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ICT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENTCT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Vol. 60 No. 3 Pages 52 January 2011 Rs. 10/-
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The Monthly Journal
MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Vol. 60 No. 3 Pages 52
January 2012
CONTENTS
Kurukshetra seeks to carry the message o Rural Development to all people. It serves as a orum or ree, rank and serious discussion on the
problems o Rural Development with special ocus on Rural Uplit.The views expressed by the authors i the articles are their ow. They do ot ecessarily refect the views o the govermet or the orgaizatios they
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l Role of ICTs In RuRal DevelopmenT Archana. G. Gula 3
l ICT : a CaTalyTIC InTeRvenTIon foR
empoweRIng RuRal InDIa a Hzr 9
l RuRal TelepHony foR RuRal DevelopmenT Dr. p. Kri 12
l HaRnessIng poTenTIal of CommunITy
RaDIo foR RuRal aDvanCemenT m. arit shr 19
l CommunITy RaDIo maTTolI ;
voICe of voICeless sdh s. nbthir 24
l DevelopmenT CommunICaTIon:
InTensIfyIng RuRal DevelopmenT In InDIa sbhhr s 27
l ICT foR RuRal DevelopmenT : a vIew A. Abdul Raheem 31
l open leaRnIng as a Tool To pRomoTe
genDeR equalITy In RuRal InDIa Dr. Raju Narayana Swamy 34
l RIgHT To sHelTeR, an uRgenT neeD Rbir sih
aj Kr 42
l fenugReeK, a spICy meDICIne Dr. Rh Chdr prid
Dr. prb Kr ghh 46
CHIEF EDITORRINA SONOwAL KOULI
EDITORKAPIL KUMAR
JOInT DI RECTOR
VINOD KUMAR MEENA
COVER DESIGnRAJAT NAIK
EDITORIAL OFFICEROOM NO. 661, NIRMAN BHAVANA-WING (GATE NO.5),MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT,NEW DELHI-110011
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InsIde
Irti d Cicti tchi (ICT) r trri h
ctiiti, icdi rictr hich i th it rr Idi.
o th i r r th iitb ditribti cic i bt
th h d h-t i th i cc t irti. ICT irtt
r i bridi thi d t i h i rt iti. frr c t
cc t kd t ir thir rdcti d t bttr ric r thir
rdc thrh rit ICT t.
Th dct i ICT c b tiizd r ridi ccrt, ti, rt
irti d ric t th rr, thrb ciitti irt r r
rrti rictr.
ICT i r d rdcti t hich c ccrt cic d ci
dt i rr r. w dic i thi i, h thi tch i
hi rr Idi i bttr i.
o th t cti t ICT i th itrt, hich h
rrkb rth i r ctr i th t dcd. I thi i ciit
th bjct dic th rth itrt i rr Idi d h it i ct
rki th rd. Hr, dit th thdr rth i ICT tch
th i rb i dti ICT i rr t r ICT iitrc,
ibiit rt d cizd ctt i thir , d
rdb ccibiit. Cit rdi i thr tch hich i bi
d b th rr i thir c . I thi i dic bt th
Cit rdi .
Th ctr i i thrh ICT rti d thi h bc bi
rc r th rr d th ii i rr Idi t bc cti rticit ith rth th ctr.
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Irtc ICT r Rr Dti th irtc Irti d
Cicti Tchi (ICT) i ti
dt, ctri cr th b h
t i c chi ch uir
sric fd d thr r grt
itrti t chi uir acc t ICT.
Th c itr i bridi th diit diid
bt rb r/ti d rr r/
ti.
Th iiicc bridi thi diid i
di ctri t i r thct tht rr r t ck r bhid
rb r i tr ti irtrctr
d ric ch trrtti, hth,
dcti d rt ric. Thi
crt itic d thic cctb
iit ric d rtiti r rr
ti d rt th r rticiti
Role of ICTs in Rural Development
Archana. G. Gula
rrit d i ci-cic d
itic i th ti. Rr iti d
driti c ti ict rth d
crti rth ct b tib it
i ici. Thi i ci tr ti ik
Idi hr r th 70% ti rid
i rr r d i r d i
rdctiit rictr d id ctiiti. ICT
c rc irtrctr ctrit.
Thrh ICT i rr r c cct
ith th c, ri d ti cd cc rkt, bki/ici ric
d t rtiti. ICT r
itrt r crti d dbck
ii rr ic i th ti ci-
itic i. ICT c ct ch dir
-grt ric icdi hth
d dcti. Th bridi th diit diid
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brid th r irtrctr d
ddr thr ctrit cd b rr r.
ICT c h itr rr ti.
Growth in Rural Telecommunicaons
I th t dcd, Idi h ritb tcicti rti hich
i th rt cti rtr d ic
irt cd ith trrii
tcicti ctr d bth bic
d rit ric ridr. Th rth
rr Tdit i rrkb it h ri t
36% as on 30 th at 2011 r r 1.7% i
2004. I ct, td rr tdit i ri
t ch tr rt th rb tdit. at
th bii 2011, thr r 282.29 ii
rr ccti (t hich r ir),
crd t r 4.84 ii (di) h i th r 2000. prctic
rth h c r bi th
d th rit ctr h d h r i
thi xi. with r i iz
i, it b d tht t r rr
hhd bi h. I t, th
thr r pbic Ci oic d uir
sric obiti fd rd vi pbic
Th i t r ihbitd c
i i th ctr.
Rr Idi i crti cctd
thrh th thh t t ch
xtt b th itrt. yt, i t
d i d rct, Idi
d cc th itrt rr i hrd
c (bic kik, ic, dcti
ititti tc). Th rt h i th
di d r idiid itrt cc
ti d rkt tti r ir
brdbd ric. Crti th rth
rr th, ci bi th
h brht bt ird cctiit.
Hr, ch r d t b d i th
bit tcicti cctiit
r t trt it r rr dt.
Iri brdbd trti i k
c r d thi i bi ddrd cti
b th Drtt Tcicti.
Th th uir sric obiti fd h
chd wir i Brdbd ch i 2009
d i t dcd t rti
rr wir Brdbd ch. It i t
d th nti otic fibr ntrk (nofn)
hich h cct 2,50,000 i cht
d c-ctd Bhrt nir Kdr
(rthi C sric Ctr (CsC))
ith otic fibr thrb ridi hih d
brdbd ciiti. Bdidth r nofn i
b ib t icd tc ric
ridr t rid brdbd ric i rr
r.
Why is Mere Connecvity not Enough:
It i icri bi rizd d
rtictd tht uir Tcicti
acc/sric r cctiit i cr
bt t icit cditi r brii
bt iti tc ch irdci-cic tt d rtr itic
rticiti. (Th r th bici rt
trditi citd ith ICT.) T chi
th tit bjcti, ICT hd t
b ib d rdb, bt t
dir rt d b ctt d th
trt biciri. Th ttr t i tr b
t cc, iit d k i
th ric d ctt dird thrh ICT.
Bth ctt d ccit bidi r ti
i ICT r t chi thir rid ict
rr dt.
Thr d b rti rct
rr ti h d bit r
cctiit itht ch bi d.
Th r th itrt, d/ d
r h c drtd d bit r
th ib eih ctt. HrGrowth of Rural Connecons
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r th t jrit i rr Idi, i titrc d b jr brrir. at rt, th
r itrc rt i Idi i 75% d rr itrc
td t 68.9%. e i itrc i t i,
rt ctt d d t b ib i
ri . mt rr Idi h r
it i tri t k ii i rictr r id
acvies would have no use for broadband beyond
r trtit d it i dbtb hthr
th d it t , i it r ib
and aordable. Improving the status of access
r d th dibd d ri more dicult challenges in terms of relevant and
ccib tchi d ctt. Thi ri th
queson of How then would broadband availability
i rr r trt it rr dt?
e i ctri ik mi ith ch hihr
rr itrc rt t 89% d brdbd
coverage of more than 50% of populaon,
the Government has to make acve eorts to
riz th bidizd rr Cit
Brdbd Ctr (CBC). Th r ctizd
trii cr brdbd tird t th
d d itrt ri r rr
cit. Th itrt it i ch crric
d cr chidr t r i
and cras and to use Facebook at special training
c hd i th CBC. Th rchi ri th
CBC r ci trid d dr t
dr t rt brdbd . w d d
similar eorts to popularize broadband usage in
rr Idi.
Relevant applicaons and content would draw
t brdbd rr Idi d
easily recognize their potenal to augment incomes
and access useful e-services. Such a pull would
result for example when Naonal Rural Employment
grt sch (nRegs) , grt
pensions, subsidy for food and ferlizers etc are
dird thrh bi/brdbd bd
bk cct ciittd b trid Rr Bi
Crrdt d rtd b i bi-tric
authencaon enabled by Adhaar. Similar results
would ow from wider availability of services such
Drtt arictr Kisan c Ctr
hr rr d bti cr/thr/
market advise and informaon through mobiles/brdbd. a sms/i dbck d ric
rdr t r rt ric th
i nRegs d cr rr Idi t
ctct th grt thrh ICT. Thi d
empower them while also generang a much needed
trrc d cctbiit i grt
ric dir.
I thi rrd it i hrti t t tht th
stated objecves of the dra Naonal IT policy
icd th ki t t idiid
r hhd -itrt d riICTs for key social sector iniaves like educaon,
health, rural development and nancial services
to promote equity and quality. Equally signicant
are the objecves of enabling access to content
and ICT applicaons by dierently-abled people to
tr ici dt d cri
bi h r ddd ric d
transaconal services such as nancial services.
