The idea of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can be applied to a wide variety of areas across different geographical locations, sectors and contexts in order to improve efficiency. There is a general agreement among policy makers and researchers that ICT is necessary to support various commercial, developmental and government activities. This paper examines some of the major cases for ICT implementation in the Indian rural sector, specifically exploring the interactions between the ICT intervention and the context within which these projects were rolled out. ‘ICT for development’ intervention is showcased as a process involving different macro and micro environmental factors and targeting particular social welfare improvements where citizens, especially in the context of rural people’s constraints and welfare, are placed at the heart of the technology implementation. This makes the development impact far greater and more sustained.

It is quite an established fact that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has taken the center stage in all development-related policies worldwide. A striking global feature at the beginning of the 21st century is, gross inequalities between socioeconomic conditions of different communities. This is more significant in the rural areas of developing nations like India where availability of basic services (education, healthcare, drinking water, etc.), among others, is low due to poor infrastructural facility. This is where the real opportunity for successful intervention of ICT lies. So it is quite obvious that so many private and public sector firms are becoming more interested to innovate and implement ICT in order to serve the rural people. The ever-increasing use of ICT in social and developmental contexts is driven by the objectives of improving the efficiency of governance, encouraging transparency, and eliminating inefficiency and corruption in bureaucracy as far as possible (Singh, 1999; and Goswami, 2002). However, there are several differences (contextual and others) in ICT interventions in socioeconomic and development-related applications in the developing nations as compared to the developed countries. Some of the key points of departures include infrastructural facility, human resources capacity and availability of financial resources.

India accounts for over 17% of the world population and a third of the world’s poor.

Infrastructure Journal, Indian Banks, Public Resources, Banking Sector, Commercial Banks, Infrastructure Projects, Gross Domestic Product, GDP, Corporate Financing, Project Financing Method, Credit Scoring Mechanism, Risk Assessment, Operational Risk, Organizational Structures, Infrastructure Development, Corporate Bond Market, Strategic Business Units, Indian Economy.