of the Industry." "We feel that with his drive and experience, he will be the ideal candidate to lead Nasscom in its efforts to develop India as the next IT superpower," Vandrevala, who is also the chairman of Nasscom, said in a statement. --Indo-Asian News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Aug 8 04:26:58 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id EAA110801; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 04:26:58 +1000 (EST) Received: from prodserver1.goatelecom.com ([210.212.161.28]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id EAA110505 for ; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 04:24:31 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org by prodserver1.goatelecom.com (8.9.3/1.1.20.3/07Jul00-0916AM) id AAA0000027149; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 00:01:15 +0530 (IST) Received: from localhost (fred@localhost) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id XAA00703; Tue, 7 Aug 2001 23:31:58 +0530 Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 23:31:58 +0530 (IST) From: Frederick Noronha X-Sender: fred@localhost.localdomain To: Cybercom Cyber Community of India List cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS: IIT Kharagpur to open campus in Silicon Valley Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-Education-IIT (510 words) IIT Kharagpur to open campus in Silicon Valley By Krittivas Mukherjee, Indo-Asian News Service Kolkata, Aug 7 (IANS) As part of its efforts to go global in its golden jubilee year, the premier Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Kharagpur, near here, will open a campus in Silicon Valley, U.S., to impart distant-learning courses. "To internationalize IIT, Kharagpur, will be the focal theme of (its golden jubilee) celebrations," institute director Amitabh Ghosh told IANS. Ghosh said the central government had given the go-ahead for the Silicon Valley project, which will be the first of many such ventures planned by the institute in other countries. "We want true globalization of education along side economic liberalization. We have received positive vibes from the Indian government," Ghosh said. Silicon Valley has been a natural choice for an overseas IIT campus because a large number of its former students are employed there. An association of the IIT Kharagpur alumni, the IIT Foundation (IITF), is pooling in money for setting up the campus. "IITF has already contributed Rs.300 million to the institute," Ghosh said. He said IIT Kharagpur, which has two campuses in the country (Kolkata and Bhubaneswar), is well equipped to undertake distant-learning with its nearly 2,100 ready video lectures by experts on different subjects. Ghosh is optimistic that the IIT's upcoming Silicon Valley campus would generate interest among American students. The institute is upgrading its facilities to international standards at a cost of Rs.340 million. "Our endeavor is to provide opportunity to foreign students to study in the institute with financial assistance and also engage in faculty exchange programs," Ghosh said. There are other institutes here as well that are making global strides. Perhaps for the first time in India's educational history, the world famous Harvard University is all set to forge an "academic collaboration" with a private engineering college run by non-resident Indians (NRIs). Satyajit Chakrabarty, founder-director of Institute of Engineering & Management (IEM), West Bengal's first private engineering college, claims to have struck an agreement with the famous American university for an educational exchange program. "Discussions with Harvard University authorities were at an advance stage. We are hopeful of introducing the first joint project within a couple of months," Chakrabarty had told IANS. Initially the association will be confined to a 'scholar exchange program' between the two institutions. According to Chakrabarty, the 'teachers exchange program' could start in the second phase, while in the final phase, the exchange program could spread to cover students. In the scholar exchange program, both institutions will embark on projects in the fields of micro-electronics and communication. "These projects, which will be more of practical research unlike the prevailing Indian system, will be entirely industry sponsored," the IEM founder-director said. Both institutions will select projects on their own and nominate their scholars for the job. Chakrabarty says the mutual program with Harvard is only the beginning of the process of integration of the educational systems of the two countries. The IIT Kharagpur's endeavor is seen as another step in that direction. -Indo-Asian News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Aug 8 16:21:24 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id QAA78661; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 16:21:24 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi4.super.net.pk ([203.135.48.18]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id QAA78590 for ; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 16:21:01 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.5.58]) by pop-khi4.super.net.pk (8.11.3/8.11.3) with ESMTP id f786HeP01328 for ; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 11:17:42 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 11:20:32 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Rural India Embraces the Cell Phone Message-ID: <3B712080.12880.46A467@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk August 6, 2001 Rural India Embraces the Cell Phone Saritha Rai BANGALORE, India In the seas off the Cochin coast of southern India, the steady drone of motorized fishing boats is often interrupted by the ringing of mobile phones. Even as they land their catch in the boats, fishermen are already in touch with the dozen-odd seafood markets around here, checking prices at different ports. One fisherman, Ratish Karthikeyan, says that since he acquired his BPL mobile service more than a year ago, his profit on each eight-day fishing run in his trawler has doubled. Two months ago, for instance, Mr. Karthikeyan netted an extra $1,000 by using his phone to compare prices at Cochin with those at Quilon, a port 140 kilometers (85 miles) away. <...> read complete story at http://www.iht.com/articles/28454.html From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Aug 8 16:56:34 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id QAA84625; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 16:56:34 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi4.super.net.pk ([203.135.48.18]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id QAA84595 for ; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 16:56:25 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.5.58]) by pop-khi4.super.net.pk (8.11.3/8.11.3) with ESMTP id f786rNP05968 for ; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 11:53:23 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 11:56:11 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: "Bah, humbug to Pakistan's e-government plan" Message-ID: <3B7128DC.25775.674941@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk August 8, 2001 Bah, humbug to Pakistan's e-government plan By Muddassir Rizvi ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's military rulers are turning to information technology to improve governance and public services, but the scheme, which has a budget of US$35 million, has a number of critics. While the government says the plan will bring public services to people's doorstep and will be a step towards good governance, critics do not see much hope of its success in improving either governance or government transparency. Many observers, in fact, say the only real beneficiaries of the plan will be the local computer and software companies that have mushroomed as a result of lucrative government incentives over the past two years. Isa Daudpota, who headed the first United Nations Development Program (UNDP)-sponsored e-mail service to the public in Pakistan almost a decade ago, says, "With the government departments even lacking basic connectivity at present, it would be interesting to see how they plan to move forward. The problem with the poor governance has little to do with lack of computers," adds Daudpota, although he clarifies that he is not discounting the importance of information technology. Under the e-government plan, the government says it will develop websites for 34 federal ministries and Pakistani missions abroad. The plan also envisages electronic notification of all official gazettes and availability of country's statutes and case laws online. "This plan will enable people to file their tax returns and also to pay their utility bills, income tax, sales tax and other federal, provincial and local taxes, electronically," says Professor Atta-ur- Rahman, federal minister for science and technology. "The e- government plan will increase the level of transparency in all government transactions and also improve coordination among government departments and ministries, their efficiency and productivity," says Rahman, who has been instrumental in IT being in the government's list of priorities. "This will ultimately benefit the people as it would ensure electronic service delivery to the people," he says. While good governance was among the seven-point agenda announced by General President Pervez Musharraf when he took over power in 1999 in a bloodless coup, international financial institutions such as the World Bank have been pressing the country to overhaul its administrative machinery and make it more pro-people. A bank mission visiting the country earlier this year had linked its $45 million technical assistance with good governance, advising Islamabad to urgently change its development and governance strategy. Subsequently, the ministry of finance worked out details to design new policies focusing on macro-economic and structural reforms, poverty reduction and monitoring, debt management and a reorientation of the role of the government. "The IT development and e-government are part of the larger plan to improve governance that includes civil service, tax reforms and public enterprises and privatization reforms, private sector development including provision of essential public services," says a finance ministry official. Observers, though, note that perhaps the government ought to improve basic telecommunication services first before launching the ambitious scheme that is expected to be completed within two to three years. Considering how crucial phones are to the plan, Pakistan, with more than 135 million people, has less than 3 million working telephone connections, while the installed capacity remains at just 3.6 million. As it is, less than 10 percent of the Pakistani population were using the Internet as of last year. Proponents of the scheme, however, have been quick to point out that Internet usage in the country has been growing at more than 50 percent per annum and has progressed from 11,000 users in 1998 to 1.3 million in 2000. The obscurity of government transactions and actions has a direct link with at least 16 laws that restrict people's access to information. Unless these laws are repealed, argued the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists in a press release, the government cannot ensure transparency in its working. Journalist Zafarullah Khan remarked in a recent article: "The governance pattern of the country has been devised to retain the colonial mindset of keeping the people in the dark by denying them their democratic right to information about the affairs which shape their lives and destiny." The few ordinary citizens who have heard of the plan remain pessimistic. Bilquees Fatima, standing in a utility bills queue outside a bank in Islamabad, comments: "They couldn't even streamline the payment of utility bills in decades ... how do they expect to make it any better now? E-government or not, I'll have to stand in this long queue for hours to deposit my bills," she harrumphs, pointing out: "I neither have a computer, nor do I know how to use it." Other critics say that e-government is too narrow an approach to improve governance. Says Zubair Faisal Abbasi of e-poor, an organization working to improve the digital divide in Pakistan: "If you look at the government in developing countries, you will find the allegation of being ineffective, not cost-effective, obscurantist and not accountable. These issues," he argues, "qualify to e-governance and not the narrow approach embodied in the e-government plan, which is more like automation." Abbasi says: "If properly directed and used keeping in view the good governance paradigm of bringing information from public domain to wider and interactive public domain, I think infocom has very critical and significant role to play. But Abbasi believes that that the government will have to look at things with a boarder scope if it is serious in harnessing the real potentials of information technology. "It needs to address on the ground situation in the legal, financial, accessibility, interactivity and disclosure frameworks," he says, noting the absence of laws even to guarantee access to information. (Inter Press Service) http://atimes.com/ind-pak/CH08Df03.html From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Aug 8 16:56:35 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id QAA84626; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 16:56:34 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi4.super.net.pk ([203.135.48.18]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id QAA84614 for ; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 16:56:29 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.5.58]) by pop-khi4.super.net.pk (8.11.3/8.11.3) with ESMTP id f786rPP05975 for ; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 11:53:25 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 11:56:12 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: India's Government Should Allow Net Telephony - Panel Message-ID: <3B7128DC.27653.674A32@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk 6 Aug 2001 India's Government Should Allow Net Telephony - Panel By CT Mahabharat, Newsbytes NEW DELHI The Indian government must help drive technology convergence by allowing development of Internet telephony, according to the Task Force on Knowledge Society, part of India's Planning Commission. The Task Force said that while the government has changed to effect convergence, changes have not been implemented. "Voice over Internet Protocol must be allowed," the task force said. The recommendations state that the government's monopoly on info-tech agencies should be revised. It added that while the private Internet service providers have been permitted to set up their own gateways, policy changes regarding access to submarine cable and private long- distance telephony needs to be implemented. <...