Idd th bi h c b ch r th
a tool of connecvity when supported by relevant
content and services. The stated mission draNaonal Telecom Policy 2011 includes creang a
knowledge based society through proliferaon of
broadband facilies in every part of the country. Its
objecves include enabling cizens to parcipate in
d ctribt t -rc i k ctr ik
health, educaon, banking etc to ensure equitable
and inclusive growth. and to reposion the mobile
To Achieve Desired Outcomes, Connecvity must be
supplemented by Content and Capacity
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phone from a mere communicaon device to
itrt rt tht cbi
communicaon with proof of identy, fully
secure nancial and other transacon capability,
mul-lingual services and a whole range of other
capabilies that ride on them and transcend theitrc brrir. Th trti rd t chi
thi icd t rcizi tc d
broadband connecvity as a basic necessity like
educaon and health and to work towards a right
t brdbd bt d irtt, di
an eco-system for broadband in close coordinaon
ith tkhdr iitri t r it ibiit
ith d tht ct ctr ri
it d irt r ir
development of relevant applicaons. The policy
dct idict tht th Drtt
of Telecommunicaons would work closely with
Department of IT to promote content creaon in
vernacular languages to smulate the demand for
brdbd. Idi cd cidr d dtd
by other naons such as Singapore whereby a high
level nodal authority oversees the adopon of
brdbd icdi itr i ccit bidi d
ctt dt
Integrang Content and CapacityBuilding into ICT Promoon Schemes
It i cr th ctt d ric dirdthrh bi d brdbd tht h th
r t trr rr Idi. o irtt t
would be to provide the enre content suite at the
Bharat Nirman Krendras (CsC) ctd i th i
cht. Thi d icd -rt
services, telemedicine facilies, distance learning
facilies and ICT training facilies etc. Apart from
thi, crci pCo t bic cc it
c rid rr bic ith c r hich
t cc ithr r r ciizd ric
icdi trtit ric. Hth Ctr
d sch i i d d t b brdbd
bd ith rt ric d ctt d
ch c r bic cc it/
broadband training venues aer school hours.
Hr, k rirt i rr trii
of ocials/franchisees who run these services.
srt r th grt b t
it -ctt dt bt di
r rit trrr d i rr-ctric
content development and training facilies is a
t.
There are excellent exisng examples of mobile
bd ddd ric bi ridd t rr
populaon. Celebrated examples such as ITCs
-Ch d Kr grtAkshaya rjct
show us the way. As menoned earlier, certain
r cit ch d th dibd
face unique challenges and need special eorts
t k ib ICT ccib d i.
The Department of Telecommunicaons Universal
Service Obligaon Fund has recently launched
Sanchar Shak a scheme aimed at ICTs for rural
s H r (sHg) hich icd
projects to provide pernent informaon to rural i c thrh thir bi
h.
Nine projects have been iniated which
provide mobile value added services (informaon
on educaon, health, nancial literacy, government
schemes, social issues, vocaonal training, input and
output prices and other market related informaon)
specically tailored to the entrepreneurial acvies
bi crrid t b th (b ki,
livestock rearing, agriculture, texle work etc). The
rjct d cr bt 20,000 rr ii tt Idi. Th i tr thi rjct
is the mul-stakeholder approach which makes
it a path breaking eort to ensure success of the
rjct b ci t tch bt
ctt d ccit bidi. I th rjct, th
Tc sric pridr (Tsp) h h th r
ribiit r th rjct t r tht it
partners with an NGO which will help idenfy the
sHg iihd rtd ctt d. (a Ctt
Dr/pridr rtr d d ctt
r th rjct.) Th ngo i it th Tsp ttri th sHg br i bi h
t b th t cc th ctt (dird
thrh sms d Itrtd vic R st
(IvRs)), iit it thrh r dici
d trii i and to ulize it to improve
thir r d iddc . a th
pr Cct t thi rr i bi
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itd it h bc rt tht th c
rt bodies and district administraons
would constute another important stakeholder
h it i r dir rt
informaon and services to the rural SHGs without
th ctt ridr Tsp hi t rch r it.
usof rr r th r ith
disabilies (PwDs) in rural India similarly lays stress
on mul-stakeholder parcipaon and partnerships
as an essenal elements. This programme invites
Tsp t r bid r Rr ICT ctr
equipped with Assisve Technologies (ATs) and
rt ctt d t rid rr pD ith
aT bd bi h ith/itht cc
t ciizd ctt. Here again, specic role
and responsibilies have been assigned to each
tkhdr icdi rtd miitri d
Drtt (Han Resources, Social Jusce and
ert tc) t r rr
cc. mt it h b trd b pD
during the consultaon process that there should
be nothing about us without us implying therebythe acve involvement of the target beneciaries
and their representaves in programme evoluon
and implementaon. This aspect should be quite
obvious but is actually oen overlooked in the
di grt ch.
Going Forward:
Idi h chid trd icr i
rr t-dit d th grt c i
r rr brdbd. gi hd,
apart from ubiquitous and aordable access to ICTs,
rtr hi t b cd th ibiit
d rc ric d ctt i c
language or mul-media/accessible format as per
needs of target beneciaries. Also, capacity building
of various stakeholders to use ICTs is essenal for
th ICT bd rr dt t b
achieved. This requires a shi in focus away from
purely technology related issues to the evoluon
ici, trti d ch tht r
cross-sectoral and mul-stakeholder involvement
d t icdi t th c
communies and target beneciaries themselves.
The dra Naonal ICT and Telecom Policies of the
Indian Government and the recent Special Iniaves
of the USOF are steps in the right direcon.
Disclaimer
The Views Expressed In this Arcle are Purely
those of the Author and Do Not in any Way Reect
Th grt Idi pic r std th
sbjct.
(The author belongs to the 1989 batch of
the Indian P&T Accounts and Finance Service.
She has held posts as Internal Financial Advisor
in the Department of Telecommunicaons (DOT),
BSNL and MTNL. At present she is posted as Joint
Administrator (Finance) USOF Department of
Telecommunicaons, New Delhi e-mail: jafusof@
gmail.com).
USOFs Sanchar Shak Programme: Stakeholder
Partners and Responsibilies
USOFs Programme for UCTs for Rural PwDs:
Stakeholder Partners and Responsibilies
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India sll breathes in villages and this becomes
obvious when the fact is taken into consideraon
that more than 700 million of its populaon reside
in about 636 thousand villages of this country; but
even aer sixty years of independence, rural India
i chrctrid b r rt, iitrc, ck
health services, lack of employment opportunies
and over all backwardness. Rural areas are oen
regarded as informaon-poor and informaon
rii h b ctr ct
rural development iniaves. Keeping in view these
predominant features of rural India Informaon
and Communicaon Technology (ICT) has earned
its reputaon to be the key to informaon-ow
for intensifying the development eorts in rural
India and is being considered as an imperave
trt r chii th tib rr
development. To empower the rural communies
ICT : A Catalytic Intervention for EmpoweringRural India
Anupam Hazra
ith tib rch, ICT h b th
most eecve instruments and the following table
provides a beer insight to this fact.
ICT and Sustainable Rural Growth
Strengthening Rural Governance:
Introducon of ICTs in rural India is expected
t bri i ch i th h rc
rr rc b iri trrc,
accountability and administrave eciency
of rural instuons, promong parcipaon
th r i dcii-ki rc d
improving the eciency and responsiveness
rr ric dir. It c ciitt
speedy, transparent, accountable, ecient
and eecve interacon between rural
cizens - this not only promotes beer
administraon but also saves me
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and transacons costs of government
operaons. At the same me, ICT improves
interacon with and within civil society and
encourages civil society parcipaon in the
rr ri rc.
Encouraging social transformaon: accto informaon is of fundamental importance
t dt rc. Th rct
development of ICT is greatly facilitang the
ow of informaon and knowledge, beyond
th brdr ci d cic tt. I
thi ctxt, ICT r id rcizd
as a crical tool to tackle development issues
in developing countries which ulmately
lead to social transformaon.
Ensuring A Beer Quality of Life:Applicaon
of ICT has the potenal to improve livingtdrd i rt d rr
r b ridi irtt crci,
social and educaonal benets. By
xdi th rt ric
ICT strengthens the livelihood opportunies
for rural India. ICT can ensure a beer quality
i r th rr r ith ird
access to markets, health, and educaon
hich h rr Idi trd cic
development, job-creaon and poverty-
alleviaon.
Strengthening the Informaon-base of rural
communies:ICT iniaves may be designed
t rid rt t c rc
t rct t th ri rtd
by local needs of the rural communies.
As rural poor are oen unaware of their
rights, entlements and the availability of
ri rt ch d xti
ric, ICT c ir thir cc
to the informaon they need. It has the
potenal to ensure improved provision of
short-term informaon required by the rural
poor for eecve livelihood strategies.
Intensifying Eort towards implementaon
of the rural development iniaves:
For ensuring eecve implementaon
th rr dt rr -
ICT crci r thrh dd-
driven informaon and communicaon
ric. It has the potenal to increase the
benets and reduce the opportunity costs
of peoples parcipaon in the process of
rural development. The potenal of using
ICT t rt rr dt i
in addressing the informaon gaps and
bck b trthi th dcii-
ki ccit th rr r
as the resource instuons of every rural
cit.
Enhancing peoples parcipaon in naon-
building process: Th irtc
communicaon in mobilizing people and
seeking their willing parcipaon in the
dt rc ctr i
rcizd. I Idi, thi ccr bt
reaching people, communicang with
th d ii th ith ki
h b hizd r d i i
successive ve year plans which provide
th b rit th ctr d
dt. I di ctr
ik Idi ICT i rrdd th
k t i drizi rictr,
i rdci hth, itrt d trid
rkr r idtr d r brii bt
eecve parcipaon in naon building
acvity. All these together contributei r ki rr dt
rit.
In India, around 70% of its total populaon lives
i th rr r, th h th riht t cir
informaon; but it is almost impossible to expect
tht t r rt , ii i rr r,
and those who have only elementary educaon, to
parcipate acvely in the world of informaon and
communicaon which is solely based on computers
and the Internet. Rural informaon systems have
tradionally focused on supplying informaon tothe rural poor and supplying informaon about
rr r t ic kr, bt it i rcid
that past systems have been largely ineecve
i ddri th d th rr r. Th
extension of agricultural informaon in parcular is
i bd r trming messages. It is
becoming more open, more parcipatory and more
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demand-driven, involving interacvity, negoaon
d t- informaon exchanges. There is a
new emphasis on the acquision of informaon
and enabling the rural poor to request informaon
specic to their parcular livelihood needs.
Communicaon specialists increasingly recognise theenormous potenal of ICT to support and enhance
these changes. On the other hand, social scienst
observed that access to required informaon is
rightly proporonate with the rate of any integrated
dt, ik rr dt d ICT h
b th jr ct d drii rc
r rr dt.
