With the advances in the area of Information Technology, the digital divide, i.e., the gap between the urban people (who have easy access to technology) and rural people (who do not have an easy access to technology) is increasing day-by-day. The success story of the Indian IT industry has benefitted only the urban populace, whereas the overall scenario for rural India is pathetic. Today, the Indian government authorities and organizations, and many NGOs are developing and experimenting with various business models, all over the country, with the objective of providing IT means and solutions to the rural masses; and at the same time, taking care of their business interests. This paper examines and takes note of such IT initiatives, and highlights their basic approaches and makes distinction in terms of their objectives.
It is believed that development in the area of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will lead to the `death of distance'. Consequently, individuals and businesses will be able to participate, irrespective of their locations, in the new knowledge-based society (Cairncross, 1997). In other words, the problem of distance and communication, felt primarily by those living in rural and remote parts of India, can be overcome by means of the Internet and telecommunication.
Today, the Internet is rapidly expanding in the developing countries. Since the creation of the World Wide Web in 1989, there has been significant increase in the use of the Internet as a source of communication, information and commerce. Internationally, the size of the online community is doubling every year. In the last decade, Indians too have increasingly taken up use of the computers and the Internet. Researchers are optimistic about the potential the Internet has in enhancing the people's access to knowledge, information, work, culture, politics etc. In the near future, it is expected that Internet will gain a penetration rate of 95% and will be popular just like the television (Norris, 2001). Thus, ICT is bound to make a deep impact, for the rural community, and can bring people together, enhance individuals' participation in the major decisions and importantly, it can increase access to information and education. ICT has the potential for creating new opportunities for poor people in terms of political empowerment (such as the global e-mail campaign that helped topple Philippine President Estrada in January); providing health networks (as in Gambia and Nepal); facilitating long distance learning (as in Turkey); and job creation (as in Costa Rica, India and South Africa) (UNDP, 2002). |