> read complete story at http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/168706.html From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Aug 8 20:14:53 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id UAA114378; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 20:14:53 +1000 (EST) Received: from isb.comsats.net.pk (comsats.net.pk [210.56.8.10]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id UAA114368 for ; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 20:14:41 +1000 (EST) Received: from zubair (210-56-9-189.Dialup.isb.comsats.net.pk [210.56.9.189] (may be forged)) by isb.comsats.net.pk (8.11.2/8.11.2) with SMTP id f78AD7Z09147 for ; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 15:13:08 +0500 (PKT) From: "Zubair Faisal Abbasi" To: "South" Subject: eSpots.org - Water Supply in Village Ghariala Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 15:16:50 +0500 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) Importance: Normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200 Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Greetings from Pakistan and http://www.espots.org! Village Gariala is located along the Haro River in District Attock , Pakistan and speaks volumes of the benefits of development cooperation and success of community development approach in ensuring services especially the Water Supply Scheme For details click on the following: http://www.espots.org http://www.espots.org/home.htm From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Aug 8 22:59:17 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id WAA71240; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 22:59:17 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi4.super.net.pk ([203.135.48.18]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id WAA71232 for ; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 22:59:07 +1000 (EST) Received: from super.net.pk ([203.130.2.204]) by pop-khi4.super.net.pk (8.11.3/8.11.3) with ESMTP id f78Cu7P02512 for ; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 17:56:07 +0500 Message-ID: <3B7137A2.43F985AA@super.net.pk> Date: Wed, 08 Aug 2001 17:59:14 +0500 From: Tee Emm Organization: Supernet Limited http://www.super.net.pk/about X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.77 [en] (Win98; U) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: Pakistan's E-Govt Plan / Utility Bills Payment via Internet Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Some commentry on the recently announced E-government plan in Pakistan. - Tariq Mustafa From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Thu Aug 9 14:37:18 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id OAA70249; Thu, 9 Aug 2001 14:37:17 +1000 (EST) Received: from prodserver1.goatelecom.com ([210.212.161.28]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id OAA70191 for ; Thu, 9 Aug 2001 14:36:55 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org by prodserver1.goatelecom.com (8.9.3/1.1.20.3/07Jul00-0916AM) id KAA0000023132; Thu, 9 Aug 2001 10:10:47 +0530 (IST) Received: from localhost (fred@localhost) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id XAA01390; Wed, 8 Aug 2001 23:14:09 +0530 Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 23:14:09 +0530 (IST) From: Frederick Noronha X-Sender: fred@localhost.localdomain To: csi-goa@goacom.com cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS: Indian IT industry must focus on developing branded products -- Gartner Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-IT-Gartner (493 words) Indian IT industry must focus on developing branded products: Gartner By Sumeet Chatterjee, Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS) The Indian software development and services industry must focus on developing branded products for the global market instead of on applications for individual companies, according to IT (information technology) industry research major Gartner Inc. "It is indeed surprising that while Indian technology companies have been successful in developing indigenous applications to run their own companies, India is yet to produce a single successful branded product," said Craig Baty, group vice president (Asia Pacific) of Gartner. Baty was speaking at a session of the two-day Gartner summit on Exploiting IT for Business Transformation here Tuesday. "The challenge for the Indian IT companies is to combine their core competency in the area of application development with a sustained marketing initiative targeted at both the domestic and international markets," he said. Baty said that top software development companies in India must collaborate with the government with a view to developing branded applications for sale in the overseas market. "The India Inc. brand in the field of software development and services has been established in the global market. But if individual companies want to succeed they have to build their own brands and back it up with aggressive market skills," he said. The Gartner official said that while the U.S. economy slowdown had resulted in a challenging situation for the Indian IT services industry, it also offered the industry an opportunity to establish itself firmly on the global software services map. "Now that the India brand has made its mark on the U.S. market, as a reliable source of high quality IT services at a significantly attractive cost, a boost in demand towards the end of the year is likely to be canalized towards Indian IT services if proper steps are taken to tap this demand." Rolf Jester, regional director and chief analyst (Asia Pacific) of Gartner, said Indian companies need to build on their existing infrastructure for call centers and data centers to provide value added services such as accounting and other services that are both IT enabled and also require English speaking trained professionals. "This can be achieved by investing in relationships with the chief executive officers, chief information officers and chief financial officers of the buyer companies as this will help translate into higher value and greater stability," Jester said. According to Gartner, the opportunities for Indian IT services companies on the domestic front include business from local companies and governments, business from multi-national companies setting up operations or expanding presence in India, and outsourcing of business from overseas companies. "With increased incentives from the government and also due to the realization of the benefits of employing IT as an enabler in the business processes, the demand for IT services in the domestic market is also expected to increase significantly," a Gartner study report said. --Indo-Asian News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Thu Aug 9 15:30:16 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA78426; Thu, 9 Aug 2001 15:30:16 +1000 (EST) Received: from post.super.net.pk ([203.135.48.19]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id PAA78359 for ; Thu, 9 Aug 2001 15:30:05 +1000 (EST) Received: from super.net.pk ([203.130.2.204]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id KAA26710 for ; Thu, 9 Aug 2001 10:28:20 +0500 Message-ID: <3B721FE5.CB441521@super.net.pk> Date: Thu, 09 Aug 2001 10:30:13 +0500 From: Tee Emm Organization: Supernet Limited http://www.super.net.pk/about X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.77 [en] (Win98; U) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: Pakistan's E-Govt Plan / Utility Bills Payment via Internet Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk http://pakistan.blogspot.com Some commentry on the recently announced E-government plan in Pakistan. - Tariq Mustafa From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Fri Aug 10 18:51:40 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id SAA127079; Fri, 10 Aug 2001 18:51:40 +1000 (EST) Received: from isb.comsats.net.pk (comsats.net.pk [210.56.8.10]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id SAA127071 for ; Fri, 10 Aug 2001 18:51:36 +1000 (EST) Received: from zubair (210-56-9-158.Dialup.isb.comsats.net.pk [210.56.9.158] (may be forged)) by isb.comsats.net.pk (8.11.2/8.11.2) with SMTP id f7A8oui18931 for ; Fri, 10 Aug 2001 13:50:58 +0500 (PKT) From: "Zubair Faisal Abbasi" To: "South" Subject: Conference: The Internet and Development in Asia Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 13:54:38 +0500 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200 Importance: Normal Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Greetings from http://www.espots.org ! -----Original Message----- From: Randy Kluver [mailto:icmrk@nus.edu.sg] Sent: Friday, August 10, 2001 7:07 AM 3rd Annual Internet Political Economy Forum Conference Internet & Development in Asia Across Asia, governments, corporations, schools, and individuals are embracing information and communication technologies as a means of achieving economic growth, improving operating margins, and personal empowerment. In addition, the Asian economic crisis, accelerated political changes, and globalization of businesses have accompanied the emergence of information technologies. Asia now boasts some of the world's most wired-nations, including South Korea, Singapore, and Japan, but also some of the world's most poverty stricken, and information-poor, nations. This advent of the information society means that societies, economies, and communities across Asia will be profoundly altered. IPEF 2001 will explore the role of information technologies on economic and business development, political development, and community development in Asia. Experts who are focused on the Internet in Asia from around the world will examine in detail the ways in which ICT (Information Communications Technologies) are changing lifestyles, political structures, and economic relationships in Asia. Keynote speakers will highlight the critical issues associated with the growth of the Internet. Opening Address David Lim, Minister of State, Republic of Singapore (Defence, Information and the Arts) Keynote Speakers: David Lyon, Queens University, Canada, Surveillance and Privacy in the Asian Information Society Shigeru Nakayama, Kanagawa University, Japan's IT Policies: Development and Impacts Panels on Intellectual Property in Asia, IT in Japan, the digital divide in Asia, as well as the economic, political, commercial, and cultural issues associated with IT in Asia. Date: September 14 & 15, 2001 Venue: National University of Singapore, Singapore Registration fees: S$150 More details are available at www.prnewsasia.com/ipef2001, or by contacting Jane Ong at ipef2001@hotmail.com. The Internet Political Economy Forum is an international consortium of universities to coordinate a global study of the Internet paradigm through the leading universities/high tech hubs in the United States, Europe and Asia. The IPEF organizes conferences and research projects with plans underway for fellowship programs and curricular activities. The members are: University of Washington (secretariat), University of Cambridge, and National University of Singapore. Randy Kluver, Ph.D. Information and Communication Management Programme National University of Singapore AS 3, #04-16 Singapore 117570 (65) 559-3141 fax (65) 779-4911 From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sat Aug 11 06:12:08 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id GAA86435; Sat, 11 Aug 2001 06:12:08 +1000 (EST) Received: from post.super.net.pk ([203.135.48.19]) by whois1.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id GAA86412 for ; Sat, 11 Aug 2001 06:12:01 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.5.100]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id BAA15932 for ; Sat, 11 Aug 2001 01:10:15 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 01:11:55 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Is the brain drain harming South Asia? Message-ID: <3B74865B.18219.A5A08C@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk [In South Asia, IT is one the many fields in which the brain drain is more common.] 10 August 2001 Is the brain drain harming South Asia? A recent UN report says that many South Asian countries are suffering a severe brain drain of skilled professionals. Thousands in the fields of medicine, computers and management are opting to take their skills abroad. This is often at the expense of the tax-payer who foots the bill for their education and training. How do South Asian economies cope while their professional workforce is being poached by developed nations? Are the high costs of their education and training recouped in the long run? Should they be persuaded to come back? And how does this migration affect the people themselves - those who leave and those who are left behind? Tell us what you think. A World Today debate on this subject will be broadcast on BBC World Service Radio on Thursday 16th August at 0045 and 0245 GMT. A selection of your emails will be read out during the debate and daily on the programme leading up to the debate at 0040 and 0240 GMT. [You may send your comments through http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/talking_point/debates/south_asian /newsid_1484000/1484455.stm the above URL may appear in two lines; while copying please combine both lines without blank space in between, and then paste it on your browser address/location field] From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Aug 12 12:35:52 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id MAA17875; Sun, 12 Aug 2001 12:35:49 +1000 (EST) Received: from guardian.apnic.net (guardian.apnic.net [203.37.255.100]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id MAA17852 for ; Sun, 12 Aug 2001 12:35:46 +1000 (EST) Received: (from mail@localhost) by guardian.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id DAA16137 for ; Sun, 12 Aug 2001 03:59:15 +1000 (EST) Received: from unknown(210.212.161.28) by int-gw.staff.apnic.net via smap (V2.1) id xma016133; Sun, 12 Aug 01 03:58:58 +1000 Received: from bytesforall.org by prodserver1.goatelecom.com (8.9.3/1.1.20.3/07Jul00-0916AM) id XAA0000026487; Sat, 11 Aug 2001 23:35:45 +0530 (IST) Received: from localhost (fred@localhost) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id WAA00731; Sat, 11 Aug 2001 22:26:43 +0530 Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 22:26:43 +0530 (IST) From: Frederick Noronha X-Sender: fred@localhost.localdomain To: s-asia-it@apnic.net cc: Cybercom Cyber Community of India List Subject: NEWS: India's IT advisory committee to chart roadmap for hardware sector Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-IT-Hardware (345 words) India's IT advisory committee to chart roadmap for hardware sector >From Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) India's information technology (IT) ministry has convened a meeting of its national advisory committee Saturday to evolve an action plan to revive the domestic computer hardware industry. The committee, at its fourth meeting to be held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of IT Minister Pramod Mahajan, is expected to chart a roadmap to rejuvenate the industry, an official statement said Friday. India's IT hardware industry has not been able to achieve a high growth as logged by the software segment in the last few years mainly due to absence of governmental support, proper infrastructure and foreign investment. Prominent among those who will attend the meeting include F.C. Kohli, deputy chairman of Tata Consultancy Services, N.R. Narayana Murthy, chairman of Infosys Technologies, Azim Premji, chairman of Wirpo, Subhash Chandra, chairman of Essel Group, and B. Ramalinga Raju, chairman of Satyam Computer. The government has formulated a Hardware Vision 2005 project to turn around the sector. Under the project, computer penetration would climb from the present six per 1,000 to 26 per 1,000 by 2005, boosting employment from 120,000 to 500,000. Hardware Vision 2005 also proposes to raise exports from $0.27 billion to $5 billion, even as computer volumes increase from 1.8 million to 10 billion. "The meeting is expected to roadmap an action plan that will lead to increased computer penetration, larger employment generation, creation of a critical mass for manufacturing, increased global volumes and improvement in the velocity of doing business," the statement said. Industry representatives hope the meeting would also deliberate on a strategy that promotes growth in marketing activities, encourages local content development, and provides the right environment for research and development works. The advisory committee is also likely to discuss a strategy to promote increased IT usage in both business and government. "Another likely area of discussion will be increased government investment in e-governance and IT tools to facilitate interface with citizen," the statement added. --Indo-Asian News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Aug 12 12:35:52 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id MAA17901; Sun, 12 Aug 2001 12:35:51 +1000 (EST) Received: from guardian.apnic.net (guardian.apnic.net [203.37.255.100]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id MAA17856 for ; Sun, 12 Aug 2001 12:35:47 +1000 (EST) Received: (from mail@localhost) by guardian.