Th r kd r dt c
b rt hcd b ICT i th r hrd t
ir cc d brk d brrir t kd
because while educaon develops cognive skills,
informaon gives content to knowledge. In this sense
the use of ICTs is integral to realising the potenal of
collecve knowledge as the technologies themselves
rrt t r chii dt d t
r th rrd it. ICT c b cidrd
dt t rr dt
acvity as it addresses the design, delivery and
ulisaon of community informaon systems
hich t rt rt rr
communies through addressing the following issues
d d b:
- familiarising communies with their exisng
use and sources of informaon as well as with
the gaps that exist between exisng and
desired informaon resources
- dening community informaon requirements
based on needs and priories that have been
expressed by the communies themselves
- alerng communies to the potenal
applicaon of informaon to their problem-
solving eorts and to their development
aspiraons
- igning community aspiraons and
empowering communies with appropriate
ki r tri c dt tht i
informaon-based
- xdi cit ci cit
thrh hcd cc to communicaon
facilies and informaon resources
- extending and intensifying exisng
dt rr tht crr
signicant potenal for addional community
benet from enhanced informaon
management capabilies that are based on
ICT
- propelling communies towards the
acquision of the new knowledge they will
rir i rdr t xit th r ICT
- bddi cit bd ICT ric
within exisng economic, governance and
ci trctr
So, nowadays it has become imperave to use
the print and broadcast media eecvely in order
t t cict rc d
irtc i th ctxt rr dt btalso to movate and encourage the people of rural
India to parcipate in the development process.
Th, i th crrt ctxt tib rr
development, ICT has been recognized as a catalyc
intervenon in respect of transforming the lives and
iihd rr Idi.
Th dt cit r dd
on the access to informaon and so far in rural India -
ICT has greatly facilitated the ow of informaon and
knowledge oering the socially-marginalised and
unaware community unprecedented opportuniesto aain their own entlements. On the other
hd, t brk th ici circ rr rt
d t brid th diit diid d r th
rural communies - ICT-intervenon has proved its
eecveness in the sphere of capacity-building of
rural communies for breaking these barriers. So,
th rt, tch idtr d cit
hd rk tthr t d ICT t ccrt
cic d ci dt i rr r.
Hc it b ccdd tht itrtd
framework for ICT intervenons in rural areas willunquesonably pave the way towards sustainable
rr rth.
(The author is Assistant Professor in
Department of Social Work at Assam (Central)
University; Silchar 788011; Assam, e-mail:
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Informaon is crical to the social & economic
acvies that comprise the development
process. Telecommunicaons, as a means of
sharing informaon, is not simply a connecon
bt , bt ik i th chi th
dt rc it. [Hd 1995]
India achieved substanal socio-economic
dt ic iddc. urtt
thi dt h t b hrd itb
by all. Some secons of the society have been le
t d r, ik rr, trib d rt
r, cd t k c ith rb r i
development. If vast secons of society and areas
are le out, it breeds unrest and is not conducive to
tib dt th ctr.
The Government has iniated several schemes
t crrct th i: t rtr itbiit
b rdci th rr-rb diid, t rdict
rt d hr r th rr dc, t
r bic d r th ir, t ir
Rural Telephony for Rural Development
Dr. P. Kameswari
thir i t, t ir th ci-
cic irtrctr i th rr r d t
safeguard and improve the ferlity of land and
thr tr rrc. Irt th
ci-cic irtrctr i th rr r
Fig-I: Rural Connecvity despite Remoteness
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r ri itrtd dt icd
aenon to roads, irrigaon, housing, water
supply, electricity, sanitaon, natural resources
development and Informaon and Communicaon
Tch (I.C.T.).
Idi tc ctr i r th 165 rd. Th tir ti th tc idtr
c b ciid it thr ditict h.
l Phase I- Pre-Liberalizaon Era (1980-89)
l Phase II- Post Liberalizaon Era (1990-99)
l ph III- pt 2000
Telecommunicaons in Phase-I was a heavily
rt-ctrd d -izd rkt. a
rt th grt ici i ph-II, th
Idi tc rkt h bc th t
liberalized in the world with private parcipaoni t it t. Th n Tc
pic, 1999 (nTp-99) h d it r i
th rth thi idtr.
Benets of Rural Telephony
Rural connecvity holds key to rural
dt thrh trti, ik:
Distribung locally relevant informaon
Targeng disadvantaged & marginalized
r
Promong local entrepreneurship
Iri r hth
Strengthening educaon
Promong trade and e-commerce
Supporng good governance
Bidi ccit d cbiit
erichi ctr
Supporng agriculture
Creang employment opportunies
Reinforcing social mobilizaon
Eorts for Improvement of RuralTelephony
Tc cctiit ctitt
irtt rt th rt t rd th
rr irtrctr. udr th Bhrt nir
prr (Bnp), Rr Tdit (Tb-I)
t t 40% b 2014, Brdbd Cr
(Tb-II) 2,50,000 i cht d
tti C sric Ctr t cht
b 2012 r rd t b chid.
Table-I: Rural Teledensity for February 2011 under
Bharat Nirman II
s.
n.
Circ/stt Percentage
of Rural
Teledensity
(as on
31-03-2009)
Percentage
of Rural
Teledensity
(as on
28-02-2011)
1 ANDAMAN & NICOBAR 16.57 31.75
2 anDHRa pRaDesH 15.22 33.19
3 assam 9.36 23.36
4 BIHaR 9.17 26.41
5 CHHaTTIsgaRH 1.81 2.776 guJaRaT 25.21 45.81
7 HaRyana 28.10 51.36
8 HImaCHal pRaDesH 40.47 68.68
9 JAMMU & KASHMIR 16.72 29.13
10 JHaRKHanD 1.44 2.35
11 KaRnaTaKa 14.36 34.26
12 KeRala 35.43 52.65
13 maDHya pRaDesH 11.07 28.95
14 maHaRasHTRa
(icdi g)21.70 45.25
15 noRTH-easT- I
(crii mh,
Mizoram & Tripura)
14.67 50.34
16 noRTH-easT- II
(crii arch
Pradesh, Manipur &
nd)
3.69 7.78
17 oRIssa 12.55 28.07Fig-II: Timely informaon ow on Agricultural
& Market Trends
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18 punJaB 33.11 55.45
19 RaJasTHan 16.71 38.14
20 TamIl naDu 25.62 47.53
21 uTTaRaKHanD 6.04 9.46
22 uTTaR pRaDesH - [et]
10.24 26.4723 uTTaR pRaDesH - [wt]
24 wesT Bengal (icdi
sikki)13.50 35.22
25 KolKaTa - -
26 CHennaI - -
27 DelHI - -
28 mumBaI - -
all InDIa 15.11 32.99
Main Objecves of the Naonal TelecomPolicy, 1999 (NTP-99) include:
l Access to telecommunicaons (at the core ofit ii d );
l Bc bt th rii ir
ric t d th rii hih-
services capable of meeng the needs of the
ctr c;
l Encourage development of telecom facilies
i rt, hi d trib r;
l A greater compeve environment in both
rb d rr r Tc sctr
providing equal opportunies and level playing
eld for all players;
Recent Policy Iniaves in Telecom
Sector:
l All villages shall receive telecom facilies.
l Naonal Long Distance Service (NLD): open
r rtrictd tr.
l The Internaonal Long Distance Services
(ILDS): open to compeon.
l The basic services: open to compeon.
l 4th cellular operator (over exisng 3, 1 each
in 4 metros & 13 circles) permied.
l Policies allowing private parcipaon in
r ric: gb mbi pr
Communicaon by Satellite (GMPCS),
diit pbic mbi Rdi Trkd sric
(PMRTS) and Voice Mail/Audiotext/Unied
mi.
l WLL for telephone connecons in urban,
i-rb d rr r.
l Diitt 2 bic ctr tc
drtki, vsnl d HTl.
l Steps to fulll Universal Service Obligaon
(USO) funding and administraon.
l a dcii t rit Cit ph
sric r ch cht.
l Mulple Fixed Service Providers (FSPs)
ici idi cd.
l Itrt sric pridr (Isp) d t
set up Internaonal Internet Gateways & both
satellite & landing staons for submarine
opcal ber cables.
l T ctri irtrctr ridr
h b d t rid d-t-d
bandwidth and dark ber, right of way, towers
d dct c.
l gidi b th gt. t Itrt
Th (Ip).
Telecom Service Providers
1. Public Sector:
a.) mhr Th ni liitd
(M.T.N.L.) for cies of Bombay & Delhi B.)
Bhrt schr ni liitd (B.s.n.l.) r
th rt Idi: Bsnl h d t hr
its rural roll-out obligaon by providing
connecvity to 90% of the rural populaon (15
h i 5.2 kh i) it rd
h tbihd trk i rr r. It
is also planning to provide connecvity to
66,000 addional villages, which is a part of
the governments ambious B.N.P.
2. Private Operators:
A) Bhar Airtel: It is the largest operator and
d xtd it cr t r th
4,000 t d djii i. It gb
System of Mobile (GSM) communicaon
cover is currently available in over 4,000 cies
d t d r kh i.
B) Reliance Communicaons: It currently
provides services in 4,300 towns and claims
t h cctd th djii i
i th t. udr th uso d, it i
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supposed to connect 203 Short Distance
Chri ar (sDCa), th rc hich
i i . It ci t h rd
ii bcribr i i-rb d rr
r.
C) Tt T sric liitd (TTsl): It hcrd r 40 scdr sitchi ar
(ssa) hich trt t r 200 (sDCa),
d cr rr ctr b r 4.5
crr. It crrt ci t h r 8%
th rr ctr b. prid Tt
Indicom, Tata DoCoMo, Virgin (GSM) & Virgin
(CDma)
D) Id Cr
e) vd er
f) airc
g) uir
H) HfCl It d thr ik sic Tc,
vidc mbi sric, mTs Idi, l
mbi (Bpl rr), pi mbi, s T d
Esalat DB.
Growth & Revenue
Th rct rth Idi tc h
bc bchrk r thr irtrctr
sectors in India. Government of India has iniated a
ag ship programme, B.N.P., that has a component
of Rural Telephony. It has the potenal to transformrr Idi. Th i i i t brid th rr-
rb diid d itiz th rr c
India to parcipate in transforming its own future.
