How to use ICT for Rural Upliftment?

Asoke K. Laha
President & MD
Interra IT

We are again talking of e-governance. The subject seems to have inexhaustible interest for us who live in India and other countries with a significant rural population and economy. The success of e-governance in a particular country does not lie in an immaculate plan nor in mobilizing thousands of crores of rupees in the earmarked projects but more potently in improving certain specific, measurable fields of life and economy.

1. Education:  What the idle rich use as toys and timepass can be used by our rural children and their elders to great advantage for enriching their knowledge and empowerment. The connection with the world happens at the click of a mouse and the children and the adults can enjoy education at a minimum cost through Internet or through computerized education applications. ICT would not be a replacement but a value addition to the conventional education and practical life knowledge-gathering activity. The primary and secondary schools should have basic computerized facilities to offer. It is absurd to think of a laptop or system per student at home. Government and private sector collaboration can result in great achievements, but there are serious pitfalls. There is a leakage factor in government funds and that helps vested interests to a great extent. The people of certain classes, coteries, networks only take advantage of these and the general feeling is to “gather rosebuds while we may”. If the monitoring and tracking system gets strengthened and social sense enhanced, the process will only gather momentum to speed up progress and improve rural life.

2. Healthcare: Computerization in rural health centres and computerized awareness campaigns in health would be a great tool to inform, improve and radically change the health environment in rural India, if pursued on mission-critical mode. Even this can hugely benefit medical education and apprenticeship in rural areas. However, this again would need commitment and cooperation from the public and private sectors. Perhaps, companies can address this as Corporate Social Responsibility area too, in addition to hunt for profit.

3. Agriculture and Agri Business: ICT applications and awareness can entirely change the socio-economic exploitation and imbalance in rural economy. The big money and big organization rules the rural market mostly because of the absence of alternative forces. The masses are forced or mesmerized to buy products in the absence of options. ICT can empower the people, especially the women to make informed choices and in some places organize themselves to put together resources and skills in order to create alternative services and products available in the rural market.

4. Enterprise: The most benevolent energies of capital and enterprise can be unleashed by proper utilization of ICT. The Rags to Riches and The Log Cabin to White House tales can only be interpreted in practical terms through ICT empowerment of our rural population. India as well as many of the developing nations are backward not because of the economic and digital divide but majorly due to the abysmally low motivation of the masses. Motivation comes from the increasing use of knowledge and skills and exposure to other parts of the world and other spheres of human activity. ICT empowerment can change this and make the countryside an usherer of radical change instead of town to village theory.

5. Adminisration and Answerability: Usually, this factor is described as transparency between the government and citizen. With significant ICT investments, the table can be turned in favour of the citizen and the babu culture demolished. Naturally, it will not be favoured by many privileged sections of the people and agencies to encourage this to happen. Democracy and freedom of information are still largely a matter of sloganeering. 

6. Scientific and Spiritual Value Enhancement: ICT can again play a pivotal role for transforming the perception of villagers in general. Television and radio have brought in change like in earlier era the railways had done. ICT is far more structured and strategic to uplift the people's values as other media is often deeply guided and influenced by other than social interests.

How can we mix social concern with profit motive to transform the vast rural life and economy?