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id DAA16138 for ; Sun, 12 Aug 2001 03:59:16 +1000 (EST) Received: from unknown(210.212.161.28) by int-gw.staff.apnic.net via smap (V2.1) id xma016134; Sun, 12 Aug 01 03:59:02 +1000 Received: from bytesforall.org by prodserver1.goatelecom.com (8.9.3/1.1.20.3/07Jul00-0916AM) id XAA0000031360; Sat, 11 Aug 2001 23:35:50 +0530 (IST) Received: from localhost (fred@localhost) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id VAA00608; Sat, 11 Aug 2001 21:54:45 +0530 Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 21:54:45 +0530 (IST) From: Frederick Noronha X-Sender: fred@localhost.localdomain To: bytesforall@goacom.com, s-asia-it@apnic.net cc: Cybercom Cyber Community of India List Subject: NEWS: 'India must use IT to bring services to villages' Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-IT-Lab (443 words) 'India must use IT to bring services to villages' by Sumeet Chatterjee, Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Aug 11 (IANS) Developing countries like India must use information technology (IT) as a tool to provide education and services in the rural areas, Nicholas Negroponte, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT's) Media Lab, said Saturday. "Countries like India have got to take advantage of Internet and leverage the human resources to bring information services to the villages," he said. Negroponte was addressing a business meeting organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here. "With Internet usage you can take schools from a one-room set-up to a collaborative education system. Over the next two to three years, developing countries will play a major role in the digital world," he said, adding 50 percent of global Internet users are currently from the developing nations. "Qualitatively we are going to see a lot of innovation coming from developing countries and not from the United States or Redmond," Negroponte said. The proposed Media Lab Asia in India would create technologies that would benefit the masses, he said. The government last month approved the $1.09 billion Media Lab Asia project, a collaboration of MIT and India's IT ministry. The goal is to create technologies to benefit India's masses. Once ready, the Indian version of the MIT Media Lab, a technology incubator in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is expected to be larger than the original. The expansion into Asia follows the opening of another Media Lab last year in Dublin. The lab, to be based outside Mumbai with a string of regional laboratories, will receive a fifth of its financing from the Indian government. The rest is expected to come from corporate sponsors contacted by the government and the MIT Media Lab. Media Lab Asia will promote a decentralized, project-based approach to research, Negroponte told the business leaders. "Projects will be designed to change people's lives using innovative and enabling technologies that can touch all of India." India, with a population of one billion, a dozen official languages and hundreds of regional dialects, has a yawning digital divide. There are fewer than five computers for every 1,000 people. Information Technology Minister Pramod Mahajan said Media Lab Asia would harness the technical skill base to develop ideas to benefit the country's "400-million strong population that doesn't even know how to read and write." "The project will emphasize products that deliver the benefits of information, communication and technology to India's rural dwellers. The biggest challenge for us in Media Lab Asia would be to take the illiterate population to a digital world," the minister said. --Indo-Asian News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Aug 12 21:00:27 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id VAA17105; Sun, 12 Aug 2001 21:00:27 +1000 (EST) Received: from isb.comsats.net.pk (comsats.net.pk [210.56.8.10]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id VAA17099 for ; Sun, 12 Aug 2001 21:00:24 +1000 (EST) Received: from zubair (210-56-9-194.Dialup.isb.comsats.net.pk [210.56.9.194] (may be forged)) by isb.comsats.net.pk (8.11.2/8.11.2) with SMTP id f7CAqJp04509 for ; Sun, 12 Aug 2001 15:52:20 +0500 (PKT) From: "Zubair Faisal Abbasi" To: "South" Subject: eSpots.org: Supporting Information and Cooperation Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 17:12:45 +0500 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200 Importance: Normal Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Greetings from http://www.espots.org and Pakistan! [1] Report on Water Supply Scheme in Village Gariala, Pakistan. [2] Discussion and Distribution Group. [3] eSpots invites volunteers to join efforts. [1] Report on Water Supply Scheme in Village Gariala. Village Gariala is located along the Haro River in District Attock , Pakistan and speaks volumes of the benefits of development cooperation and success of community development approach in ensuring services especially the Water Supply Scheme For details click on the following: http://www.espots.org http://www.espots.org/home.htm [2] Discussion and Distribution Group. eSPOTS has developed a discussion and distribution group which seeks to facilitate information and knowledge gathering and dissemination on: - Pro-poor community development especially development based on gender equality and uplift of the disadvantaged segments of society. - Promotion of volunteerism for equitable and broad based socio-economic development. - Improvement, exploitation, and improvement in old and new knowledge and technological resources especially information technology. - Development and improvement in social sector activities, projects, and schemes. - Community based efforts in building social capital, local innovations, commodity improvements, and pro-poor corrections in markets. Post message: espots@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: espots-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Unsubscribe: espots-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com [3] eSpots invites volunteers to join efforts. 001010---We believe in empowering potentials of 'Interactivity', 'Dignity', and 'Cooperation'--- 010101 eSPOTS.org believes in the value of human volunteerism and seeks to harness it for pro-poor development in technological innovations, diffusion and spread in society. We also seek to capitalize on the potentials of human innovations and information communication technologies in building social capital for community development, good governance, skill development, mutual learning and capacity building, pro-poor advocacy and research and leading to greater local, national, and international development cooperation. In our strategy, approach, and action we want pro-poor programmes and procedures take precedence and development interventions geared to benefit the marginalized and excluded segments of society specially the women and children. eSPOTS.org requests local, national, and the international volunteer organization and individuals to come forward, join hands, and work together with those who participate as social guides believing in empowering potentials of 'Interactivity', 'Dignity', and 'Cooperation'. Send your CV, brochures and information material to: Zubair Faisal Abbasi http://www.espots.org ++92-0303-7759274 zubair@espots.org Islamabad, Pakistan. From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Mon Aug 13 13:40:33 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id NAA09398; Mon, 13 Aug 2001 13:40:33 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi4.super.net.pk ([203.135.48.18]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id NAA09394 for ; Mon, 13 Aug 2001 13:40:28 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.7.25]) by pop-khi4.super.net.pk (8.11.3/8.11.3) with ESMTP id f7D3Zxi18091 for ; Mon, 13 Aug 2001 08:36:00 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 08:27:03 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: LINK: Linux in Education mailing list... (fwd) Message-ID: <3B778F57.23851.196676@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk [on behalf of Frederick Noronha ] Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 23:41:14 +0530 (IST) To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Want to subscribe to an Indian mailing-list focussing on Linux in Education? Please check the following instructions... ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Use the following link for subscribing. ->LIFE mailing list ->LIFE@mm.hbcse.tifr.res.in ->http://mm.hbcse.tifr.res.in/mailman/listinfo/life This list is run by Prof Nagarjuna of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai, India. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Nagarjuna G. HBCSE, TIFR, V.N.Purav Marg, Mankhurd, Mumbai 400088 India. Phone: 5567711 Res: 2155604 nagarjun@hbcse.tifr.res.in www.hbcse.tifr.res.in ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -- ------- End of forwarded message ------- From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Mon Aug 13 14:21:39 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id OAA11239; Mon, 13 Aug 2001 14:21:38 +1000 (EST) Received: from prodserver1.goatelecom.com ([210.212.161.28]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id OAA11233 for ; Mon, 13 Aug 2001 14:21:35 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org by prodserver1.goatelecom.com (8.9.3/1.1.20.3/07Jul00-0916AM) id JAA0000023950; Mon, 13 Aug 2001 09:57:07 +0530 (IST) Received: from localhost (fred@localhost) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id JAA06818; Mon, 13 Aug 2001 09:19:31 +0530 Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 09:19:31 +0530 (IST) From: Frederick Noronha X-Sender: fred@localhost.localdomain To: Cybercom Cyber Community of India List cc: csi-goa@goacom.com, s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS: Indian IT firms bag a trickle of foreign products Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-IT-Trickle (439 words) Indian IT firms bag a trickle of foreign projects by Imran Qureshi, Indo-Asian News Service Bangalore, Aug 12 (IANS) The end of the long drought of foreign contracts seems to be in sight for the Indian information technology (IT) industry with a clutch of companies bagging their first projects in months. The good news is that this "trickle" of fresh outsourcing projects is not confined to the big names of the industry: it is evenly spread to the mid-sized and small companies, the section worst hit by the slowdown. "In the last four to five weeks, we are not the only ones to get new projects. There are several other companies that have secured fresh projects, some small, some big. But the trickle seems to have just started," Krishna Kumar, vice chairman and president, Europe and Asia, MindTree Consulting, told IANS. MindTree Consulting, which last week secured a second round of funding of $14.4 million, has bagged six contracts in equal number of weeks. There are several others companies that have reported the beginning of the end of the unusually long sales cycle. But for some strange reasons, many of these firms do not wish to be identified. "Interestingly, many of those who had not contacted us for five months have called up in the last couple of months to say, 'Shall we start talking.' And, these talks have fructified into something concrete now," says V. Ramakrishna, MD, Eximsoft. Many of these contracts are coming in Europe, some from the U.S. and some from Indian companies. "They are small contracts, no doubt, but it helps us to prove our value add in this slowdown situation, so that we build on our relationship," says a CEO of an IT solutions company. Outsourcing is greater from Europe because, unlike the U.S., the trend is relatively new there. "As they are just realizing the cost benefits of outsourcing to countries like India, (European) companies are going in for contracts (worth) less than $ two million. For us, it is a good start of a new relationship," says one industry observer. On the other hand, many existing clients are re-working their relationships for the same amount. "There is some kind of pressure on pricing. But the size of the contract is small, so our earnings are lower," says a senior official of a mid-sized firm. Pricing pressure has mainly come in due to competition from Indian companies. But observers are wary enough not to get too excited by the trickle of projects. "We are keeping our fingers crossed. Lets hope it leads to a turnaround." ---Indo-Asian News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Aug 15 17:53:58 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id RAA06686; Wed, 15 Aug 2001 17:53:57 +1000 (EST) Received: from guardian.apnic.net (guardian.apnic.net [203.37.255.100]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id RAA06674 for ; Wed, 15 Aug 2001 17:53:56 +1000 (EST) Received: (from mail@localhost) by guardian.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id QAA03216 for ; Tue, 14 Aug 2001 16:44:44 +1000 (EST) Received: from unknown(203.135.48.18) by int-gw.staff.apnic.net via smap (V2.1) id xma003212; Tue, 14 Aug 01 16:44:39 +1000 Received: from excel586 ([203.130.7.92]) by pop-khi4.super.net.pk (8.11.3/8.11.3) with ESMTP id f7E6THi15845 for ; Tue, 14 Aug 2001 11:29:19 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 11:31:26 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Pakistan Post introduces "eLetter" Message-ID: <3B790C0E.29570.5758E4@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Pakistan Post Office has launched "eLetter", a service that dispatches letters written through the internet. They guarantee that letters are printed and delivered within 48 to 72 hours anywhere in Pakistan. Details available at: http://www.pakpost.gov.pk/ irfan From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Thu Aug 16 15:17:12 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA19567; Thu, 16 Aug 2001 15:17:11 +1000 (EST) Received: from post.super.net.pk ([203.135.48.19]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id PAA19554 for ; Thu, 16 Aug 2001 15:17:06 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.5.25]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id KAA25537 for ; Thu, 16 Aug 2001 10:04:01 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2001 10:03:48 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: India sets up e-post offices Message-ID: <3B7B9A84.11481.5956A9@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk 13 August, 2001 India sets up e-post offices By Ram Dutt Tripathi in Lucknow The Indian postal department has good news for the country's villagers. Under a new scheme, they will no longer have to depend solely on the post but can send and receive letters on the internet through email accounts set up in their name. The postal department has launched this novel scheme on an experimental basis in five southern and western Indian states. The department's secretary, BN Som, told journalists that the scheme has been launched to extend the benefits of the internet to semi- urban and rural areas. Only two percent of India's population has access to personal computers. But with the vast network at the disposal of the postal department, which has more than 150,000 post offices across the country, this reach is expected to change dramatically. Wiring up Under the new scheme post offices will be wired up to computers and the internet. Mail received on the internet in the name of account holders will then be distributed by the local postman. The scheme has been launched so far in five states - Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat. More than 200 e-post centres have already been set up in these states linked to more than 5,000 distribution centres. An electronic money transfer scheme has also been launched by the department to facilitate Indians living abroad. Mr Som said that since his department has the largest network, overseas Indians can transfer money instantly to their relatives. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1489000/14894 70.stm From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Thu Aug 16 15:17:16 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA19585; Thu, 16 Aug 2001 15:17:16 +1000 (EST) Received: from post.super.net.pk ([203.135.48.19]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id PAA19555 for ; Thu, 16 Aug 2001 15:17:06 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.5.25]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id KAA25525 for ; Thu, 16 Aug 2001 10:03:55 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2001 10:03:48 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: India's IT hopes: From megadreams to deliverance Message-ID: <3B7B9A84.17769.5957B0@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk August 16, 2001 India's IT hopes: From megadreams to deliverance By Sandeep Shenoy Despite the gloom surrounding the technology industry in the United States with the plummeting stock market, Indian Information Technology (IT) companies still exude a seemingly unrealistic confidence. According to India's apex software industry organization, the National Association for Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), compared to US$6.2 billion in 2000-01, IT revenues will grow to $8.5 billion in 2001-02. But India has bigger dreams. A study by McKinsey and Company for NASSCOM showed a potential growth of the IT industry to $90 billion in revenue by 2008, employing more than 2 million people. A bonanza of this scale could well propel India into the league of world's most powerful economies. To convert this megadream into a reality, however, India has some unique advantages and some major challenges that it must overcome. For now India has the lead compared to most other nations. But it must pay close attention to what must be done to miss the potholes and stay ahead. The 1990s were a lucky period. They saw India's IT industry grow at an average rate of 42 percent annually, riding on the acute need felt for software talent to fix the Y2K bug (Year 2000 computer problem), and then for the dotcom frenzy in the United States before the net economy bubble exploded. The true beneficiaries of this madness were the IT companies and professionals who gorged themselves with high- paying contracts and salaries until the end of 2000. Indians are uniquely equipped to be good IT professionals. Besides communicating well in English - a necessity - they are the products of some of the best technical finishing schools. Indians also have a firm foundation in mathematics necessary to create the most efficient algorithms for computers - built out of a cultural and a religious emphasis for contemplation and inquiry and a proud legacy of mathematical discoveries since the ages. Indian professionals also belong to a generally free, open and tolerant culture and thus adjust to similar Western values and work environments without a glitch - a necessity when working with their American and European counterparts. India has a major advantage in its ability to churn out very large numbers of software professionals through its thousands of engineering institutions. Buoyed by the success stories of the Indian diaspora in Silicon Valley in California (where there are altogether more than 20,000 millionaires), even greater numbers of Indian youths are aspiring to join this industry. The strength in numbers is also being exploited in another area, called IT-enabled services. These services are labor intensive and are outsourced to India because of cost advantages. Call centers, payroll management and data entry work are some examples. The 12-hour time difference between US and India provides some advantages as well. For some US corporations, product support role is often taken over by their Indian subsidiaries during the night when their offices in America and Europe are closed. It also allows round- the-clock development by teams of engineers in the US, Europe and India working eight hour shifts for a faster time to market. The network of technocrats from overseas Indian community, such as the Ind-US Entrepreneurs based in the US, are mentoring aspiring Indians to start their own software companies in India's silicon cities of Bangalore and Hyderabad. But there are many challenges as well. India's IT companies for now are mostly focused on manufacturing software, which are outsourced by technology corporations from the developed countries. Indian engineering schools do not conduct cutting-edge research compared to their counterparts in the developed world, mostly because of a lack of funds. For decades, India has lost its best research talent to universities in the US. While many of the most prestigious corporations in US owe their existence to the entrepreneurial spirit of this talent, India has benefitted little. This trend still remains to be reversed. Since Indian engineers remaining in the homeland are good mainly at a lower-rung implementation level work, Indian IT firms have not been able to produce or market significant branded software products of their own. Contrast this with the Israeli IT industry. Israeli universities produce a large number of high-level researchers who are encouraged and provided with generous loans to start their own companies. Israel's success can be gauged from the fact that more than 150 of its IT companies are listed on American stock exchanges, as compared to only a handful from India. The success of so many Israeli start- ups should be a wake-up call to India to elevate the level of research conducted within its academia and do more to provide incentives to keep its best talent within its shores or lure them back from overseas. The Indian IT industry's second lucrative source of income, besides manufacturing software, is to act as "body" shops supplying their software professional employees on temporary contracts with corporations in other countries who do not have adequate programmers. There are limitations to this approach, however. The best professionals are often lured by corporations to which they are contracted to become permanent employees and given an opportunity to migrate abroad. Both the US and more recently Germany allow permanent residence - a magnet for Indians aspiring for a better life. This lost workforce is hard to replace since it takes years of training and experience to make each such professional. The domestic IT Industry is having a hard time finding worthy replacements at the rate at which it is losing its cadres. If Indian software companies must be recognized as serious players, they must aggressively expand their operations to their offshore markets. They have to become multinationals themselves. This is a major challenge because Indian companies have little experience with managing complexities that occur in overseas operations. Secondly, investments and acquisitions overseas require a level of risk-taking with which the Indian business community is not yet comfortable. India can become the reigning IT superpower. The challenges are enormous but this is one opportunity the country should not miss. Only a collective effort by India's government, its IT industry, and its professionals and organizations around the world can turn the dream into reality. (c)2001 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved. http://atimes.com/ind-pak/CH16Df02.html From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Fri Aug 17 15:01:22 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA00166; Fri, 17 Aug 2001 15:01:22 +1000 (EST) Received: from guardian.apnic.net (guardian.apnic.net [203.37.255.100]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id PAA00160 for ; Fri, 17 Aug 2001 15:01:20 +1000 (EST) Received: (from mail@localhost) by guardian.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA15410 for ; Fri, 17 Aug 2001 15:01:16 +1000 (EST) Received: from unknown(210.212.161.28) by int-gw.staff.apnic.net via smap (V2.1) id xma015301; Fri, 17 Aug 01 14:59:38 +1000 Received: from bytesforall.org by prodserver1.goatelecom.com (8.9.3/1.1.20.3/07Jul00-0916AM) id KAA0000017259; Fri, 17 Aug 2001 10:33:57 +0530 (IST) Received: from localhost (fred@localhost) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id JAA01714 for ; Fri, 17 Aug 2001 09:27:15 +0530 Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 09:27:15 +0530 (IST) From: Frederick Noronha X-Sender: fred@localhost.localdomain To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS-INDIA: Orissa introduces IT as optional subject in colleges Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-IT-Orissa (261 words) Orissa introduces IT as optional subject in colleges by Jatindra Dash, Indo-Asian News Service Bhubaneswar, Aug 16 (IANS) Seeing the huge manpower demands in the IT sector, Orissa has introduced information technology in all undergraduate colleges as an optional subject. J.A. Khan, joint secretary in the department of education, said the decision was taken by the Orissa Council of Higher Secondary Education (OCHSE). Khan said students could take the help of self-financing schemes to register themselves for the various courses. The government had already sent details of these courses to all colleges. IT courses had earlier been introduced at post-graduate level in universities. Now students entering colleges would learn IT from the first year itself, Khan said. There are 1,300 government and non-government-run colleges in the state. One based in Cuttack, the state's principal city, has been named as the Institute of Management and Information Technology. The state also has six universities. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has kept the Department of IT with himself. The government has appointed a committee to look into ways to promote the use of IT in the state. Top names in the IT sector, including N.R. Narayana Murthy of Infosys Technologies, B. Ramalinga Raju of Satyam Computer Services and F.C. Kohli of Tata Consultancy Services are its members. The Orissa Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) has built Info City, a sprawling IT park, to promote export-oriented IT industries. IDCO has a budget of Rs. 500 million. More then 150 IT companies have already set up their units in the state. --Indo-Asian News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Fri Aug 17 15:01:52 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA00216; Fri, 17 Aug 2001 15:01:51 +1000 (EST) Received: from guardian.apnic.net (guardian.apnic.net [203.37.255.100]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id PAA00212 for ; Fri, 17 Aug 2001 15:01:51 +1000 (EST) Received: (from mail@localhost) by guardian.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA15432 for ; Fri, 17 Aug 2001 15:01:46 +1000 (EST) Received: from unknown(210.212.161.28) by int-gw.staff.apnic.net via smap (V2.1) id xma015359; Fri, 17 Aug 01 15:00:23 +1000 Received: from bytesforall.org by prodserver1.goatelecom.com (8.9.3/1.1.20.3/07Jul00-0916AM) id KAA0000017363; Fri, 17 Aug 2001 10:34:30 +0530 (IST) Received: from localhost (fred@localhost) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id JAA01676; Fri, 17 Aug 2001 09:12:16 +0530 Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 09:12:16 +0530 (IST) From: Frederick Noronha X-Sender: fred@localhost.localdomain To: s-asia-it@apnic.net cc: csi-goa@goacom.com Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-IT-Nasscom (428 words) IT industry lobby group revamps organisational structure >From Indo-Asian News service New Delhi, Aug 16 (IANS) India's leading IT industry lobby group Thursday said it had revamped the organisational structure by creating separate working groups to focus on building brand equity for the software companies. The National Association for Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) said it had created three different groups - organising function, research and analysis, and relationship function - each to be headed by a vice president. The vice presidents of the three groups will report to the newly appointed Nasscom president Kiran Karnik, said Phiroz Vandrevala, chairman of Nasscom. In addition, the lobby group has also decided to set up regional organizations to facilitate "closer interaction between the local companies and the government on policy issues. "The four regional offices will be put in place by end of the year. We will appoint officers for each of the regional offices," Vandrevala said. The association will also set up offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific by 2002. Karnik, a former head of Discovery Channel in India, said he would work with the software industry to identify opportunities and challenges. "My first priority would be to understand the industry in depth and then devise ways how Nasscom can help build the India Inc brand." The Nasscom president's post fell vacant in April following the sudden death of Dewang Mehta, who had been its president for 10 years, in Sydney. The dynamic 38-year-old Mehta's name was synonymous with India's booming software industry. For long Nasscom had been virtually a one-man show. Although the body had an executive committee and a chairman, the mop-haired Mehta did more than anyone else in the last few years to change the image of India as an IT powerhouse. The Geneva-based World Economic Forum identified Mehta as one of the 100 Global Leaders of Tomorrow. Vandrevala said Nasscom would organise series of networking events in Europe and the U.S. over the next couple of quarters to "build the India Inc brand in the global market. "We are organising the first event in London in October in association with Financial Times. Then the event will move to other major cites in the European region. The event will be held in the U.S. early next year," he said. Nasscom currently has around 870 member companies who collectively contribute to over 95 percent of revenues of the software industry in India. Its members include software development, Internet and e-commerce companies such as Infosys Technologies, Wipro and Satyam Computer Services. --Indo-Asian News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Fri Aug 17 15:02:56 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA00325; Fri, 17 Aug 2001 15:02:56 +1000 (EST) Received: from guardian.apnic.net (guardian.apnic.net [203.37.255.100]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id PAA00319 for ; Fri, 17 Aug 2001 15:02:55 +1000 (EST) Received: (from mail@localhost) by guardian.