Information Society Watch

2005, Rahul De, Indian Institute of Management- Bangalore

With the widespread deployment of e-government systems in developing countries, and also their high failure rates, it is important to understand the complex processes that underlie successful implementations of large-scale information systems. This paper develops a framework for stakeholder groups and uses this to analyse conflict and resistance in four case examples of implemented e-government systems in India.

December 26, 2007,Indiatimes Infotech

This news article reports that the DoT has decided to fund innovations in communication technologies developed by small companies, entrepreneurs, universities or NGOs. The Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF), where currently over Rs 10,000 crore lie unutilised, will be used for this purpose.

February 6, 2008, The Hindu

Quoting the Information Commissioner K.V.R. Tagore, this news item reports that several NGOs backed out of the Karnataka State Government's initiative to prop up community radio programme when they came to know that they had to contribute. The programme called 'Namma Banuli' has been designed in such a way that the NGOs will have to bear one-third of the cost, the remaining to be funded by the government.

Decmber 26, 2007, The Hindu Business Line

Discussing 'spectrum wars' (the wireless spectrum required for connection from the user to the last network element viz., the radio base station), T. H. Chowdary, Director, Centre for Telecom Management & Studies, Hyderabad, notes that the mindset of the Indian telecommunications administrators is still ruled by the 'permit-license-quota' approach. An example given is the decision in the early nineties to allow licensees of mobile telephony to use only GSM and not any other technology.

January 18, 2008, Indian Express

The Official Secrets Act (OSA) which was seen to be the last bastion of harbouring corrupt practices by the administration is set to undergo a complete overhaul. The OSA will now be brought in conformity with the Right to Information Act to ensure transparency in its administration.

December 29, 2007, Hindustan Times

The Goa government has unveiled a broadband initiative which aims to create an environment where information technology can be an enabler towards efficiency and accountability. Christened 'Goa Broadband Network', the project seeks to provide citizens services in the domains of health, education, agriculture and welfare services. The government is hoping that by also offering business services, the initiative can become commercially viable and will encourage public private partnerships towards this end.

Fredrick Noronha

This article by FOSS activist Fredrick Noronha gives a very practical insight into why schools in India should impart computer education based on the principles of free and open source software(FOSS). Apart from the regular reasons of cost and affordability, the ability to tweak with the source code and create new/modified versions of a particular piece of software are the main reasons why schools should actively promote deployment of FOSS. FOSS does not demand high end hardware configurations which result in lowered carbon footprints.

January 11, 2008, Indian Express

The Right to Information (RTI) Act in India has acted as a catalyst for the availability of information regarding the working of the government. In a significant ruling on an alleged corruption case in a private company, the Central Information Commission has decided that the government does not have the right to withhold information regardless of whether the organisation is public or private.

Infochange features, Frederick Noronha

The article discusses the primary barrier to expanding computer literacy to rural india, viz. the lack of local language based software. For children coming from underprivileged backgrounds, introduction to computers should be facilitated via applications that are based on the mother tongue as this will eliminate the initial difficulties to a great extent.

InfoChangeIndia

The article analyses the impact of community radio on the tribal communities in the Dangs district in Gujarat, which are one of the most marginalised and deprived sections of community. Aaykar, the community radio has had significant impact in detecting corruption in various government organizations and thus increasing awareness amongst the tribals regarding the availability and price of such government services.