Technology

TECHNOLOGICAL TRENDS Does the “digital divide” still exist? How much of the technological progress has India really witnessed In comparision to the European countries? Technology is something that easily connects with the youth. Mobles , internet, laptops are very popular . The Indian youth now a days has become very technical oriented and gets easily turned on by the newer technologies made available to him. THE INTERNET TREND Take the example of the internet. Untill some years back dial up was the only option available to an Indian youth but as times changed Broadband and wi fi have brought in faster internet access . The trend in internet is now not just getting an access but to have a better faster access to the net. In 2004, just 25 percent of Indians could access the Internet from some location – home, work, school, libraries, and other locations India has more than 39 million Internet users – that’s 13% of the world’s Web population, but only 3.6% of India’s population. In 2004, there were 189 operational ISPs in the country, but 10% of the ISPs have 90% of the subscribers. India has huge potential for Internet growth through its 42 million fixed line subscribers, its booming mobile phone market and the growing popularity of cyber cafes. An estimated 60% of users regularly get on the Internet via the country’s 9,0000 cyber cafes The fastest-growing Internet user populations are those living in cities and towns. Even today many Indian villages are not yet electrified so leave the modern technology reaching there. . THE MOBILE TREND The mobile base in India is just rising . Earlieer in the 90 ‘s there were just 1 or 2 service providers but today there are more than 20 mobile services in India India is widely seen as the last big market

for mobile phone growth. Less than 40 per cent of the country's total area is covered by mobile networks, and fewer than eight in every 100 Indians use mobiles, compared with China's 30 per cent. A lack of investment in the infrastructure needed to support landline services means there are only 50 million fixed-line users in the country, leaving the stage set for mobile operators. Cities such as Delhi and Mumbai boast phone penetration rates of about 40 per cent, similar to East Asian levels, and by the end of 2006, India is expected to be the world's third-largest mobile market by number of users, behind China and the United States.To fuel growth, the government raised foreign ownership limits in telecoms service providers to 74 per cent from 49 per cent, sparking global interest in the fragmented market. Better-off Indian mobile users are already enjoying the benefits of a no-holds-barred war in the industry that is driving user growth and keeping call prices down. THE PC TREND--- WHY IS IT LAGGING BEHIND THE PC has been considered as the scientific marvel of the world .But in India PC penetration is minimal. Not al youth in India have access to a pc. The youth in cities and towns do get an access to computers but it’s the ppl from villages who even today aren’t aware how a pc looks like. PC penetration in India is only 6.2 per cent per 1,000 in India whereas in the United States it is 500 per 1000. “PC penetration is limited to urban cities and towns, and that too with the upper-middle class. As part of a project called Shiksha India, initiated by the Global Leaders of Tomorrow (GLT) under the auspices of the World Economic Forum, schools that operate on a shoestring budget will be provided the resources to set up computer labs and access the Internet. The aim of Shiksha India is to ‘bridge the digital divide in education . Clearly, the “digital divide” in india is very wide, if one describes that gap by its simplest definition: those who have the access to technology compared to those who have not. some lingering digital divide issues and causes are : the divide between those who have broadband and those who use traditional telephone modem access).

non-users fear technology in general, and the Internet in particular – fear caused by lack of knowledge, or lingering concerns about privacy, security, or other issues. Second, many non-users simply see no need to use these technologies large percent of “electronic dropouts” (former technology users who are now non-users) miss nothing because they don’t go for technology The third reason – and the most politically charged one – is cost. Because then there are people from poor back grounds who cannot afford to have these technologies THE NEW “TECHNO IN HINDI “TREND The Hindi IT market seems to have taken off silently during the past couple of years. Going by the recent trends in the national and international IT market, Hindi, and also other major Indian languages such as Tamil have began to be noticed seriously by the IT biggies hings have certainly started looking promising in the local language Internet arena following emergence of neo-IT-literate Hindi speaking population in the small cities and towns. With the increase in PC penetration, telecom infrastructure, broadband availability and IT education in India, this Internet aware section of the society has started fuelling growth of Hindi portals and websites. The trend will only continue as growth in Indian economy is bound to benefit this section of the society." As International players prepare to explore the emerging Hindi market, it is time to recognize efforts of those Indian players who have played a big role in its evolution and development. INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGIES ---that’s great but what about the poor? The trend now a days is young people going for integrated technologies. There are cellphones providing internet facilities . mobiles with computer technology in it. Coupled with other advancement the lavish inbdian youth is desperate to make his life more comfortable contrary to the vouth of the village where getting an access to these technologies is still a distant dream

Tus the technological divide seen in the Indian youth is disturbing and something needs to be done on our as well as the govt’s part to do something about it.