The current extent and paern of diusion of
telecommunicaon technology in India aims to
rtt th t-d rch t dt,
ki th didtd t th rc.
Idi hd th cd rt trk ith
562.15 ii th ccti t th d
Dcbr 2009. It h r r rid i
th r 40 r ct r , rittithe addition of nearly 300 million connections in
th irt 2 r th eth fi yr p.
It i t bridi th diit diid bt
rb d rr r d xtdi brdbd
cctiit itr rt th u.s.o. pic
xctd thrh th uso fd. gr Bdtr
srt (gBs) r th 11th p r Drtt
Tcicti (DT) ixd t R
1,752 crr ith Itr d extr-Bdtr
Rrc (IeBR) ct R 89,582 crr.
Th rth th i Idi i d riri
b th ir t ith r 1012 ii
ccti, r, bi ddd rth.
Rr r i th ctr h xricd
rid rth i tc ric d th t-
dit icrd r 5.9 r ct i mrch 2009 t
21.16 r ct i Dcbr 2009. Th tt br
of rural communicaons at the end of December
2009 was 174.53 million, compared to 47 million
t th trt th 11th p. I nbr 2004,
rt id ith Bsnl t rid
bic th dr th B.n.p. t 66,822
crd i, th r-t rid iiti
prescribed as 20, 30, and 40 % respectively over
a 3 years ending at November 2007. This period
h ic b xtdd. a Dcbr 2009,
61,186 i bic th (98 r ct) hd
b ridd. Hr, Bsnl h ird DT
tht 4,520 i cd t b ridd bic
th d t ri r, ik xtrit
thrt, i d-td, t trcb
r brd.
accrdi t th TRaI, th tt r r th Idi tc ric idtr R 1,524
b i fy09 r R 1,291 b i fy08 ritri
a growth of 18.03% over FY08 and its subscriber
base grew by 43% over FY08 to tch 429.70
bcribr i fy09.
Chart-I: Telecom Sector Revenues from FY06 to FY09
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Th ric th tc idtr i
Idi h icrd d t it rth d
tht th Irti Tch (IT) d
IT bd sric (ITs) ctr. Tc h
rd k irtrctr bc it
tiir ct r bit t trd i thridtri. It t gr Dtic prdc (gDp)
h b icri rd ( h r th
doubled to 2.83% in FY07 from 1.0% in FY92).
Reality Check
er ic th rt h d th
tc rkt r rit r, rr Idi h
b th rit rtr rdr. mt rit
tc rtr ci tht th r ridi
rr cctiit t it bt, bt th h t
d h. sric ridr, thh cii
t rid rr th i djii i,h itd tr hih d th
i tht c i th rihr r cctd.
Tht th diiti rr th r rit
rtr. Bt, th ct b bd. atr
i h ic , it d t k
r rtr t it i r hr rtr
itt (RI) d b ii. prit
rtr r i rd R 5,000 crr r
r acc Dicit Chr (aDC) t Bhrt
schr ni liitd (B.s.n.l.) r c bi.
a, 5% thir rth rt (agR) i
th uso fd tht th rt hd crtd i
2002 t bidiz c i rr r. sic Bsnl
i th rtr i rr r, it i th bit
bicir
I th i, it th i bic th
(vpT) tht ddr th bic rirt th
ir. at t vpT i rird i r
i. Thi dtr rirt t b
id b th bic ric rtr rt
th ic cditi br uiid lici
c it xitc. Bsnl i ithdri r th
uso d kitt r xtdi rt r rti
d itc vpT, r rct mti
acc Rr Rdi t (maRR) it, r
ridi Rr Cit ph (RCp) d r
ridi rr hhd dirct xch i.
a, ic th a R pr uit
(ARPU) of the rural masses is substanally lower
crd t th rb ctr, rit
tc rtr chi t tr thi t
has to be very cauous because of huge investments
t cr rr trrtri rd r id r
ctr- jr chk hich d c r
th ic bi dt bi i i ct t i th rb r.
Though the rural operaons are currently
ib r rtr, bidi, ir
ir chr, hri irtrctr d
growing auence of rural India could change this
equaon dramacally. Now, as the urban market is
reaching saturaon and ARPU therein is declining
rthr, cr ric ridr i h t
trd rr Idi. It th rt tr t
tk th d k rr th h
with the parcipaon of private players.Technology for the Rural Sector
Th Tc Rrch Ctr (TRC) h
td ri tch-cic rdct r
th rr ctr:
Fig-III: Technological Soluons for Rural Telephony
1) Opcal Fibers: C b t rr
cmunicaons wherein one can connect an
intermediate staon to the main highway by
brch rt b dr d irt t.
2) Rural Cordless Telephone (RCT): a i d
ixi it tht c b t t
i r hr th i r r
ch dirsed and the terrain is dicult. One
cordless telephone in each village will suce
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d rrit br tr-rcir
hd b rovided at the base staon (the
th xch).
3) Radio Sharing System (RSS): Thi i rdi
rc hri t ith t rc
pairs serving 15 V.Ts. The rao of VT to Radio
Ch i 7.5 (ith bit-i xdbiit
t 16). a vT cctd t th Rss h
individual line terminaons in the telephone
xch.
4) Line Sharing System (LSS): a tic ir
i thrh br i c b
d i hri bi, ridi t-
connecons to every village en route.
Mul Access Radio Relay (MARR): o th
i tchi r th rr ctr bc the ease of maintenance, installaon and future
expansion possibilies. The Wireless in Local
l (wll) tch i it i r rid
installaon of the network and is ideal for both
rb d rr r.
vr s artr Tri (vsaT) tit
systems and Low Earth Orbing Systems (LEOs) are
also being touted as technological soluons for
rural ICT, but no single technology will sasfy the
dir d. It i t ik tht ix th
technologies will provide the ulmate soluon for
ch r.
Rural Connecvity Challenge
The targets put forward in the Policy Dra of
th grt c t b chid itht th
parcipaon of the rural masses and the private
operators. It is imperave for the government to
c t ith rtr rr tht c k
connecvity aordable in rural areas where majority
of customers belong to the poor community. Its
cr tht rr tdit ct b chiditht ir r t d th rt d
t rt ir tchi r rr r t
subsidized rates. The government should oer end
tri bid t tc rtr r rr
ctr. ad c dd i th rr r
rch it k, it d b tii d th
subsidy could be withdrawn thereaer.
a th bi h h tbrd
the xed-line cecons in the country, the bias
towards xed line telephony should end and ADC and
uso d hd b d r rtr i
d r. ad cidri th ct tht
xed line phones are not wire line phones, subsidiesshould be extended to xed wireless terminals (FWT).
FWTs, handy & rolled out quickly, could trigger the
rth rr th.
fr vpT th rt hd tk it
cct Tc Rtr athrit Idi
(TRAI) recommendaon wherein it has asked for
bid riii r vpT d idiid
phones to the creaon of infrastructure. Once
this infrastructure is created, all new and exisng
irtrctr d b dtd t b hrd
on reasonable terms, with adequate incenves forhri t i c. Thi i r tht i
rtr, r r trk, c xit hi
monopoly posion.
The Service Providers: Th rb rkt
can not boost the cellular operators boom-line
any longer. Various iniaves like free incoming
c, i ct i ditc rt, dcii
ic r d -ddd ric h b
tried to boost the agging ARPU from this saturated
rkt. Th rr rkt i d bi
proposion for cellular operators and handsetmanufacturers as mobile phone penetraon is sll
r i thi r. a, th tr ct i
bi h drd cidrb. Th ddd chr
i thir t chr rt. Thir c ccr
r th i itt rird d RI.
UFO Fund Ulizaon: USO fund shall hereaer
b crditd it rt d itd
cidtd grt d, d rir.
It d b d t idct tchi
to speed up rural connecvity through various
info-communicaon services. Subsidy out of thefund has been paid out on the basis of compeve
bid r tc ric ridr. Th ct
irtrctr d th ct t i cc h
t b cidrd b th icd rtr br
bidding. BSNL with its exisng rural infrastructure
bit t bic d h dt r
th thr. shri i irtrctr i
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rdc th ct trk r rit rtr.
Th icbt rtors would hereaer be asked
t hr th irtrctr. T t th trt r
rr tdit it i iitb tht th rt
also oer terminal subsidy for rural customers, who
currently cant aord to buy high priced handsets and
tri. a rtr hd b rdd t bid
for dicult and non-remunerave rural areas too, as
thri thr i b tdc t rt i
remunerave areas. To fulll the real objecves of the
uso it hd b rcd th rtr t k
r cri th tt, rid ric
t r diri it thrht th ctr
d t t ch bcribr r rt
plans. The USO fund plans to support the seng
up of High-speed Public Telecom and Informaon
Ctr (HpTIC) i ctd r it rjct
bi. Th ctr i h 256 kb brdbdconnecvity and will provide certain e-governance
ric t i rr r. a, th uso d
would support seng-up of shared infrastructure for
xtdi cr ric t rr r. Th rt
from USO funds needs to be connued for individual
connecons as well as operaon and maintenance
ird i trk, d t th ihrt hih
cost for operaon and maintenance. The merger of
uso d ith aDC k bth r
essenally serving the same objecve of providing
aordable services in rural areas. As the gross
r th tc ctr h b rii t Consolidated Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 30%, the
rct hr ctribtd b th rit ctr
ric ridr t th uso d hd b rd
in a proporonate manner. As far as infrastructure
deployment is concerned, the current operang cost
trctr r ri rr ctr i xrbitt
high, given the Wireless Planning and Coordinaon
(wpC) - ctr d bckh chr. Th
Government should oer a moratorium to telecom
r b irt ir th chr r
some period; thereaer, these could be levied as in
rb r. Th bit hdic i rd rrth i th -ibiit r i rr
ckt. Th i irtrctr hd icd
power back up (recers and baery) and the Diesel
Power Generaon sets. The need of the hour is
extensive telecom infrastructure creaon in these
r t t th t rr rkt tnal. It would
be beer if all operators join hands and either create
d hr, r th grt hd rd
Bsnl t hr it irtrctr. Th rt
hd r rtr t bid r th rr
trritri r i irtrctr. Irtrctr
hri hd b d dtr r rtr
who is the rst to enter this territory. The backbone
irtrctr hri hd b d dtr
for all operators to backhaul trac and ensure that
BSNL provides the SDCA level interconnecon to any
rtr h t r ir i tht r.