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA15494 for ; Fri, 17 Aug 2001 15:02:50 +1000 (EST) Received: from unknown(210.212.161.28) by int-gw.staff.apnic.net via smap (V2.1) id xma015303; Fri, 17 Aug 01 14:59:59 +1000 Received: from bytesforall.org by prodserver1.goatelecom.com (8.9.3/1.1.20.3/07Jul00-0916AM) id KAA0000022005; Fri, 17 Aug 2001 10:34:05 +0530 (IST) Received: from localhost (fred@localhost) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id JAA01706 for ; Fri, 17 Aug 2001 09:25:11 +0530 Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 09:25:11 +0530 (IST) From: Frederick Noronha X-Sender: fred@localhost.localdomain To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS: India's software, services export slows in Q1 of 2001-02 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-IT-Export (520 words) India's software, services export slows in Q1 of 2001-02 By Sumeet Chatterjee, Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Aug 16 (IANS) India's software and services export growth slowed to 52 percent in the first quarter of fiscal 2001-02 compared to 65 percent in the same period last year, a leading IT industry lobby group said Thursday. The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) said software and services export during April-June quarter generated revenues of Rs.86 billion compared to Rs.56.7 billion in the same period last year. "The Q1 results clearly indicate that the situation is not as gloomy as it is painted out to be. Although the growth in percentage term has dipped a bit but the industry still continues to grow at a steady pace," said Phiroz Vandrevala, chairman of Nasscom. "Despite the IT slowdown, the contribution of software and services export revenue for the first quarter has increased from 20 percent in 2000-01 to 21.5 percent in 2001-02," he told reporters here. Vandrevala said top 25 Indian software developers, which account for over 70 percent of software and services export, continued to grow by over 50 percent in the first quarter of fiscal 2002 "which is very positive by any industry standard." Looking ahead, the Nasscom official said that export revenue in the second quarter of fiscal 2002 would rise nine percent over the April-June quarter. Revenue for the July-September quarter would be 23.5 percent of the projected annual revenue of $8.48 billion. Last year the second quarter revenue was 21.5 percent of $6.2 billion. "Nasscom had projected export revenues of $8.48 billion for the financial year 2001-02 and we are confident with the excellent growth in the first quarter and based on a relatively flat growth of 8-15 percent for second to fourth quarter, the target will be met." According to the industry lobby group, the April-June quarter witnessed a large number of global corporations outsourcing mission critical projects to India. "What we are witnessing now is the end of the first generation of the outsourcing model and the emergence of a new model," Vandrevala said. "Traditionally global corporations used to outsource 70-80 man-year projects, but the trend that we are witnessing now is outsourcing to the scale of 300-400 man-year projects. We believe that acquisitions of such projects will help India leapfrog the current slowdown." The Nasscom survey for the first quarter of fiscal 2002 says that the IT enabled services sector would be the major driver for exports growth in the next couple of quarters. The sector has grown from Rs.24 billion in 1999-2000 to Rs.41 billion in 2000-01. "The IT-enabled services sector is expected to witness a strong growth of 54 percent with revenues estimated to touch Rs.63 billion in the year 2001-02," the survey report said. The survey pointed out that banking and financial sector had been a high-growth area whereas the telecom sector had witnessed some slowdown in the quarter ended June. "India's strong technical expertise in embedded software, software maintenance and application development will be growth sectors in Q2 to Q4 in 2001-02." --Indo-Asian News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Fri Aug 17 15:16:21 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA01325; Fri, 17 Aug 2001 15:16:20 +1000 (EST) Received: from prodserver1.goatelecom.com ([210.212.161.28]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id PAA00772 for ; Fri, 17 Aug 2001 15:09:15 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org by prodserver1.goatelecom.com (8.9.3/1.1.20.3/07Jul00-0916AM) id KAA0000013510; Fri, 17 Aug 2001 10:34:31 +0530 (IST) Received: from localhost (fred@localhost) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id JAA01692; Fri, 17 Aug 2001 09:19:00 +0530 Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 09:19:00 +0530 (IST) From: Frederick Noronha X-Sender: fred@localhost.localdomain To: s-asia-it@apnic.net cc: Cybercom Cyber Community of India List Subject: NEWS_INDIA: PurpleYogi to provide software solution to Infosys Technologies Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk U.S.-IT-Infosys (330 words) PurpleYogi to provide software solution to Infosys Technologies >From Indo-Asian News Service New York, Aug 16 (IANS) Indian American promoted PurpleYogi Inc., a data management major, has been selected by Infosys Technologies, India's second-largest software developer, to launch a data management system that will automate the process of organizing business information. Infosys will incorporate PurpleYogi's Discovery System into its enterprise software applications to "organise and classify unstructured marketing documentation such as reports, customer proposals, case studies and competitive research," a press statement issued by PurpleYogi said. "The deployment of the PurpleYogi Discovery System plays an important role in Infosys' unstructured information management initiatives, allowing individuals across the company to respond more quickly to ever-changing industry trends," said Nimish Mehta, president and CEO of PurpleYogi. The PurpleYogi Discovery System technology allows personnel to quickly familiarise themselves with various facets of the company by providing a contextual view of the company's important corporate information, the statement said. Infosys will also use the PurpleYogi Discovery System to add depth and dimension to new employee training and orientation, it said adding that the functional areas of sales and marketing would also benefit from the integration of the technology. According to Merrill Lynch, the unstructured data management market segment is estimated to grow 31 percent from 1999 to 2004. Merrill Lynch estimates the unstructured data management market to be more than $4 billion by 2004. "Harnessing the intellectual capital within a company has become essential for competitive advantage and even survival," said Kris Gopalakrishnan, deputy managing director and head (customer service and technology) of PurpleYogi Inc. "The only effective implementation of a knowledge management strategy is one that captures the intellectual capital throughout the entire organization. The PurpleYogi Discovery System will be an important tool for our own consultants in enhancing client relationships." Founded in 1999, California-headquartered PurpleYogi is a privately held company that has received funds from Softbank Venture Capital, Intel Capital, At India and Skyblaze Ventures LLC. From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sat Aug 18 06:44:23 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id GAA22353; Sat, 18 Aug 2001 06:44:22 +1000 (EST) Received: from prodserver1.goatelecom.com ([210.212.161.28]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id GAA22349 for ; Sat, 18 Aug 2001 06:44:18 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org by prodserver1.goatelecom.com (8.9.3/1.1.20.3/07Jul00-0916AM) id CAA0000008838; Sat, 18 Aug 2001 02:19:56 +0530 (IST) Received: from localhost (fred@localhost) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id XAA01209 for ; Fri, 17 Aug 2001 23:00:35 +0530 Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 23:00:35 +0530 (IST) From: Frederick Noronha X-Sender: fred@localhost.localdomain To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS-PAKISTAN: Software will fetch billions for Pakistan -- Musharraf Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Pakistan-IT-Musharraf (247 words) Software will fetch billions for Pakistan: Musharraf >From Indo-Asian News Service Karachi, Aug 17 (IANS) Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said his government will bank on software exports in a big way to help Pakistan achieve socio-economic development. The government is giving a big impetus to the IT (information technology) sector for this purpose, Musharraf said while inaugurating the Software Technology Park Expo-2001 in Lahore. He announced that software-exporting companies have been allowed to retain 35 percent of their export earnings in foreign exchange accounts to boost exports, SADA reported. Musharraf also declared that no foreign exchange accounts would be frozen in future. He said development of software parks would prop up the IT business. This initiative would also create employment opportunities, he added. He hoped all software businesses would declare their foreign exchange earnings to the State Bank of Pakistan, which had also been instructed to direct banks to accept the contract as collateral for software export to qualify them for the export-refinancing scheme. Musharraf said the promotion of IT for the economic and social uplift of Pakistan is the cornerstone of his policies. He observed that his government in a short tenure created a new division of IT and telecommunication under the able leadership of Atta-ur-Rehman, the minister for science and technology. He said all-out efforts are being made to increase computer literacy, Internet connectivity, training of manpower and creation of an environment for investment in IT and its trade. -Indo-Asian News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Aug 19 17:25:57 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id RAA09819; Sun, 19 Aug 2001 17:22:57 +1000 (EST) Received: from prodserver1.goatelecom.com ([210.212.161.28]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id RAA09801 for ; Sun, 19 Aug 2001 17:22:50 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org by prodserver1.goatelecom.com (8.9.3/1.1.20.3/07Jul00-0916AM) id MAA0000019623; Sun, 19 Aug 2001 12:58:30 +0530 (IST) Received: from localhost (fred@localhost) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id KAA00798; Sun, 19 Aug 2001 10:34:25 +0530 Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2001 10:34:25 +0530 (IST) From: Frederick Noronha X-Sender: fred@localhost.localdomain To: Cybercom Cyber Community of India List cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS-INDIA: E-governance catches on in Bihar Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-IT-Bihar (404 words) E-governance catches on in Laloo's Bihar by Shivanand Shukla, Indo-Asian News Service Patna, Aug 18 (IANS) Laloo Prasad Yadav, who once dismissed information technology (IT) as an elitist pursuit, now concedes that it offers many useful solutions and Bihar cannot afford to fall behind in the wired world. Yadav's wife, Chief Minister Rabri Devi, has brought several departments of her government online and launched a Web site through which people can directly inform her of their grievances. Her husband, the chief of the ruling Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), therefore had to swallow his words. Rabri Devi recently also inaugurated the Bihar government's official Web site, www.bihar.bih.nic.in, and a video-conferencing facility at her residence. "IT is important because it is a solution to many problems," Yadav said at the launch of the Web site at the chief minister's residence. But he emphasised that IT could never solve all problems and that manpower would always have the upper hand. The state's Science and Technology Minister, Chandrika Rai, said all the relevant information regarding various government departments have been put on the site. "There is to be a separate section, cmonline.com, where people can lodge their complaints directly to the chief minister, who would...(give) necessary directions to the authorities concerned," Rai told IANS. "The complaints would be giving feedback directly to the chief minister on the functioning of the state government." People could also give their suggestions about the functioning of the government on the site, Rai said. The Web site had all the details about various departments like finance, tourism, agriculture, environment and forest and listed the ministers, officials and recently elected village heads. "All the government departments like treasury and commercial taxes would be computerised," the minister said. He added that the state government would provide video conferencing facilities in all the commission-level offices by the end of this year. The government would also set up a data warehouse and provide computer training to select employees and officials, he added. The Bihar government had earlier announced that it would organise a conference on IT in state capital Patna this November. Many IT professionals will be invited for the conference. Incidentally, when the state government announced this plan, Laloo Yadav's son-in-law and IT professional Shailesh Kumar was also present. This had prompted criticism from the opposition parties, which alleged that Laloo Yadav was merely trying to promote his son-in-law's career. --Indo-Asian News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Sun Aug 19 17:26:57 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id RAA09841; Sun, 19 Aug 2001 17:23:11 +1000 (EST) Received: from prodserver1.goatelecom.com ([210.212.161.28]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id RAA09825 for ; Sun, 19 Aug 2001 17:23:03 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org by prodserver1.goatelecom.com (8.9.3/1.1.20.3/07Jul00-0916AM) id MAA0000019778; Sun, 19 Aug 2001 12:58:43 +0530 (IST) Received: from localhost (fred@localhost) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id KAA00802; Sun, 19 Aug 2001 10:36:01 +0530 Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2001 10:36:01 +0530 (IST) From: Frederick Noronha X-Sender: fred@localhost.localdomain To: gcsp@goenkar.com, Cybercom Cyber Community of India List cc: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: NEWS-INDIA: Computer education project caught in red tape / Bangalore Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-IT-Schools (491 words) Computer education project caught in red tape by Imran Qureshi, Indo-Asian News Service Bangalore, Aug 18 (IANS) Red tape is very much alive and kicking, as the people behind a part-government-part-private project to take computer education to the city's state-run schools have learnt to their dismay. For once, the infrastructure is ready. In fact, the classrooms, the teachers and the students have been ready for nearly a year. But the computers have not arrived, not for want of money but simply because the federal government is reluctant to waive off the import duty. Schools run by the Bangalore City Corporation were to get their computers as a donation by Indo-American entrepreneur B.V. Jagadeesh of Exodus Communications fame, for which $1 million was pledged early last year. "It has been nine months since we petitioned Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, and regular follow-ups, including a letter from Chief Minister S.M. Krishna, to the finance ministry do not seem to have helped," B.V. Kumar, a trustee of the B.V. Jagdeesh Foundation, told IANS. Jagdeesh made the million-dollar donation at the first meeting of the Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF), a private-public platform for development of India's information technology (IT) capital, early last year to improve the educational standards in corporation-run schools. The idea was to provide a server and six computers to each of the 33 high schools in the city. "We spent considerable amount of money to get one room in each of these schools up to the standards required to locate computers," said a senior official. "But we are now told that 38.5 percent duty has to be paid to import the computers, a decision that the foundation has to take." "We have explained the reasons for the import as well as the reasons for waiver of such duty. The chief minister wrote to the junior federal finance minister, Ramachandran, and got a reply that it would be looked into," said the official. "Except for seeking clarifications, nothing has happened so far. Our point is that we would be able to save Rs. 3.85 million as duty and provide more computers to the students. In any case, the government does give such concessions for technical institutions for purposes of research," says Kumar. But is it not possible to purchase the computers locally and supply to the schools? "We would still be paying close to Rs 3.5 million in excess because of the taxes," adds Kumar. Incidentally, the teachers of the corporation schools have been trained by Intel Corporation, whose president and CEO, Craig Barrett, made a pointed reference to hike in taxation on computers. "The government could reduce taxes of 35 to 40 percent on PCs to increase penetration in India," he had told a news conference on August 3 during his one-day flying visit. The Intel CEO had also committed to Krishna that Intel would train "a couple of thousand teachers" in the coming year. --Indo-Asian News Service From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Mon Aug 20 04:31:48 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id EAA04285; Mon, 20 Aug 2001 04:31:47 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi4.super.net.pk ([203.135.48.18]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id EAA04281 for ; Mon, 20 Aug 2001 04:31:40 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.7.60]) by pop-khi4.super.net.pk (8.11.3/8.11.3) with ESMTP id f7JIFYJ30462 for ; Sun, 19 Aug 2001 23:15:37 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2001 23:18:21 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Kathmandu Calling "IT Conference 2002" Message-ID: <3B80493D.23342.1D450A@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk IT Conference 2002 IT Revolution: Creating a Network Age in the 21st Century 26 and 27th January 2002, International Convention Center (BICC), Kathmandu, NEPAL INTIAL CALL FOR PAPERS/PARTICIPATION: Computer Association of Nepal cordially invites you to actively participate in the IT Conference 2002 to be held on 26 and 27 January 2002, in Kathmandu, Nepal. IT Conference 2002 "IT Revolution: Creating a Network Age in the 21st Century" presents a dynamic, integrated two days of not-to-be-missed Information and Communication Technology (ICT) experiences at the foothills of the Himalayas. This international conference is being organized by Computer Association of Nepal (CAN) and will take place during CAN Info-Tech 2002. CAN Info Tech "Nepal Information Technology Show and Conference" is Nepal's largest and only IT- focused international show and conference. The conference will present you with a holistic mix of the big picture, finer details, technical depth, and corporate level perspectives on various facets of the information and communication technology. Our distinguished panel of keynote speakers will bring a diverse set of insights on different advancements on ICT initiatives around the world. The two-day conference comprises of, intense vertical tracks, in- depth technology, business, management and governance-focused sessions related to the information and communication technology.. There will be an open forum during the quick-hit panels to provide an opportunity for discussion between the speakers and participants. The 7 tracks of the conference aims to blend global trends with local market realities and perspectives. The conference will discuss practical aspects of ICT as well as provide the opportunity to learn from each other's experience and act as a common platform for sharing success/failure stories related to the use of ICT in strengthening development efforts. For example, it would be very practical and useful for country like Nepal and others to know how ICT can be used to provide better health services. Similarly, how we can improve the quali ty and/or coverage of education through the use of ICT? We should see how ICT could be used to educate more poor people, to provide better and affordable public health services in rural areas and increase agricultural yie lds. In this context, CAN would like to request call for papers on the use of ICT in supporting development initiatives in underdeveloped settings with scarce resources. The conference intends to discuss ways to develop ICT as an industry especially in underdeveloped settings and will explore various issues relating to creating and maintaining conducive environment for the development of sustainable ICT industries. HIGHLIGHTS: i. Powerful conference agenda to keep you up to date with the latest on the ICT and its applications. ii. More than 10 directional keynotes by famous visionaries and pioneers of the ICT academia and industry iii. Seven focused tracks covering the entire spectrum of the ICT paradigm iv. Over 20 sessions addressing a wide spectrum of technology, business and application issues v. More than 7 in-depth panel discussions providing an international perspective factored for Nepalese relevance THE SEVEN TRACKS: 1. ICT and Telecom Policy and Strategy - Government - Association 2. Computer Software Development, Services and Export - Trends /Opportunities in Software Development - Capacity Building - Export - Outsourcing - Linux / Open Source vs. other models - IT Enabled services 3. Tele-Communications & Internet Technology and Services - Infrastructure - Access/Content - Services - VOIP 4. ICT and Development - Digital Divide - Tele-medicine - IT and Knowledge economy/management - IT for education - Local Language/Multi language Computing - IT and Media - Social aspects of Information superhighway 5. Human Resources Development & IT Education - IT education system capable of producing world class human resources - Development and Management of Human Resources for IT industries 6. E-commerce - Capacity Building - Legal and Regulatory dimensions - Cyber Crime: Threats to the new economy 7. E-governance in democratic societies - New demands on government in e-Age - New accountabilities and new technologies - Enhancing efficiency electronically WHO SHOULD ATTEND? Policy makers: As this conference intends to gather policy makers from different sectors of IT from different parts of the world, the policy makers, regulators, implementers can benefit from each other's experiences. Educationists: "IT for education and education for IT" has a great role to play for tomorrow's future. This will help people working in the IT HRD sector specially education and training. CEOs/CIOs/COOs: To understand and discover the significance of IT strategy in gaining competitive advantage in the digital age. IT Professionals: To gain inputs into planning, designing, implementing and managing IT-based systems and solutions. Investors and Entrepreneurs: To understand the promising new IT paradigm and the business opportunities it offers in the new developing scenario and challenges. Economic Professionals: To gain an insight into IT-based business models and to gain a broad understanding of ICT-based sales and marketing strategies IT Associations: This will be a forum for IT associations to share ideas and experiences in their sectors from around the world. IT Students: This will be a significant event for the IT students to enhance knowledge and capabilities. They could share ideas with the prominent IT personalities around the world. Users: Most of the time users of the technology have very small space to say. This conference will make "consumer is the king" a reality. SUBMITTALS: Key Dates are: - Submission of abstract: 30th September 2001 - Notice of selection: 5th October 2001 - Invitation to submit 1st draft of paper/presentation: 5th November 2001 - Final Version of papers: 25 December 2001 PARTICIPATING FEES: - Overseas participants from Developed Countries: US$ 150.00 - Overseas participants from Developing Countries: US$ 75.00 - Local participants: NRs.3000.00 CONFERENCE PROGRAM: - Date: 26 and 27th January 2002 - Venue: International Convention Center (BICC), Kathmandu, NEPAL - Host: Computer Association of Nepal PLEASE CONTACT FOR FURTHER DETAILS: Ms. Pushpa Shrestha, Executive Secretary CAN Secretariat Computer Association of Nepal Putalisadak, Kathmandu, Nepal P. O. Box no 4982 KTM Telephone: +977-1-432700 Fax: +977-1-424043 Email: info@itconference.org.np URL: http://www.itconference.org.np Hope to see you at IT Conference 2002 Rajib Subba Secretary General Computer Association of Nepal Email:rajib@nepalit.com Atma Ram Ghimire Coordinator-IT Conference 2002 Computer Association of Nepal Email: atmaram@wlink.com.np From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Aug 21 04:59:19 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id EAA16793; Tue, 21 Aug 2001 04:59:18 +1000 (EST) Received: from prodserver1.goatelecom.com ([210.212.161.28]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id EAA16788 for ; Tue, 21 Aug 2001 04:59:14 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org by prodserver1.goatelecom.com (8.9.3/1.1.20.3/07Jul00-0916AM) id AAA0000012371; Tue, 21 Aug 2001 00:34:52 +0530 (IST) Received: from localhost (fred@localhost) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id XAA00630; Mon, 20 Aug 2001 23:46:32 +0530 Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2001 23:46:32 +0530 (IST) From: Frederick Noronha X-Sender: fred@localhost.localdomain To: s-asia-it@apnic.net cc: csi-goa@goacom.com Subject: NEWS-INDIA: Venture capital industry will boom again in India -- Kanwal Rekhi Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk India-IT-Rekhi (577 words) Venture capital industry will boom again in India: Kanwal Rekhi by Sumeet Chatterjee, Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS) Venture capitalist Kanwal Rekhi says the "allure" of India "is not going to vanish just because of some short-term downturn in the industry." "The (current) technology meltdown will probably continue for one more year. I don't think this will disturb the real entrepreneurs much. Real entrepreneurs will thrive in this environment," Rekhi told IANS in an interview during a visit here. With a personal worth of around $500 million, Rekhi, 56, isn't particularly rich by Silicon Valley standards, but he makes the money go a long way. And after three decades of phenomenal success in the land of opportunity, the evangelist is back home, preaching his mantra for creating massive wealth. Rekhi, a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, is also the president of The IndUS Entrepreneurs (TiE), a non-profit global network of entrepreneurs and professionals that has often been termed the "Indian Mafia". Ask him about the state of the venture capital industry after the dotcom crash and the man doesn't look a wee-bit ruffled. Not surprising for someone who is a legend in Silicon Valley for his generosity as an angel investor. "The venture capital industry is run by the smartest entrepreneurs in the world. They are now soul-searching as to why they were so stupid and lost so much money in dotcoms," Rekhi told IANS. "In India, it was only last year that venture capital started flowing in and I had said then you have problems in India. You have inexperienced venture companies, inexperienced entrepreneurs and inexperienced environment...don't expect miracles." Rekhi, however, is optimistic that the dotcom debacle would not wipe out venture capital activity from the information technology industry and that funds would start flowing in by the end of the year. "The venture capitalists lost their money for sure but they have now become more seasoned. They know what not to do. Loosing money is part of the game. Money will come. Venture capitalists do not give up easily. They are very persistent people," Rekhi said. In 1982, Rekhi, a successful businessman in his own right, co-founded a networking company, Excelan. He became its CEO in 1985. Excelan went public in 1987 and merged with networking major Novell in 1989. Rekhi then became the first Indian to serve on the board of a multinational infotech company. Named Entrepreneur of the Year in 1987 by the Arthur-Young Venture magazine, he also serves on the boards of several software companies. In recent years, Rekhi has become the dominant investor among Silicon Valley's affluent Indian community. He has funded 12 small companies such as Exodus Communications, Vision Software Tools, Cybermedia and Ambit Design - all started by Indian Americans - in the past three years. Looking ahead, Rekhi says the "second generation" of venture capitalists will now focus on companies developing new technologies and products for the global marketplace. "Last year they invested in dotcoms. They are not going to invest in dotcoms any more. IT enabled services doesn't need venture funds. So, funds will basically come in the product development segment." "Currently lot of product development is being done in India as back office operations for foreign companies such as Microsoft and Oracle. Some entrepreneur will have to put it together. Venture capitalists will definitely support it. It's just a matter of time," he said. --Indo-Asian News Service ends/vm end of file From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Tue Aug 21 14:37:17 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id OAA16977; Tue, 21 Aug 2001 14:37:16 +1000 (EST) Received: from post.super.net.pk ([203.135.48.19]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id OAA16971 for ; Tue, 21 Aug 2001 14:37:10 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.5.15]) by post.super.net.pk (8.9.1/8.9.3) with ESMTP id JAA02885 for ; Tue, 21 Aug 2001 09:23:57 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2001 09:24:00 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: India's $200 ``Simputer'' set for November roll-out Message-ID: <3B8228B0.8203.1F0FEE@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Aug. 20, 2001 India's $200 ``Simputer'' set for November roll-out BANGALORE, India, Aug 20 (Reuters) - The ``Simputer,'' a $200 hand- held Indian computer aimed at taking the Internet to rural areas, will hit the market in November, the firm spearheading the manufacture of the device designed by a non-profit trust said. The Simputer, short for Simple, Inexpensive and Multilingual, is a brainchild of the Simputer Trust, one of whose key trustees is the chief executive officer of Encore Software Ltd. The trust sells the design and licence to make the ``Simputer'' and Encore is expected to be the first to make and sell it. ``We are not projecting this as a general purpose PDA (personal digital assistant) but we will use this as a platform to deliver various IT initiatives,'' Mark Mathias, Encore's vice-president, told Reuters on Monday. Designed for mass use, the Simputer uses Linux, the open-source software that is freely available on the Internet and elsewhere. Mathias is one of the seven group members of the project. ``The hand-held market is just about exploding in India and we believe we are the early entrants with such a product,'' he said. The Simputer Trust unveiled the device in April. Mathias said Encore planned to begin selling the product from November. The Bangalore-based Encore expected to sell about 100,000 units of Simputer in the first year of operations with this increasing to between 250,000 to 350,000 in two years. Encore's low-cost device, is part of a series of initiatives by a set of socially committed entrepreneurs and scientists to bridge the ``digital divide'' in India, which has a booming software industry alongside some 35 percent of citizens who cannot read or write. Besides hooking up to the Internet, the Simputer, slightly larger than the popular PDA made by Palm Inc, has a text-to-speech software and other easy-to-use applications aimed at allowing India's vast rural population to gain from using technology. ``We are looking at a few areas like sales automation and specific applications in electronic governance,'' Mathias said. India has a very low personal computer base of about five million in a nation of over one billion people, but several provincial governments are increasingly using technology to help the rural population. For example, there is a plan to use the Internet to make farmers aware of the prices their produce can fetch. Encore's CEO Vinay Deshpande is also the president of India's Manufacturers Association of Information Technology. The firm says it has received enquiries from companies in Latin America, Europe and some Asian countries for supplies. The Simputer, powered by an Intel chip offers a 32 megabit memory and can be shared by users through a ``smart card'' reader which stores personal information. http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/tech/078985.htm From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Aug 22 15:53:48 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA07591; Wed, 22 Aug 2001 15:53:47 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi4.super.net.pk ([203.135.48.18]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id PAA07576 for ; Wed, 22 Aug 2001 15:53:42 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.7.46]) by pop-khi4.super.net.pk (8.11.3/8.11.3) with ESMTP id f7M5bNJ29327 for ; Wed, 22 Aug 2001 10:37:24 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 10:40:38 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Subject: Developing countries 'must use expatriate