Financing for ICT for Development in India
March 17, 2008, Xu Weiting, genderIT.org
This article stresses the importance of building synergies between the private sector, civil society and the State in making ICT initiatives sustainable and inclusive. The author points to the difficulties in financing Information and Communication Technology for development (ICTD) projects in India vis-a-vis other social development programmes as also the persisting digital divide even while the IT sector is growing. Referring to the success of Akshaya and SEWA initiatives, the article concludes that the creation of an enabling policy environment is critical for socially inclusive and financially sustainable ICTD projects.