Nepal ICT Policy Challenges and Opportunityunpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/apcity/...Nepal ICT Policy Challenges and Opportunity Ranjan Baral Dipu Murti Bhurtyal Forum

Nepal ICT Policy Challenges and Nepal ICT Policy Challenges and Opportunity Opportunity

Ranjan BaralDipu Murti Bhurtyal

Forum for Information Technology (FIT) Nepal25th March 2010

Workshop onICT Policy in Developing Countries

University of Manchester

OverviewOverview

Background Background IT policy 2000◦ Place Nepal on global IT map◦ Make IT accessible to general public, creation of

knowledge based society/industries

Telecommunication Policy 2004◦ To create favourable environment to make the

telecommunication service reliable and accessible

eGovernment Master Plan 2005Electronic Transaction act 2008ADB supported ICT Development Project

Policy Action PlanPolicy Action Plan

Indicators Indicators

2005 2008 2010Ranking 126 150 153E-Readiness 0.3021 0.2725 0.2568

Web Measure Index 0.4000 0.2876 0.1683

Human Capital Index

0.500 0.5176 0.5820

Infrastructure Index 0.0063 0.0119 0.0226

E-Participation Index

0.0794 0.0227 0.0572

UN eGov Survey

Source :United Nations E-Government Development Knowledge Base

Teledensity : 27.15Fixed Line : 2.98Mobile: 23.22Limited Mobility : 0.95

Internet Subscriber 1,34,014*Internet User 1,34,014 *4 Adult Literacy 56.5

Source: Nepal Telecommunication Authority,

Policy Action Plan vs. ResultPolicy Action Plan vs. ResultAction Result

An IT park establishment and special incentive to company established on the park including provision of 100% foreign investment in IT enabled Industry

IT park established. No adequate infrastructure in park.

An internet node at every district with info-super highway and north-south info-highway

Basic telecommunication services reached to every district. Internet expansion should focused.

On demand telecommunication/electricity shall be provided to IT entrepreneur

Nepal facing critical power shortage. Power cut for 12 hrs/day in capital on its peak.

Capacity Enhancement of University college providing IT courses. Program on computer education to all by 2010 A.D.

No program in supporting ICT education for college. However, private colleges developed their capacity on their own. Only few public School provides computer education.

Free Internet to University and Public school No work carried out.

Web site for all Government offices Most of the central level office only have basic web presence.

Venture capital establishment with govt. 100 million investment

No initiatives by Government.

Institutional arrangements Established NITC and HLCIT but overlapping roles problems for proper implementation. Electronic transaction act decl

IT policy shall be revised in every 2 years Not revised for 10 years. Draft presented to cabinet last month.

ICT in Development ContextICT in Development Context

The Onion Ring ModelSource: Heeks(2005)

Putting Key Challenges into Onion Putting Key Challenges into Onion Ring ModelRing Model

Content

Infrastructure

Political Instability

Human capacity

Attitude & Culture

Challenge TreeChallenge Tree

ICT & ExportICT & Export--led Growthled GrowthOpportunity or over-ambition?Nepal & India comparison

a

Factor India Nepal

Infrastructure Rail network, IT parks, high-speed broadband

Power outage

Human capacity Large pool, reverse-brain-drain

Small pool, brain-drain

Universities IIT & leading institutions Few

English language Widely spoken Limited

Active Diaspora Entrepreneurship, FDI Very few IT-focused activity.Brand and Global trust International clients, high-

profile projectsTourism as established brand.

Government Policy Single-window system, land purchase privileges etc.

Learning phase, slow decision process.

Political stability Long history of democratic practice

Political strikes halt everyday life.

Few Good Initiatives:Few Good Initiatives:

Language Technology progress (MPP)◦ Nepali Unicode, Dictionary◦ NLP & Speech recognition for Nepali

language◦ Localisation of Operating Systems◦ Localised Information Systems

Above progress propels the Content Development movement, for telecentres and excluded ethnic and minority groups.Aids in e-Government & many sectors

ICTs in Nepal in Development ICTs in Nepal in Development PerspectivePerspective• Place of ICT in Tenth five-year National Plan

2002-2007 and three-year interim plan.• Integrating ICT in primary contributing

sectors to GDP. • E.g. Tourism, SMEs, Agriculture

RecommendationsRecommendations◦ Political leaders and top bureaucrats not aware on dynamics and

element of knowledge based society. Training on eGovernment, eServices and Knowledge economy.

◦ Target beneficiaries should be involved at the policy formulation stage ( policy always undisclosed material before announced)

◦ Communication between beneficiary and policy implementers is important for monitoring successes.

◦ Policy itself should clearly define the proper independentmonitoring ( Important for both implementation and corruption control).

◦ Reduce Time lag between the policy formulation and actual implementation.

◦ ICT less attractive sector within government (unless there is anopportunity of procurement of hardware/services) . Special incentive for ICT workforce within government.

Recommendations...Recommendations...Key ICT post based on political appointments. Frequent changes in government results in change of leadership. Key post holders always apprehensive about their job.

Ensuring proper responsibility delegation and accountability. People keen to delegate risk.

Most eGov and ICT4D project hardware driven. More emphasis should be given on Process and Service improvements thru the useof ICT.

Focus should be on Quality of Service in Telecom sector. Capacity Building of regulatory body.

Bibliography:Bibliography:Butt, D. (2005) Internet Governance: Asia-Pacific Perspectives, UNDP-APDIP, Bangkok.

Heeks, R. (2005). Foundations of ICTs in Development: The Onion-Ring Model. DIG eDevelopment Briefings, No.4/2005. Manchester: Institute for Development Policy and Management. Accessed Online Feb 28, 2010 from http://www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/idpm/publications/wp/di/short/DIGBriefing4Onion.doc

Heeks, R. (1999) Software strategies in developing countries, IDPM, University of Manchester, Manchester.

ITPF (2002) Policy Recommendation on Electronic Transaction and Digital Signature Act (draft), IT Professional Forum, Kathmandu, Nepal

MoEST (2006) eGovernance Master Plan, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, Kathmandu

MoEST. (2000) Information Technology Policy 2000, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, Kathmandu.

Regmi, S. (2006) ICT, SMEs and Business Development in the Nepalese Context, IT Professional Forum, Kathmandu, ITPF

World Bank (2006) Information and Communication for Development, Trends and Policies, World Bank, Washington, D.C.

Thank You!!!