Rr bi irtrctr hd b dd b th
USO. Those who access the fund, as a condion,
hd th hr thir irtrctr ith
who wants it. The Government should oer subsidy
r d tri t tc rtr r crti
period of me, ll demand becomes self-sustaining.
Conclusion
Th jr ctrit r th rr
teledensity have been lack of invesble resources,
ibiit rrit tch cbid
with dicult geographical terrain and connental
size of the country. In the post-liberalizaon
rid ri ctr r d r rit
compeon. The public sector operators have also
been corporazed in October, 2000. While these
t d cr rit itt, th
social obligaon of providing telecom facilies
i th rr d -cic r rir
certain incenves, like tax concessions, waiverof license fee & interconnecon charges and
nancial support to aract private operators to
th rr r. Th ch d b Idi
dirit ri, ic d drhic
paern are great. Opmum soluons have to be
evolved with appropriate policy iniaves for
funding, technologies, organizaonal structure and
regulaon. Achievement of Indias rural telephony
objecves needs to be approached in a holisc
r hri t d ic d rtr
itch d t b ird t, bt ri
rcdr ccr d t b ddrd.Time has come to kick-start the iniaves as
rcdd b TRaI, ith c
operators and acve parcipaon by the rural folk.
(The author is Director & Professor, Anwarul
Uloom College of Business Management,
Hyderabad, e-mail : [email protected])
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Th cct cit rdi [CR] tht
rd i 1947 i Bii d Cbi,
hich cc xritd ith thir
Miners Radio and Radio Sutatenza respecvely,
signies that CR has the potenal to catalyze the
rc ci-cic dt rr
populaon in India through [i] creang awareness
among beneciaries about Government policy and
programs, [ii] facilitang them to understand the
procedure to secure benets of these programs
d cc t bic ric d [iii] kirdr thir ric .
Uniqueness of Community Radio: Cit
Radio [CR] means radio broadcasng with the
objecve of serving the cause of the community
i th ric r b ii br th
cit i th brdct thir rr. It
aords a unique advantage of receiving transmission
through low cost baery operated portable receiving
sets. It is conned to a small geographical area. It
Harnessing Potential of Community Radio forRural Advancement
Ms. Arpita Sharma
is a radio staon operated in the community, for
th cit, bt th cit d b th
cit. It c b d b r ,
such as farmers, sher folk, arsans, women, youth
tc. It r cit, hich c
rrc r iihd, h c dt
issues and concerns, which are relavely localized,
nevertheless connected to naonal and regional
dt .
What disnguishes CR from other media is
its high level of peoples parcipaon, both in
management and program producon. Individual
community members and local instuons provide
support for its operaon. CR is truly a peoples
Rdi tht rci itr t rcir d
consumers, but as acve parcipants and creave
rdcr ctt. It cr dt d
riht bd i d dt itr th
latest policy and programs. It receives legislave,
administrave, and nancial support.
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Researchers conrm that CR is a parcipatory
medium through which informaon is communicated
to rural communies. For its success, program
must be movang, interacve and systemacally
did t t th dt d th
parcipants. In dierent parts of the world CR is
also referred to as rural radio, cooperave radio,
parcipatory radio, alternave radio, popular radio,
educaonal radio, community FM, associaon radio
and bush radio. The basic characterisc of CR is
tht cit it t r th d th
community. Most signicantly, it is parcipatory in
nature as people acvely take part in formulang the
staons policy, strategy and program content. CR
presents opportunies to parcipants to share their
personal experiences in relaon to development
policy and programs and aempts to facilitate
ecient implementaon of programs relang to
health, nutrion, educaon, sanitaon, womenrt, rictr tc.
accrdi t unesCo [2002] CR i t
rdi ric tht ctr t th itrt crti
area, broadcasng content that is popular to a
local audience but which may oen be overlooked
b crci r -di brdctr. li
[1995] dened CR as a medium that gives voice to
th ic tht r th thic th
marginalized and is at the heart of communicaon
and democrac processes within sociees. It aims
at improving socio-economic condions and quality
i th cit thrh ccid
d did rr r trtd cit
parcipants.
Eorts in Other Countries: Systemac eorts to
establish CR in Asia were iniated by internaonal
ci, ch unesCo, hich t th ctr
of the communicaon and development debate.
Servaes [1995] observed that these iniaves were
t citd ith xtr idd dt
projects that were inuenced by the discussions
of parcipatory communicaon for sustainable
development and understanding of communicaon
as a two-way process rather than just communicang
to the listener.
mhi CR was the rst Asian community
radio established at Girandumkoe in Sri Lanka in
1986 with objecves to cater to the needs of the
newly-seled families, help them exchange their
selement experiences, learn new skills from each
other, give mely informaon on day-to-day acvies,
d ciitt t ctz dt i th
communies, enable parcipants in the decisions-
ki rc t irtt i ch
water distribuon, markeng, health, educaon
tc. Thbi CR, the rst truly community-ownedand operated Asian community radio staons were
tbihd i phiii ith th tchic d
nancial support from the UNESCO. Sagarmatha CR,
the rst independent community broadcasng staon
tbihd i n, hich rrtd sth ai
rst eort at independent community radio. It was
established with the nancial and technical assistance
provided under UNESCOs Internaonal Program
for the Development of Communicaon with its
innovave combinaon of programs on educaon,
informave and entertainment. Banjade [2007] in
hi rrch t xr th tr d xtt thlocal residents parcipaon in the communicaon
rc i rct CR i p ditrict wtr
Nepal serving 800,000 potenal listeners since 2000
reported that the listeners used CR for informaon
d trtit. mr [2008] brd tht CR
is sll the dominat di i aric ith th
idt rhic rch d th hiht dic
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crd ith Tv, r, d ICT. Th thr
rthr tt tht CR t h r it
as a development tool, parcularly with the rise of
cit d c rdi, hich h ciittd
a far more parcipatory and horizontal type of
communicaon. CR can also help bridge the digital
divide by providing a powerful tool for informaon
disseminaon and access, especially for hard-to-
rch rr dic. Rci [1995] bd
on his intensive research concluded that in Lan
aric ctri, hr CR c it bi
alternave to predominantly commercial oriented
rdi brdct trk, th thrt CR t
as a medium to support educaon of the marginalized
populaon. Bouhafa [1998] reported that in South
Africa, CR system became a social movement aer
th di rthid ri, hich d
by democrazaon, decentralizaon and structural
adjustment elsewhere in the connent. For India iti rthr rct xrit d dt tht
trtd i 1990
CR Iniaves in India: Bhtr [2008] rrtd
tht grt Idi cd it CR ic i
Dcbr 2002, hich ibrizd i 2006. CR
i th di t xr th,
plaorm to air their concerns to be heard, considered
d ctd , th icri thir diit d -
condence. People generally come forward to gain
ki, t b rt th cit r. T hr
thir itrt i ic, chri r t icr thirsocial circle. A carefully planned orientaon process
is very important to map the potenal of individuals
and to lter out commied volunteers to form
cr t. shi [2009] rrtd tht r hih
populated and predominantly rural populaon
like India the educaon and entertainment of the
masses is essenal. This can be achieved by ulizing
the concept of CR more eecvely. CR tells the
story of the people and helps communies striving
t k t d b hrd. CR h ridd
rt t th cit. It h i
children the chance to speak condently. This
objecve to some an extent has been achieved in
Idi hr t i ctd cit
ctr CR h b tbihd.
Gyan Vani CR: Th H Rrc
Dt miitr d th Idir gdhi
Naonal Open University [IGnou] ith th h
of Prasar Bhara launched Gyan Vani CR in 2001
operang inially through Allahabad, Banglore, and
Cibtr fm staons of India on test transmission
d, ith th trk xctd t xd t tt
of 40 staons. It operates as Media Cooperave
ith th d-t-d rr bi ctribtd b
various educaonal instuons, NGOs, Government
and semi-Government organizaons, UN agencies,
miitri [arictr, eirt, Hth,
Women and Child Welfare, Science & Technology],
besides Naonal level Instuons [NCERT, NOIS
and State Open Universies]. It has target audience
of students of open and convenonal universies
within a radius of 60 km covering enre city.
prr rd dri 0600 am t 1000am c
t hc tchi-ri rc i Hidi r
eih; d cr id r bjct,
creang awareness about Panchaya Raj Instuons
and their funconaries; Women Empowerment;
Cr Riht; H Riht, th Riht the Child; Health Educaon; Science Educaon;
Extension Educaon; Vocaonal Educaon; Teacher
Educaon; Non-formal Educaon; Adult Educaon;
Educaon for the handicapped; Educaon for the
down trodden; educaon for the tribal community.
The Gyan Darshan Educaonal TV Channel of IGNOU,
New Delhi on its compleon of a decade started
catering to, through four channels, dierent cross
secon of audiences in Agra, Chandigarh, Jalandhar,
srir, Trich d Thirthr.
Our Voice (Namma Dhwani), India irtd i September 2001 i Bdikt i
Kr ditrict i Krtk, i rtrhi
voICes, myRaDa, unesCo, d gr r
rr i th Bdkt ri i Kr ditrict.
It trt dic cri frr, Rr
trrr, yth d Chidr d rr
c dt i rtd t rictr,
health, educaon, economic development, children,
th, irt, trrrhi d ctr
aairs of immediate concern.
KONGU Engineering College tbihd CR
its campus on March 31, 2003; It has its [i] vii:H t crt cit ith cc t
Knowledge, Informaon, Parcipaon and Rights. [ii]
mii: Ulize community radio to secure freedom
of expression, general welfare and social upli and
[iii] g: er th r, iitrt, ic
d rchd br th cit t ci
and acquire legimate freedom and entlement
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t b ccihd thrh dii rrit
programs and broadcasng them during 07.30 to
10.00 AM; 12.00 to 02.30 PM; 03.30 to 07.30 PM for
i hr d i th r lctr, sir,
Crc, skit d tic Cit
Dt.