talent' Message-ID: <3B838C26.973.3E8DCD@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-MIME-Autoconverted: from Quoted-printable to 8bit by whois3.apnic.net id PAA07584 Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk Developing countries 'must use expatriate talent' FT.com site; Aug 21, 2001 BY DAVID TURNER IN LONDON Developing countries must learn to tap into the talents, contacts and wealth of their expatriates to avoid long-term damage to their productivity, according to a paper from McKinsey, the global management consultancy. Countries suffering from the "brain drain" of skilled professionals could promote economic growth by giving a "talent tax credit" to local companies employing workers returning from abroad, suggest Janamitra Devan and Parth S. Tewari, consultants in McKinsey's Washington, DC office and the authors of the paper. But the authors admit "the hard reality is that few emerging markets have any hope, in the foreseeable future, of creating the type and volume of economic opportunities needed to reverse or even substantially slow the brain drain". They add: "Governments shouldn't view emigrants as entirely lost resources, however, for they can be used to promote economic growth." The authors urge developing country governments to cultivate emigrant associations based on specific professions, likening them to economic clusters - groups of people whose shared expertise in a particular field feeds on itself, spreading knowledge. The paper notes that such networks "make it easier for business leaders in the home country to tap specific skills abroad". They say that in a world where communications are ever improving "it is wrong to presume that once people leave a home country, they can have no meaningful economic contact with it". They cite with approval Thailand's Reverse Brain Drain project, a website that gives Thai expatriates detailed information about investment incentives and opportunities, business and residence regulations, and possible joint-venture partners in their home country. United Nations figures show one-third of research and development professionals from developing countries have left to work in the US, EU or Japan. But the paper points out that expatriates are a huge potential source of funds - noting, for example, that the 50m Chinese who live outside China and Taiwan earn an annual income equivalent to two-thirds of China's gross domestic product. It warns that "leveraging the talent and resources of emigrants is definitely no substitute for economic reforms that address the fundamental causes of the talent drain by promoting competition, encouraging entrepreneurs, raising levels of investment capital and lightening regulatory requirements in the home country". Kevin Watkins, senior policy adviser at Oxfam, the international aid agency, said: "The paper misses the point. What developing countries need is skilled people to stay in them. Developing countries make enormous sacrifices to educate people up to university level and rich countries then reap the dividend." Mr Watkins advocated a "talent tax", equivalent to about two months' salary, on companies in the developed world employing skilled developing-country expatriates. 'Brains Abroad', by Janamitra Devan and Parth S. Tewari. The McKinsey Quarterly. Copyright © Financial Times group http://globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchive/articles.html?id=0108210003 09 From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Wed Aug 22 15:53:49 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id PAA07592; Wed, 22 Aug 2001 15:53:48 +1000 (EST) Received: from pop-khi4.super.net.pk ([203.135.48.18]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id PAA07578 for ; Wed, 22 Aug 2001 15:53:43 +1000 (EST) Received: from excel586 ([203.130.7.46]) by pop-khi4.super.net.pk (8.11.3/8.11.3) with ESMTP id f7M5bQJ29340 for ; Wed, 22 Aug 2001 10:37:26 +0500 From: "Irfan Khan" To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 10:40:38 +0500 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Subject: [India] Govt ups budget to bridge digital divide in Northeast Message-ID: <3B838C26.30706.3E8CCA@localhost> X-mailer: Pegasus Mail for Win32 (v3.12c) Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-MIME-Autoconverted: from Quoted-printable to 8bit by whois3.apnic.net id PAA07588 Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk August 18, 2001 Govt ups budget to bridge digital divide in Northeast The government has raised the budget of the proposed project aimed at bridging the digital divide in the Northeast by over Rs 100 crore. The estimated cost is now held to be around Rs 220 crore. According to sources, the government will invest in community information centres (CIC) which will act as cyber cafés in each of the approximately 484 blocks in the entire North-East. The CICs will initially have five terminals, which will later be increased as per the need. The centres will be using very small aperture terminals (V-Sats). The sources pointed out that a pilot project has already been implemented and once the project is fully operational — in about a year's time — the effort will be to replicate the Jammu and Kashmir model. Under the pilot project, these information centres have been equipped with the state-of-the-art technologies. Items of expenditure include maintenance of equipment, training of personnel and their deployment at these centres. Earlier this year, the standing committee on information technology had said that the funds allocated by the IT ministry to expand the CIC project to the entire north-eastern region was “grossly inadequate” at Rs 57 crore. "During the year, 457 new CICs are being planned in all the North- East states at a cost of Rs 57 crore. Although it is a commendable measure, the committee finds that the fund allocated for the new CICs is grossly inadequate, as 30 CICs were set up last year at a cost of Rs 15 crore, whereas this year 457 CICs are being planned with Rs 57 crore only," the committee had noted in its report. Meanwhile, the government has reconstituted the erstwhile North- Eastern and Border-area IT Action Force (Nebita) for assisting in the preparation of five-year and annual IT plans for the region, including Sikkim. There will be focus on creating awareness about benefits of IT and HRD in infotech and communication. Source: Capital Markets http://www.zdnetindia.com/news/national/stories/36277.html From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Thu Aug 23 03:18:32 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id DAA20940; Thu, 23 Aug 2001 03:18:32 +1000 (EST) Received: from prodserver1.goatelecom.com ([210.212.161.28]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id DAA20935 for ; Thu, 23 Aug 2001 03:18:27 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org by prodserver1.goatelecom.com (8.9.3/1.1.20.3/07Jul00-0916AM) id WAA0000015630; Wed, 22 Aug 2001 22:53:56 +0530 (IST) Received: from localhost (fred@localhost) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id QAA01078 for ; Wed, 22 Aug 2001 16:33:00 +0530 Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 16:33:00 +0530 (IST) From: Frederick Noronha X-Sender: fred@localhost.localdomain To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: FEATURE: Software... to the rescue of parched villages Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk ************************************************************************* SOFTWARE... TO THE RESCUE OF PARCHED SOUTH ASIAN VILLAGERS ************************************************************************* Just think of the potential of a software that allows users to create an interactive water-map of the village. This means, villagers would be better equipped to cope with drought. Thanks to IT (information technology). Called Jal-Chitra, this software has been developed by Jaipur's Ajit Foundation, in close collaboration with the Barefoot College of Tilonia. Says Ajit Foundation's Vikram Vyas: "The advent of Personal Computer together with the development and expansion of Internet has provided us with a unique opportunity to bring the tools of scientific modelling and computation to rural development." One "immediate area" where such tools can make a tangible contribution, he argues, is in the process of draught-proofing the villages lying in the arid and semi-arid regions of the developing world. How is this done? An estimate of the monthly water demand and the monthly water availability from various sources is the starting point. Then comes the question of allocation of available water. Likewise, a water-budget can be created. Solutions can range from water conservation, to the development of new water sources or water storage systems, where possible. Or even getting in water from external sources. Villagers need to balance between underground water and rainwater harvesting systems. Once done, Jal-Chitra software aims at helping villagers to take advantage of information and communication technologies to exercise their right to manage their own water sources. Jal-Chitra basically creates an interactive water-map of the village, enables the community to keep records of the amount of water available from each water source,can record water quality testing, lists maintenance work done and required, estimates water demand, generates future monthly water budgets (based on past records), and shows the amount of community need met through rainwater harvesting systems. FREDERICK NORONHA recently interviewed Vikram Vyas of The Ajit Foundation, who created the software. Excerpts from the interview: ***************************************************************************** QUESTION: What has been the response to the software so far? ***************************************************************************** The response form the organisation which are familiar with ICT (information and communication technologies) has been very positive. Particular heartening was the number of inquires and messages of encouragement that I have received from the voluntary organisations working in Pakistan. ***************************************************************************** QUESTION: Has it been implemented in the field? If so, where? ***************************************************************************** Hopefully Jal-Chitra will be implemented in number of villages where the Barefoot College of Tilonia in North India works. We are in the process of translating the users manual into Hindi. That is the bottleneck right now. ***************************************************************************** QUESTION: What about regionalising the software, in other Indian (or other) languages? ***************************************************************************** I think that is a very important and urgent need. I am trying to at least have a Hindi version based on Susha fonts (one of the popular fonts used for the Hindi language). ***************************************************************************** QUESTION: What potential do you see for it? Could it be applicable to other regions of the globe? ***************************************************************************** I think Jal-Chitra can be used in any village which is in the arid or semi arid region of developing world. The greatest potential is that it will enable local democratic institutions, like panchyats (local village councils in India), to make more informed decisions regarding their own water sources. I think of it as a small tool helping realise Mahatma Gandhi's dream of Swaraj (independence or self-rule at the rural level). ***************************************************************************** QUESTION: What are the further areas of development you plan? ***************************************************************************** Jal-Chitra has potentialities of many further developments including use of satellite photographs and more sophisticated in-build models, perhaps based on neural-nets. I am looking for other people, software developers, to help me with this. I have been away from physics for too long and would like to return to it and spend most of my professional time teaching and doing research in physics. So further development of Jal-Chitra has to become a collaborative effort. Also, I am waiting for the response from the actual users. ***************************************************************************** QUESTION: Would you prefer an open-source pattern of development? ***************************************************************************** I would love to port Jal-Chitra to Linux. The difficulty for a non-professional programmer like me is writing some thing as complex as Jal-Chitra in X-window environment is, well, non-trivial! Also the GIS support for Jal-Chitra comes through an active-X component, Map-Objects, MapObjects is only available for Windows. I am sure there must be an open source GIS that can be used. I am not aware of it. In any case my dream is to have a full suite of software like Jal-Chitra, SimTanka available on Linux. I would be great if open software movement in India can help me with this. ***************************************************************************** QUESTION: How the idea for this software struck you? ***************************************************************************** Jal-Chitra's genesis was in my attempt to convince organisations like SWRC-Tilonia (in North India) to use Sim-Tanka which I had developed before (incidentally a better version of SimTanka, SimTanka 2.0 is nowavailable). I found that SimTanka was not being used and I was trying to understand why. While talking with my friend Laxman Singh of Barefoot College, Tilonia, we started drawing a map of Tilonia on the ground with a stick -- indicating where the various sources were ... from various such discussions and realising that a village does not use water source piece wise but looks at all the sources together lead to the idea of Jal-Chitra. Other very important influence was Gandhi's philosophy of Swaraj. During that time I was reading the letter and dialogs between Gandhi and Tagore compiled in the book "Mahatma and the Poet" that debate had indirect but very important influence on the development of Jal-Chitra. ***************************************************************************** QUESTION: What has been the history, in brief, since the launch of the software? ***************************************************************************** Since the release of Jal-Chitra the Ajit Foundation had a workshop on the use of Jal-Chitra in Bikaner. The workshop was very useful in pointing out two important issues. Firstly, the need for the Hindi version of the users manual and ideally a Hindi version of the software. And, secondly, the need to incorporate Jal Chitra with formal or informal village educational systems. These are the issues we are working on. ***************************************************************************** QUESTION: Can you tell us of some interesting responses of users or field-level persons who encountered the same. ***************************************************************************** The most encouraging response was during a work shop on Jal Chitra in Tilonia were many women, who could not even write, were present. One of the woman worker of SWRC-Tilonia, Lalita, who was demonstrating Jal-Chitra said that it was easy to use. A old woman who had never used a computer said "Oh! it is easy for you because you have been to school" so Lalita asked her to come to the computer and the old woman actually used the mouse to draw the out line of Tilonia - not an accurate map but a start ... (ENDS) FOOTNOTE: Vikram Vyas can be contacted at The Ajit Foundation, 396 Vasundhara Colony, Tonk Road, Jaipur 302 018 India Email: visquare@satyam.net.in *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Frederick Noronha | Freelance Journalist | 784 Saligao 403511 Goa India Ph [0091] 832.409490 or 832.409783 Cell 9822 12.24.36 fred@bytesforall.org *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Thu Aug 23 20:52:30 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id UAA10802; Thu, 23 Aug 2001 20:52:29 +1000 (EST) Received: from prodserver1.goatelecom.com ([210.212.161.28]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id UAA10798 for ; Thu, 23 Aug 2001 20:52:24 +1000 (EST) Received: from bytesforall.org by prodserver1.goatelecom.com (8.9.3/1.1.20.3/07Jul00-0916AM) id QAA0000031140; Thu, 23 Aug 2001 16:28:05 +0530 (IST) Received: from localhost (fred@localhost) by bytesforall.