Digital Divide

Digital Divide: Where Does India Stand? And the Way Forward Subhash Bhatnagar Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad Subhash Bhatnagar Workshop on Scaling up ICT for Poverty Alleviation in India Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, February 26-27, 2004

Telecenters Projects in India Name

#Kiosks Agency Years Activity

Bhoomi

30

GOK

2

Land title

e-chaupal

3500(5)

ITC

2

Procurement

Warna

72(54)

NIC

3

Cane Factory

Akshaya

617

Kerala

1

e-literacy

n-Logue

1

Internet kiosks

Melur,Nellikup 200 pam,Baramati TaraHaat 18 Drishtee

Dev. Alt. 1

Milk Coops

90-5 states 5000

Digital Partners NDDB

1

CIC (NE)

30

NIC,MIT 1-2

5

e-training market info Mandi prices Land titles Milk Collection Internet access Subhash Bhatnagar

Workshop on Scaling up ICT for Poverty Alleviation in India Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, February 26-27, 2004

Subhash Bhatnagar Workshop on Scaling up ICT for Poverty Alleviation in India Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, February 26-27, 2004

Learning from Projects o o o o

o o

A large number of pilot projects by NGOs, Government, cooperatives, private sector, and individual entrepreneurs. About 10,000 villages have telecenters or computers being used for processing transactions. Large number of experiments but few have scaled up Most pilots have narrow objectives; are not multi function; Attract few users as services are not valued. Are unviable to begin with or do not sustain after initial success Rural population willing to pay for true value addition Requires an organization (as opposed to individual entrepreneur) to conceive, design, fine tune and make it Subhash Bhatnagar Workshop on Scaling up ICT for Poverty Alleviation in India work. Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, February 26-27, 2004

Successful Models for Scaling up • ITC’s eChaupal an example of the model. Can also happen in coops/pvt companies in milk, handicraft, leather, handloom • Pilots by NGOs, individual entrepreneurs have not scaled up.

Subhash Bhatnagar Workshop on Scaling up ICT for Poverty Alleviation in India Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, February 26-27, 2004

Value from ICT Use in Rural Areas o Education:Akshaya

(Kerala), Datamation o Health: Webhealthcenter.com, telemedicine (nLogue) Virtual Delivery Room, Association of Uganda Women Medical Doctors o Economic Value: e-chaupal better prices for produce and inputs, NDDB milk collection, SKS-smart card, GPS by fishermen, Tara Haat, Waarana o E-Government: Bhoomi, Gyandoot, Drishtee o Participation: Not many examples o Advocacy and Empowerment: Not many examples Subhash Bhatnagar Workshop on Scaling up ICT for Poverty Alleviation in India Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, February 26-27, 2004

Technology that makes rural access inexpensive and robust

Applications that draw a large cliental that pays for the service, ensuring economic viability of the kiosk

Bridging the Digital Divide

Content that empowers rural citizens and enables formation of communities

NGOs and grass root organizations that catalyze and mange the community building process

Subhash Bhatnagar

Workshop on Scaling up ICT for Poverty Alleviation in India Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, February 26-27, 2004

Ingredients of Success Presence of four elements: Access, Content, Intermediaries, Killer Application o Developing synergies and partnerships o Enabling Telecom policies and power o Clear value proposition for a large segment of population and/or the implementing organization o Creating awareness and capacity building o Organisation with financial resources, leadership, strong project management o Ability to discover services that are valued Subhash Bhatnagar o

Workshop on Scaling up ICT for Poverty Alleviation in India Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, February 26-27, 2004

Issue of Pr f o Certificates ocu ly o p f P rem p u and Licenses rod S ent ts f u u o p ce n y i l p p mer u S su & fo n i t n e e n m p o l e c v o De c u d s, m a o r g s o r p , r s t e c e j p vic pro ack b d e e f & s e ser m e sch fo Rural Citizen n i Access to Markets & e g d e l w s o e t i Kno l for t i v g ti u f c n t& e a i s c u i n i en y m o a & n r t t ym nit n s e eco , d e m n plo rtu e n o n i i a l t t o r ia a m e c p t e c o Delivery of p u ce En for s o d E an mic o f health & n i nh ono e educational ec Subhash Bhatnagar services Workshop on Scaling up ICT for Poverty Alleviation in India Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, February 26-27, 2004

Micro-finance institutions

Repair skills

Cottage industry products for urban markets

E-Literacy / Computer education

Self help group

Hope of employment

ITES

Subhash Bhatnagar Workshop on Scaling up ICT for Poverty Alleviation in India Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, February 26-27, 2004

Private Sector Company - ITC

Procurement of agricultural produce

Efficiency of business processes in organizations serving rural areas

Handicraft, silk, handloom, leather,consumer products, financial products

Procurement, selling products and services to rural markets

Private Sector Company Cooperatives Government agencies Subhash Bhatnagar

Workshop on Scaling up ICT for Poverty Alleviation in India Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, February 26-27, 2004

Strategies for Bridging Digital Divide Size of Villages Big

Small

High Economic potential Low

Subhash Bhatnagar Workshop on Scaling up ICT for Poverty Alleviation in India Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, February 26-27, 2004

Investments vs coverage

Investments

% of Indian villages covered

Subhash Bhatnagar

Workshop on Scaling up ICT for Poverty Alleviation in India Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, February 26-27, 2004

Social Applications Fund at a glance Attributes

Proposal

Remarks

Size

$ 200 Million

Enable 40,000 telecentres covering 200,000 villages to be created

Scope: Nature of projects to be supported

•Scaling

•Primary purpose of fund •Primary purpose of fund •There is continuous need for experimentation

Scope: Activity to be supported

•Building content for delivery Will not support provision of information and services of access to basic telephony and •Establishing access points •Training and entrepreneurship computerization of back end within governments development •R&D for facilitating use (less expensive connectivity, ease of Subhash Bhatnagar Workshop on Scaling up ICT for Poverty Alleviation in India use etc)

up of pilots •Replicating successful use in other geographies •New pilots of significant scale

Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, February 26-27, 2004

Social Applications Fund at a glance Attributes

Proposal

Remarks

Type of organization to be supported

Private sector, NGOs, and governments in partnership with organizations, Education and R&D institutions

Will promote private initiatives and public-private partnerships

Nature of assistance

•Loans

•Subsidies for replicating and scaling up in areas with low economic potential •Profit is not a motive but sustainability needs to be ensured by recovering investments made through

at subsidized interest rates for replication and scaling up •Grants for pilots •Interest-free loans for pilots

Management & Managed by MIT, GOI through a Board Admn.

•Donors will be most comfortable with government managed funds •Can build the cap to provide multi needed telecentre Subhash Bhatnagar

administered by NASSCOM through a multi-stakeholder committee with from MIT Workshop on Scaling up ICT for Poverty Alleviation in India

Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, February 26-27, 2004