Anna University i Chi,Ti nd
tbihd CR i 2004 cri tdt d d
urban populaon of Kannigapuram, Kourpuramm,
Balajinagar, Saidapet, Lile Mount, Kobaliam,
Chitr nr, vtkr, ithi 10 k
rdi. Trt dic crid stdt, d
brr d hi [70 % dic].
Women listen and also parcipate in the programs
r 11 hr [7 t 6 ]. prr c
w rt; etrrrhi
t; vzhkii v (i t
rr); eih l prr; sd
nrk (fc-t-fc ith th Cit li
Phone-in Interacve Talk Show); Music Program;
scic r; Cr r; Crr
idc; mt ct; ntchthir
nrk (Itri ith r k tr r
the community}; Community maer; Programs
r vi Chd; arki vzh (Hth i
wealth); The CR arranges invite experts, celebries
and academia to parcipate in events or parcipate
i h-i rr. stdt r th Drtt
mdi cic trd t chr Samudhaya
Neerkaanal, i h-i cit rr;
Micavaani CR chd nbr 14,
2005 to serve rural communies within a radius of
ve km and broadcasng programs detailing various
Government schemes for the rural populaon, job
opportunies, best agricultural pracces, alternave
rc t thrh rr idtri,
bi d ric ctr, hth d hi, th
status of women, children educaon and programs
r i chidr;
Holy Cross CR tbihd i th c
H Cr C, Tirchiri, Ti nd
i Dcbr 2006. It trt dic critdt, h kr, th d rr d
broad cast between 6.00 to 10.00 AM and 3.00 to
8.00 PM programs with focus on creang awareness
about crical areas of agriculture, social welfare,
educaon, health and environment; preserving and
promong the tradional wisdom, knowledge and
skills, thereby facilitang promoon of arts, cras,
culture and tradions of the rural populaon, besides
enhancing parcipaon of the local rural community
in development; building capacity through educaon;
providing opportunies to upgrade skills in the eld
thir itrt. It rrrd rt itrt id
range of issues creavely in dierent formats like skit,
zi, k , iz, tk h, dici,
phone in, interviews. Its qualied sta and volunteers
helped the staon to increase their broadcast hours
r t hr t i hr d.
Delhi University CR chd t it sch
o lri ctd i th nrth C
th rit octbr 2, 2007 d ccd
broadcasng between 8.00 and 10.00 AM in the
ri d 5.00 d 7.00 pm ithi rdi 10
km a wide range of programs with focus on creang
awareness on Health, Hygiene; An smoking; Gender
sensizaon; Environment and other issues related
to local communies; Phone-in Programs with the
experts on Health, Educaon, stress management,
Environment, interpersonal relaonship between
parent and children, examinaon stress etc Spreading
r th tdt bt ri crr,
career counseling and broadcasng other socially
relevant programs. Broadcasng the programs of
c d c ch ir, rkh,
lectures, discussions, debates, cultural funcons etc.
for the student communies. Conducng (including
academic counseling) interacve programs for the
tdt rd t sch o lri h
could not get the opportunies for face-to-faceteaching learning process. Broadcasng dierent
cit bd rr ith th h
cit br ridi i th dtd
r d th cit ridi rd Dhi
uirit
Sivanthi CR tbihd i th c
aditr C art d scic, Tirchdr
14th octbr 2007 covering enre city in a
rdi 15 k. It trt dic cri
tdt, d d brdct bt
6.00 AM and 10.00 PM programs aimed at creang
r c cit bt hth
care, educaon, female literacy, self -employment
and environment preservaon.
Sangham CR tbihd octbr 15,
2008 by the iniaves of the Deccan Development
scit Cit mdi Trt i vi mchr
Jhr md i mdk Ditrict, adhr
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prdh. Trt dic i rr r th
marginalized groups in parcular and rural people
i r. prr icd sd rit d
; fd rit d ; w d
bidirit; w d d; orhi; w
d cic rictr; ecic trri
r rr ; Hthcr d t dici;
Hrb cr r i di; mki chidr
educaon relevant to rural milieu; violence against
women; legal educaon for women. Programs also
bd c i i th iht b ii d
r did t th cit ; w sk
t w ith ct c i.
prr r bi brdct di bt 08
and 09.30 pm and has a plan to increase duraon of
brdct t r hr di.
Uarakhand CR [Kumaon Vani] chd
by The Energy Resource Instute on March 11, 2010
i mkhtr ith rdi 10 k d cri
20 i brdct rr eirt,
Agriculture, culture, weather, educaon.
Radio Acve tbihd i th c
Mahaveer Jain college, Bangalore covering enre
cit. It trit di thr t r hr rr
cd eirt, w ert,
Chidr i nd, ai wr, Dibd r,
Human Rights Persons Welfare, besides commied
to educate the children of migrant construcon
rkr, d c dt d r
th brr i r.
Peoples Acon for Rural Development [Vaanoli]
CR cr60 i ith i rdi 12 t 15 K.
It broadcasts from 03.00 PM to 07.00 PM programs
relang to Educaon, Health, Environment and Legal
r, stib arictr Tchi,
Informaon on Government Schemes and creang
legal awareness among its target audience consisng
rr, , , chidr
Jago Mumbai CR tbihd i adhri
[mhrhtr] ith rdi 10 k cr adhri,
Jh, mhi, Brii, Bdr, vr d brdct
rr r it dic t ii i th r;
Radio Namaskarwas launched with an objecve
t rt cicb ik th i
to develop an enabling environment for an all me
connecon among them that will ensure ow of
informaon, benets & access to all amenies and
benets for the targeted people and develop a group
trid d rizd th icdi
r trt r h i ti th t
of project. Its development objecve is to ensure
access to informaon, amenies and benet
ck ridd b i d stt grt
that are quite aordable for the people who are
b t i tht r rit rc. Bid,
facilitate the beneciaries to share & communicate
their problems in a democrac manner with
grievances redressal idened by the Government
drtt. prr dd, brd ci
c rc, d crit, i rt
and youth for development, are broadcast relang to
lc s grc; H Riht; Riht t fd,
Informaon and Educaon; Disaster Management;
gdr eit; scit pc; sri idi
trade & culture for its target audience comprising
students, shermen, women and farmers.
ThAJK Mass Communicaon Research Center
Ji mii Ii uirit, Dhi chd
Ji CR i 2005.a ngo chd TaRar CR
on October 23, 2008 i orch Bdkhd,
mdh prdh. RagHav CR chd i 2006
i mrr, vihi Ditrict Bihr t brdct
prr etrtit d Hth.
stdi r tht CR tbihd i c d
university campuses in cies have indeed achieved
their objecves to some an extent. It is high me to
create signicant awareness among rural populaon
i rct ci-cic dt rrbi itd b th grt d bic
sector banks, namely Naonal Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme, Swaranjayan Gram Rozgar
Yojana, Naonal Rural Health Mission, Integrated
Child and Women Development Scheme, Naonal
liihd mii, Bhrt nir, s-H-
gr Bk lik prr, pi d Irc
ch, rd d crit tc. It i cr
to evaluate the eecveness of the exisng operang
CR t dir th dtd rt d di th
ic t tbih CR d cidr tbihi
t t CR i ch bck r thi thrh t
th ctr dri th i 12th fi yr p
[2012-17].
(The author is Doctoral Research Scholar,
Dept. of Agricultural Communicaon, College of
Agriculture, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and
Technology, Pantnagar 263145 (Uarakhand),
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fr th t t d h r t
th bckrd wd iKr k t th ch thir
Community Radio-Radio Maolli. If you are
in Wayanad you can tune in to Radio Maolli at
90.4 mHz rc r 6 t 10 . lctd
t Drk, mthd i wd Ditrict,
thi Cit Rdi i diitrd
by Wayanad Social Service Society, an NGO with 36
years of experience in development intervenons in
wd Ditrict.
Radio Maolli which was launched in
2009 h cc d d t
fr. Th Jh Thrk, Dirctr th Rdi
h r t b h. ltt r h tht
br di itr c t 24.05% th
populaon. In demographic gures of the district
( r 2011 c) it c t 2,00,056 .
Community Radio Mattoli ; Voice of Voiceless
Sudha S. Namboothiry
Bt i k d cci itr th
Radio Maoli are included, the gures will be74.05% (6,10,539). Another interesng factor is 56%
dd Rdi st r iti t cit
rdi rr, hr 40% thir bi h
to tune into Maoli.
accrdi t fr. Thrk, Cit Rdi i
th rct t t rid crhi kd,
tch, r, d rt tc. t
trtd dic. Rdi hd r hd
r thr di ik r d tii ic
itrt c rd r r ht
and viewing television means dedicang me for
tht d thr i d r ctricit i th r
t. Bt c it t rdi d d thr
rk it. Thi i t b td tht bt
30,000 families in Wayanad do not have electricity
connecon.
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Kurukshetra January 20122525
Radio Maoli is the rst Community Radio
ric i Kr d th ctric di i
th stt t brdct rr i trib dict
di. Th rr hich i crii
educaon, informaon health etc. is daily aired
at 2.30 PM and at 8.05 PM. Radio Maoli has alsochd n sthr a sci scic
Popularizaon Program supported by Kerala State
Cci r scic, Tch d eirt.
Thi i brdctd i c dict . art r
this there are the regular features like reecons
on Gandhian thoughts, Interacon between ocials
d bic, rr r rrd
b , itrdci ri bk d c
ibrri, hth rr, rr jb
ritd trii , cr tc. w th Rdi
i ii t it ii ridi
for the free ow of benecial informaon aimed
t brii ci cic ch i th cit.
a th rr ird r t rtd
b c , itr h idit
emoonal aachment with the presenter and the
message is eecvely received. The target groups
cit ri rr, idi , dit,
rictr brr d chidr. Hc
such an emoo bdi i ch rird fr.
Thrk. Th d t h th
bi i rdr t trt .
Radio Maoli has even formed Maoli clubs in
ch. ot th 288 ch i th ditrict 91 ch
haveMaoli clubs. Members of these clubs get achance to broadcast their programmes over Maoli.
This inculcates leadership quality, creavity,
presentaon capability and awareness in children.
Th t dr xr t th rd
ctric di.
Started with an inial investment of Rs.