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id MAA01396 for ; Thu, 23 Aug 2001 12:15:29 +0530 Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 12:15:29 +0530 (IST) From: Frederick Noronha X-Sender: fred@localhost.localdomain To: s-asia-it@apnic.net Subject: FEATURE: From software to microcomputers... new tools for teaching Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk FROM SOFTWARE TO MICROCOMPUTERS... FINDING NEW TOOLS FOR TEACHING By Frederick Noronha INNOVATION is helping educators from across the globe to try out new solutions to old problems. ICTs (information and communication technologies) are helping to make classrooms more interesting, and concepts easier to convey. >From the UK to India, from software to microcomputers... many experiments are underway in the classroom. This was reported in a recent international conference held in Goa, called ICSTME 2001. It focussed on harnessing science, technology and mathematics education for human development. Science Across the World is one innovative example. It is being called an 'international education programme' that encourages communication and 'shared learning'. It links up different societies to look at crucial environmental and social science issues. In this project, students use a unique series of resource topics -- like Keeping Healthy, Drinking Water, biodiversity, and Chemistry in Our Lives -- in upto 18 languages. Students collect data, facts and opinions locally. Some 6000 schools have been registered with Science Across the World over the past three years. It can be contacted via www.scienceacross.org On average, 1500 schools with over 2000 teachers and 74000 students aged 12 to 16 in some 45 countries work with its material at any given time, according to Marianne Cutler of the Hatfield-UK based Association for Science Education. On the other hand, computer-based lessons, or CBL, can help to centre education on learner-activity, argues S.S.Kalbag of the Pune-based Vigyan Ashram. Kalbag says other advantages of computer-based lessons include savings in time and money, eliminating differences between formal and non-formal, rich and poor, and urban and rural in matters of quality of education. "India needs to rapidly expand our education network to cover nearly 25% of the population. We shall need a minimum of 1.5 million computers. And these will have to be financed by the community, on the basis of minimum results assured. The drop-out rate must reduce. The consequent savings will make the scheme self-propelled," argues Kalbag. Researchers Shakila Thakurpersad and Reshma Sookrajh from South African's University of Durban-Westville, point to the role of education in learning. They quote scholars who note that the World Wide Web is "one of the most effective information and communication technology (ICT) to provide an integrated open system of learning". There is a growing trend to use WWW technologies in education. Mumbai-based Sangeeta Deokattey, of the Indian Women Scientists' Association, has undertaken an effort to select Internet sites and "find out their potential usefulness" in an Indian context. She points to her findings for searches on three subject areas -- primary health, primary education and appropriate technology. As Deokattey points out: "Educational resources -- in the form of textbooks, tool kits, posters, audio-visual presentations, etc -- are in constant demand by adult education and health workers. Tapping the web potential to supplement existing resources will be a viable alternative." "Of all the subjects taught at schools and college level, mathematics offers probably the most scope for using technology," says Douglas Butler of the ICT Training Centre in Peterborough, UK. He explains how new software and hardware "can combine to give teachers a wonderful new medium with which to visualise the basic principles and to improve their personal productivity". Butler says there is a "rich source" of software types in mathematics -- including spreadsheets, symbolic algebra and dynamic geometry packages. Autograph is a new dynamic coordinate geometry and statistics package. Butler also points out that teachers can use the Internet at two levels. Firstly, using the Net to provide "high quality" teaching resources, graphics, text and data which can be copied off the Net. But take care: doing this well can be tricky sometimes! Then, using Web sites in the classroom... there are a growing number of web resources that "provide good interactive visualisations". Technology is also entering the Indian classroom, even if only at the elite level. For several years, first year Mathematics students of the IIT B.Tech course in Mumbai were taught using traditional chalk-board methods. Each class had 80 students in a division. But, now larger divisions take in about 250 students. This means, the chalkboard is no longer useful. Instead, instructional material is being created beforehand, converted into HTML (webpage) format, and put out on the Web, explains Sudhir Ghorpade of IIT-Mumbai. In class, the instructor uses projections onto a large screen from the relevant webpage. He teaches with a remote mouse in his hand instead of chalk. This brings up the question: should modern technology alter the approach and content in teaching 'classical' subjects like Algebra and Calculus? Pratibha Jolly and Mallika Verma of the University of Delhi explain the Science On-Line concept. This uses a low-cost microcomputer based Physics laboratory as a teaching aid. "Its objective is to provide hands-on exposure to the tremendous potential of the micro-computer as a versatile laboratory instrument for real-time capture of data and control of real- world devices," they say. For instance, the printer-port -- which is a part of each microcomputer -- can be used without extra cost to get a powerful interface for data-acquisition and the control of real-world devices. The SOL Package has a multifunction printer-port interface for generating time-varying voltage signals and measuring upto eight analog voltage signals, digital input/output application modules, a range of sensors and transducers and menu-driven software designed specially for classroom usage. This can be used to design and setup simple innovative experiments of direct relevance to a physics classroom. For instance, measurement of displacement-time graph of a moving object; velocity of a dynamic cart; acceleration of a falling body due to gravity; oscillations of a pendulum; angular frequency of a rotating disk; variations of temperature along a conducting bar; and resonance frequencies of an acoustic tube. Researchers like Abhiram Ranade of the IIT-Mumbai are working to develop an Internet-based textbook for the regional Maharashtra Board's tenth standard mathematics paper. They want the textbook to be interactive, have good and attractive graphics, and contain "substantially more motivational material" than current textbooks. These books are being planned so that they are available both in Marathi and English, and to students who are bright as well as "supposedly less-proficient" in mathematics. Less hi-tech ideas also also spurring on educators to new approaches. Navnirmiti, based alongside Mumbai's IIT, also undertakes the useful task of designing and producing scientific toys and low- cast learning material. For instance, its three-dimension 'Jodo' kits allow young students to experiment and easily construct a wide variety of polyhedra. In Assam, the Society for Chemical Education (established 1990) aims to popularise chemistry among the masses. It set up its branches in various towns of Assam, and highlighted the beneficial and harmful effects of chemical substances on the living world. In nearby Kerala, science is being popularised through more down- to-earth means. For instance, the people's science movement 'Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad' publishes magazines. These are aimed at the general public (Sastragathi), high school students (Sastrakeralam) and primary school students (Eureka). These have a circulation of some 100,000 copies! Roddam Narasimha of the Bangalore-based National Institute of Advanced Studies stresses the need to change approaches to education, if a country like India is to make qualitative strides. Says Narasimha: "The system now in use in India, largely inherited from colonial times and copied from early 20th century British models, is unsuitable for the needs of a very diverse and rapidly transforming civilizational state like India." This country, it is pointed out, has to be distinguished from the more homogenous nation states of nineteenth and twentieth century Europe. (ENDS) *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Frederick Noronha | Freelance Journalist | 784 Saligao 403511 Goa India Ph [0091] 832.409490 or 832.409783 Cell 9822 12.24.36 fred@bytesforall.org *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* From owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Fri Aug 24 00:38:23 2001 Received: (from majordom@localhost) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) id AAA21034; Fri, 24 Aug 2001 00:38:23 +1000 (EST) Received: from isb.comsats.net.pk (comsats.net.pk [210.56.8.10]) by whois3.apnic.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id AAA21025 for ; Fri, 24 Aug 2001 00:38:15 +1000 (EST) Received: from zubair (210-56-9-195.Dialup.isb.comsats.net.pk [210.56.9.195] (may be forged)) by isb.comsats.net.pk (8.11.2/8.11.2) with SMTP id f7NETxp08990 for ; Thu, 23 Aug 2001 19:30:01 +0500 (PKT) From: "Zubair Faisal Abbasi" To: "South" Subject: Uncertain future for IT graduates Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 19:30:45 +0500 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0036_01C12C0A.1AF14880" X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200 Importance: Normal Sender: owner-s-asia-it@lists.apnic.net Precedence: bulk This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0036_01C12C0A.1AF14880 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit ----- Original Message ----- From: Dr. Javaid R. Laghari Subject: Dawn - Aug 23, 2001 KARACHI: Uncertain future for IT graduates KARACHI, Aug 22: Owing to non-existence of information technology department at a majority of government organisations, thousands of IT graduates in Pakistan are facing uncertain future as they are finding no other choice and are forced to migrate abroad in search of better opportunities. This was stated by I.T experts at a seminar on Future of Computer Training in Pakistan here on Wednesday which was organized by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) at its Vicky Zeitlin Media Library. Speaking on the occasion, faculty member of SZABIST, Ms Obbia Burni said during the year 2001, an estimated one 110,000 IT professionals are expected to be added to the already large pool of the same in the country. She disclosed that according to a recent survey out of these graduates only 10 per cent are stated to be competent to work in reputed organisations. Similarly only 7 per cent of them are expected to find a suitable job which clearly manifests lower quality of education imparted by a large number of IT institutes. She said 700 competent IT teachers are needed in the country by the end of the current year to supplement the requirement of ever-growing number of students, but it appears to be a difficult task as a majority of qualified IT experts are opting for abroad and their large-scale exodus is likely to create a big vacuum in the IT sector. She said our current education system is afflicted with malaise a majority of schools, colleges and universities are following old and obsolete courses in IT sector while it was revised annually in educational institutions across the world. The IT education and training in Pakistan is not demand-oriented and the government must make them in accordance with the requirement of international market which may help our graduates adjust when they move abroad in search of a job, she remarked. Chairman Centre for Computer Studies, Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Dr. Ejaz Ahmad said a large number of institutes are providing training in almost fields of computer related skills. Some of these are quite established and they are offering courses on most recently emerged fields of computer science, such as JAVA, XTML. Chairman, Skill Development Council, Ahsanullah Khan, presenting his point of view over the issue said this programme was imposed on Pakistan by the World Bank. At a later stage, they moved out sans paying any amount which created immense problems for the government to continue it. DEO, Dr. Mujeeb Feroz also spoke.-PPI ------=_NextPart_000_0036_01C12C0A.1AF14880 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
 
----- Original Message -----=20
From: Dr. Javaid R.=20 Laghari
Subject: Dawn - Aug 23, 2001

KARACHI: Uncertain = future for IT=20 graduates


KARACHI, Aug 22: Owing to non-existence of information technology = department at a majority of government organisations, thousands of IT = graduates=20 in Pakistan are facing uncertain future as they are finding no other = choice and=20 are forced to migrate abroad in search of better opportunities. =

This was=20 stated by I.T experts at a seminar on Future of Computer Training in = Pakistan=20 here on Wednesday which was organized by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) = at its=20 Vicky Zeitlin Media Library.

Speaking on the occasion, faculty = member of=20 SZABIST, Ms Obbia Burni said during the year 2001, an estimated one = 110,000 IT=20 professionals are expected to be added to the already large pool of the = same in=20 the country.

She disclosed that according to a recent survey out = of=20 these graduates only 10 per cent are stated to be competent to work in = reputed=20 organisations. Similarly only 7 per cent of them are expected to find a = suitable=20 job which clearly manifests lower quality of education imparted by a = large=20 number of IT institutes.

She said 700 competent IT teachers are = needed=20 in the country by the end of the current year to supplement the = requirement of=20 ever-growing number of students, but it appears to be a difficult task = as a=20 majority of qualified IT experts are opting for abroad and their = large-scale=20 exodus is likely to create a big vacuum in the IT sector.

She = said our=20 current education system is afflicted with malaise a majority of = schools,=20 colleges and universities are following old and obsolete courses in IT = sector=20 while it was revised annually in educational institutions across the = world.=20

The IT education and training in Pakistan is not demand-oriented = and the=20 government must make them in accordance with the requirement of = international=20 market which may help our graduates adjust when they move abroad in = search of a=20 job, she remarked.

Chairman Centre for Computer Studies, = Institute of=20 Business Administration (IBA) Dr. Ejaz Ahmad said a large number of = institutes=20 are providing training in almost fields of computer related skills. Some = of=20 these are quite established and they are offering courses on most = recently=20 emerged fields of computer science, such as JAVA, XTML. =

Chairman, Skill=20 Development Council, Ahsanullah Khan, presenting his point of view over = the=20 issue said this programme was imposed on Pakistan by the World Bank. At = a later=20 stage, they moved out sans paying any amount which created immense = problems for=20 the government to continue it. DEO, Dr. Mujeeb Feroz also spoke.-PPI=20

------=_NextPart_000_0036_01C12C0A.1AF14880--