58 kh, hich d r irtrctr d
year funconing of Radio Maoli, today it has the
support of NABARD, Coee Board, Kerala State
arictr Drtt d th iitd crci
spots permied by the Ministry of Informaon &Broadcasng. Need not say Radio Maoli is here to
i ic t th ic d h th xr
th ci, cic, ctr d
irit i rdr t k th tr thir
own desnies.
(The author is Media & Communicaon Ocer,
PIB, Cochin)
S U B S C R I P T I O N C O U P O N(For Ne Membership/Reneal/Change in Address
I want to subscribe to_________________________________________(Journals name & language) or
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Kurukshetra January 20122727
Development communicaon is an
irtt t hich h ccrtd
rr dt cr th b.
These techniques have provided potenals foreconomic growth, eecve governance and social
empowerment. For the rst me, voices of rural
populaon have been echoed through this medium
and a posive trend towards social change has
been extensively noced ever since this medium
has been implemented. Pung forward the ideas
idiid, r d cit i th k
idea behind development communicaon. This
i t i bd th id tht cc
rural development requires conscious and acve
parcipaon of the beneciaries at every stage
th dt rc d rr ch
Development Communication:Intensifying Rural Development in India
Subhashree Sanyal
cannot take place without changes in atudes
d bhir th ccrd. It i
aimed to collect and exchange informaon among
h r jr tkhdr i idt rjct, ith th i rchi
c th dt rb bi
faced and the opons for their soluon. It aims
to mobilize people for development acon and to
it i i rb d idrtdi
that may and apply communicaon technology to
training and extension programmes, parcularly at
th rrt , i rdr t ir thir it
d ict ici d rr. Dt
communicaon is an important interface for
implemenng Informaon and Communicaon
Technology (ICT) iniaves in rural India.
Development Communication is an important discovery for shaping rural change. This method
can be of assistance in solving and designing projects and programmes that take into account the
opinion and capacities of the beneficiaries. Many projects aiming at technological upgradation
and implementation of ICT in rural areas have failed in the past because of lack of willingness
among rural people to absorb such schemes.
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Kurukshetra January 20122828
Development Communicaon and Rural Development: Exploring the Inter-linkages
Method of
development
Communication
Description of the technique of
development communication
Impact on Rural Development
Community Radio It i ccti d b th cit,
trt r dti. It i di hich
rid ic t th rr ti
ci th t ctd b ci d
itic riizti.
Cit Rdi i brdcti t
tbihd b th rt ciic
cit, rtd b th cit
r th r th cit
r.
Rr dt i t ici
dt. sctr c d ki
th ic th rr citi rch
th rt ci th ci
xcdd h i rti
d ch bd dbck d
rb hihihtd.
Cit rdi i irtt t
it h iitit bttr rc d
ccti rticiti i rr Idi.
ParticipatoryVideo
prticitr vid (pv) i t tchi t i r r cit
i hi d crti thir i
r dctri. It rticit
t id it t b crti
d t thir tri bt dirt
i.
scc rr dt i iit rticitr rt. prticitr
id i r t tht c h
bid tr cit ic ti
rit i d c b rd id
t dirt ic kr.
Documentaries Dctri r hrt i brii
t crti th r i ci
irtc. Thi i d r
hci crti i, rb r
t ti. It i rtrd
ith th h Cii scit Iititi dth tt.
It i rd thrh cit
ii ith th rt ngo,
Cit Bd rizti.
I hich r brrir t rr
dt c b hihihtd. p
c b ihtd bt thir riht
d chic.
ot dctri c b h
rc ci cti d t
r brii bt dt i
th ri. fr x; br
dctri dt idcd
dict h b rc
ci rti i sir, wt B.
Folk Media fk di i Idi i d t
t th di rthr th th
ctr cicti rt t rch
80% Idi tt ti h i i
th i.
fk mdi i tt rt ith it r ic, dc, ti,
riicti, ic bd rcitti,
rii d ti tr. It icd
cri, rit, bi d ci
t. It rjct ci i, cr
th d ir .
Trditi di h hd rd
rtiti, ct d cit bd
brrir i dirt rt rt th
ctr.
Thrh kr, c b
ttrctd trd th id t
hitic dt.
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Kurukshetra January 20122929
Grassroots
Comics
grrt Cic i rrtti
i cit di. It i r
thd cicti thrh hich
rrt ic c b rctd.
I ik rc, tr, riht t
dcti h b cc dtith i thi t di. m
biizti it ticid h
b iititd i rr Rjth ith
th h cic dtrti cr
i.
Th id rrt cic i tht
c crt i d tr
i ci irtc d
dtrt it cr th i r
idr cti d ci t.
a c dr cic r ici thir
.
It i cc cit t r
r rti i rr Idi.
I tt ik up, adhr prdh, thi
thd i id d.
Community
Newspaper
Cit r i r
di dt cicti
it i rct cit ic. It i
crtd b ccti cit
rt hr i, iti,
dt, rb, cc tri
c b hrd. It i hrd b
rb cit r i.
Rr dt rt c b
hihihtd thrh thi di. It
c b di hr thd
rictr dt, hth cr,
rt d r
d rd i th cit.
Street Theatre strt thtr i c d
cicti. It i i rrtti
cti thrh di ct hr
t th cit r rchd.
u th irti i td thrh
tri hr di d dc
r r d t rrt i.
Dt rt ik r
rtiti rctic, bit
di chidr t ch, rti
chid rri d dr, ct bd
dicriiti c b iititd.
Puppetry pt h c b d
di cicti. I dirt
rt rr Idi tr i
d t cit rticiti i
h c.
pt r d t rtr ctr,
t d itti brii t
ci d r r th rr
citi.
pc hr thtr ct b rchd,
idi rt thrh t
h c bri bt rr ch
d trti r rr rth.
acctbiit tr i hihr i
rr r hc r rr
ch c b rd bttr.
Bioscope Bic i i dt
cicti t. It crri th id
tri ci. I Idi Bic i
r d thd i cicti.
Bic bri hrt i bd
iititi trd rr ch d
r
vi cicti h th rtt
ict r ch, ri, dti
d dt i ccrd. Bic
c dd t kd d ccit
bidi i rr r.
Photography Cit bd htrh c
b r t r dt.
Dtrti i th cit thrh
htrh i r t cri
ch, ic d ii
phtrh r d hr di
thtr, tr r bic i
t rchb. Th c rrt
dr rt d id r
rr dt th ddi t
rr dcti i rt r th
ctr.
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Kurukshetra January 20123030
Dt Cicti i irtt
dicr r hi rr ch. Thi thd
c b itc i i d dii
rjct d rr tht tk it cct
th ii d cciti th biciri.
m rjct ii t tchic rdti
d itti ICT i rr r h
id i th t bc ck ii
rr t brb ch ch. n
irriti rr, iititi r idi
riti cr, dcd chir
i th id h id bc thi i
cctc rr
. Dt
cicti h b c thd hich
h idd brii bt
ttitdi d bhir
ch
i rr Idi thrh
it i r-
rch d t.
D t
Cicti itii
th rr dt rc b biizi rr
r dt cti d ri
irti ccrd ith
dt iititi. I rr dt
rjct r d ith th biciri
th, thr i cit rhi
th rr, r thi r thr i cti
biizti dirt tkhdr hich h
itti cti d bici. mthd
ik dctri, cit rdi, cic, d
cit r r i ridi
di-i kd cr citi d
cc tr i rch thr
rti i ch. Cicti thd
k th di d t ic
biciri ciitt rdii d
itri rt iititi cti.
scc tri c b hrd d bt rctic
c b dtd ith thi r t. adi-
i di it i cicti
d crhi rr ti. It
t ciitt i dtrti i r
x cri, ri
rtiizr d
chizd t dir r rr d
thr biciri.
ICT d thr
dcd tchic
ciiti b th
r t tchic
ti d dct
i rr Idi bt itt c
b d i thr i iiti d brbi thi tch.
Dt cicti i cti
t hich c brid thi cctbiit d
cr cciht iititi i
rr dt cti.
The author isAssistant Professor, Department
of Social Work, Jadunath Sarkar School of Social
Sciences; Assam University, Silchar-788011;
e-mail: [email protected]
Development Communicaon
intensies the ruraldevelopment process by
mobilizing rural people for
development acon and
ensuring an informaon ow
among all concerned with a
development iniave.
Many projects aiming at technological upgradation and
implementation of ICT in rural areas have failed in the past because
of lack of willingness among rural people to absorb
such schemes.
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Irti d Cicti tchi
(ICT) h tti r cic rth
d ci rt. Dirct r idirct
icti ICT, i rr dt ctr
h b rrrd t Rr Irtic.
Rr ci c b bitd r ICT b
ci ci rdcti, ci cti
d ci ric i th rr r. stid
dt i rr irtic i ib,
i ICT itrti r b t rd t
th c d d r-djt r th riikd (Trditi Kd st- TKs)
th rr r. T ctr th d d c
kd rt t th rrt, th
itrti hd rrb h cti
bi-dircti ik. Th iccti Citiz-t-
grt (C2g) d Citiz-t-Citiz (C2C)
itrc d rid thi ik tht d
d t cit rticiti i di d
ICT for Rural Development : A View
A. Abdul Raheem
itti ICT itrti. Thi i rtr
cd ri bttr cic rtiti
ci ici rr i th
rc rc. sch ttribt i th
ci t r ti rriit r d
rc d rr dt.
Rural Development & Governance
I th rr ctxt, dt i
use of physical, nanci d h rrc r
cic rth d ci dt thrr ci. Th tr rr dt
rrt irt i it i rr
i i. Rr Dt i trt
to enable a specic group of people, poor rural
d , t i r th d thir
chidr r ht th t d d d rr
Dt rc di t tib
irt i th it i rr ,
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Kurukshetra January 20123232
especially the poor. The fact of the maer is that
thr rtr th rd r, bt 900
ii r i rr r, d th mii
rt trt t b mii Dt g
(mDg), ct b t th rd ddr
rr rt. stib Rr Dtcan make a powerful contribuon to four crical
goals of Poverty Reducon, Wider shared growth,
Household, naonal, and global food security
d stib tr rrc t.
Hc rdid thr i ri hi
dt rr c th ctri.
a irt, i th ci r cic tt
rr r d t jt
directly benet rural poor
bt d bri d
the migraon-pressureson cies and contribute
by posive ripple eect
i b trid trd
dt.
Th rc
dt i ctr
i t b idd b it
rc. Th
rc hd b
to develop capacies that are needed to realise
dt tht i ririt t th r, d
creates needed opportunies for employment and
thr iihd. Icrd br r, hr
r riid i ctr rrt
dcr i it it rc. T rt
dt, ri tdi h rd
governance in the contextual realies of each
country, including veritable parcipaon of cizens
i th rt dcii-ki rc.
Several instuons and experts accept Governance
as a reexive process, wherein policies, instuons,
tc d i itrct, t xii th
process of parcipatory developmt.
ICT & Governance
ICT i itr rt dt
trti bth di d dd
countries. It has great potenal to bring in the
desired social transformaons by enhancing
access to people, services, informaon and other
tchi. ICT applicaons can enhance poor
peoples opportunies by improving their access
to markets, health, and educaon. Furthermore,
ICT c r th r b xdi th rt ric, d rdc rik b idi
access to micro nance. Th ICT r
development are acvely promoted, for economic
development, job-creaon, rural development and
poverty-alleviaon. By adopng ICT in mid 1990s,
public sector underwent a major transformaon.
Applicaon of ICT in processes of governance
c b cidrd i t
ctri viz.r iri
rt rc
d cd r bidi
interacon with and within
cii cit. Th x
th rr ctr r:
disseminaon of public
informaon grievance
rdr chi,
ulity payments and billing
services. This intervenon
ICT i bic di,
d b grt, i
rrrd e-Government.
Secondly, ICT improves civil society parcipaoni th ri rc, hich i rrrd
e-Governance. -grc h rtr c
and connotaon than e-Government, even though
rdiri th tr r d itrchb.
e-Governance permits new ways of parcipaon
of cizens and communies for debang. sch
interacons facilitate provision of accurate
informaon about social problems and their
possible soluons. It empowers communies to
dtri thir tr b di -
ecacy and collecve ecacy. Indeed if Goodgrc di t Dt i th
rc, th -grc r
to aain this goal.
e-Governance for Rural Development
Rr -grc c provide mely
informaon to the cizens and have the potenal
Sustained development using
rural informatics is possible, only
if ICT interventions are able to
respond to the local needs and
re-adjust as per the prevailing
knowledge (Traditional
Knowledge Systems- TKS) of the
rural areas.
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Kurukshetra January 20123333
to spawn innovave means of wealth generaon
i rr ctxt. ICT c ir ii tdrd
i rt d rr r b ridi irtt
commercial, social and educaonal benets.
ectric ric ctr h it r t ,
especially in reaching out to the marginalized secons
ii i rt r. I di c
like India, ICT has development applicaons in
educaon, governance, environmental monitoring,
health, human rights promoon, economic growth
and other areas. An earlier research conrms that
transacon costs have substanally reduced by
adopng automated supply chain management
d r i rictr rdc. othr
tdi h tht -rt rjct r
cc i rr Idi it ct itrdirbt rt d rciit, hi ri
commercially sustainable objecves.
Hr, i th hih icidc rt
in rural India, e-Governance implementaon to
cover 135 million rural poor is an increasingly
cx rc. Th cc tri -grc
i rr Idi r itd c, d tht
tt th Idi xric i tr t
irtt rtr viz. i cctd d
i trrd r t t ii. athhthere are more than y grassroots projects
crrt i dr ICT r dt i Idi,
since no systemac study or evaluaon has been
conducted on ICT based projects so opportunies
to learn the diverse creave Indian experience so far
remain almost enrely wasted. An e-Governance
iniave Gyandoot*, h tht thh it i
supposedly popular, its usage is sll low and that it
is not eecve for the poorest of poor in the rural
ri. with rrc t i th- Idi,
how do we build eecve Informaon Systems that
are premised on emancipaon in a rural seng (of
southern villages of India) Exisng e-Governance
d r r tch ctric, hich h
b d r t d th d t ct
r rr dt i ctxt di
ctri ik Idi.
sch brti r ICT itrti i
th rr ctxt r r tr r thr
di ctri t. eri tdi h
tht th ci tht r bi d
bt th tti ICT r dt r
t rtd, d it t th ib ctr-rdcti ct th ICT . I th r
tch ctric rch id th diit
diid bt dd d drdd.
Th d rc iititi r rt
iti h t trtd it ci d
d t ck ititti chi d t
r th rt ititti diiibri
thr i d t b ctiti
rdct ri r trditi kd
th ri. Thr i r citd ith
dt th irti i rjct
hr th rr rt, diit
d rrti trditi tchi r
t cidrd. I i ch iitti, it i
irtt t r trti rch
t rr -grc rjct.
Conclusion
ICT iititi i rr dt hi
dti r ttic rch r
itrti Trditi Kd st
(TKs) d ICT it t r tibiit
rr -rc. a th itrtr rtd
t rr dt d -rc h
idictd ri i idi cc ch
iititi. Th i i r ck citi
ctt r rr citi d idt
rticiti rr citi i di
rr ICT iititi. Thi r thrr id
tht th th t-rch t itrt
th rt TKs ith ICT iititi i
th di -rc t r rrdt.
(The author is Assistant Professor, Dept
of Economics, The New College, (University of
Madras), Chennai-14, e-mail: abdulraheem_
[email protected]. and abdulraheem1967@
redimail.com)
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edcti trt ith th r
th rir d tit c
dt. It r d
xr th c d r r di
r dcti t . prt gdr
eit d er w, t iit dr
dirit i rir d cdr dcti, d
t dcti i cr t rch th
r i ir dcti r ir chidr.
I th iht thi, th r rci thtdcti r ir chidr i Idi i ci i
ch, hich r rticr rtd t
di d i tr trtd it iccibiit
hihr dcti t th k, it
dcti rr d riizti. I
rct ti, Ditc edcti h rd
h t t i th
itct thrh ciiti kd,
di th t rdic thd thiki
Open Learning as A Tool to Promote GenderEquality in Rural India
Dr. Raju Narayana Swamy
th rdri th r -dirctd d r
thiki. It c t th ri t dir c
t rhic brd d dir ti.
Thi r crci xi th ditc
dcti rr i rti t th cct
rt . gdr ttr
i b d t ktch cci d k
rcdti.
Introducon
Th rti di ir chidr i
Idi h r itht rcii th t bic
dcti h ttrctd icrd ciic ttti.
Thi crii i r i rr r tht k rr
xtt ir i Idi t ch. art
s r tht th chi c
i th jr ditr cic d
ci ch. nthi rb i irtt
td i th itic c dt
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dt rciti itic, cic d
ci rticiti d drhi .
Th uitd nti mii Dcrti
hi th d r rti dr it,
rt d rti bic
dcti r r. I thi itc, th c d ditc ri thdi i
ridi cti itrc ki bc
iitb. Th uitd nti mii
Dt g (mDg) hich i t iht
ti-bd, ccrt d ciic trt r
itd :
g 1: erdict xtr rt d
hr.
g 2: achi ir rir dcti.
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and
r .
g 4: Rdc chid rtit.
g 5: Ir tr hth.
g 6: Cbt HIv/aIDs, ri d thr
di.
g 7: er irt tibiit
(Ri, e. T, arik, B. arikr, t.., 2010.).
Women empowermentert i th rc chi
xiti r rti d ii rtr
ctr r th rc r. Th
rt r t ch
trirch id t trr th trctr
d ititti tht rirc d rtt
(B.s, 2006, .10.). mrxit Thrit i
c dirc i th rd br. Th tr
t tbih th rtihi bt citi
d trirch. Th xitti, brditi,
d ri xit th rt dit c
(th ) d rtir trd r
th rt th rd c, th . B
rt d b b t d
-t, cidc, ri thir tti
d hc thir ccti r. gdr
tdi i trib citi h tht it i ci
cditii, d t bi tht cct r
gender differences between masculine and
feminine (Hajira, Kumar & Jaimon, Varghese,
2005, .24.).
frid (1992) rt d
rr rt. It xi th
itrrtihi bt th r r
rt. Thr i cr
itrrtihi d r bt th.
Th ctr icd Cit rt,
orizti rt, pitic
rt d pchic rt.
Cit rt rr t cc
t d kd d r,
di ki, biiti, cidc
d ctc btii th ridhi d
rt thr , rticiti i ri
ctiiti ith thr . orizti
rt hi kd d
r bt bit tch
r rr dt thrh dt
rictr crti. pitic rt
ic thr rt ici d
dcii tht ct rr citi, chi
t-bd bi, d thr
t dic i cti rr d
rr citi. pchic rt
ic icr i -cidc d-t, rtr titi, iirti,
thi d itrt t d ric
r rr .
Th rt cd b rcizd
biit t drtk br tk
ithr idiid r i r, tht th
h rthr cc t d ctr cit
rrc. It i rcid ti trt
t trth th -bi idiid,
ii d citi, rt d -
rt ci (fth, addi,
2011, p.40.). For Meenaz, Kassam & Femida,
Hd (2004) dcti h b rd
th idictr rt. m th
rib tht h trditi b d
rxi r rt, ch dcti
d t, r bttr dcribd
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Kurukshetra January 20123636
bi ctr r rc rt.
ert rir drtdi th
d th ctr d ci xctti, hich
b bd b dcti.
Women literacy in India
w, t i rr r rrt r
th t-third th rd iitrt dt. Th
ti itrc rt i 8.9 rct. C t
245 ii Idi ck th bic cbiit
t rd d rit. adt itrc rt
r 15 d b r th r 2000 i 46.4
rct ( 69 rct)(Th stt w:
a Rit Chck). Th trd i tt itrc rt
b x i Idi bt th r 1981 d 2001
r :
Table1 Literacy rates by sex in India
(1981-2001)
Particulars 1981 1991 2001
m 56.37 64.13 75.85
f 29.75 39.29 54.16
Tt 43.56 52.20 65.38
Dirc
(m-f)
26.62 24.84 21.69
src: C Idi, vri r
gr ert Rti (geR) r ir
24.8 rct t rir d 4.6 rct t
th r rir (i th 11 t 14 r
r. gir rt t th rir t
i 46.7 rct i 2004-05. at th r rir
t, ir rt i 44.4 rct i 2004-0