Telecentres & Services Infrastructure
Decrypting e-governance: Narratives, power play and participation in the Gyandoot Intranet
2007, T T Sreekumar, The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries - Vol. 32
This study takes a critical look at the view that e-governance is an administrative innovation facilitated by the application of ICTs. It argues instead that e-governance should be conceived as a complex social process involving attitudinal change as well as a transformation of the traditional forms of governmentality. The empirical part of the study comes from field research conducted in Madhya Pradesh, India on Gyandoot, an intranet based government to citizen (G2C) service delivery portal.
CSCs scheme in West Bengal
August 05, 2007, I4d Online
This is an interview with the Joint Secretary of West Bengal State Rural Development Agency. He talks about challenges and implementation plans, while highlighting that the village panchayat is in charge of implementing the Common Service Centres (CSC) scheme in the state and not the IT department. This is significant, since implementation of e-governance projects by the IT department is seen to be the primary reason of failure of these projects.
Using stakeholder theory to analyze telecenter projects
2007, Savita Bailur, MIT Press Journal
Involving stakeholders is often seen as a means to more successful information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) projects. Hence, it can be appropriate to research ICT4D projects by taking both the perspective of stakeholder theory and using the tools of stakeholder analysis. This paper uses the example of telecenter projects to illustrate the application of a stakeholder perspective, selecting the specific case of the Gyandoot telecenters in Madhya Pradesh, India.
Social impact and diffusion of telecentre use: A study from the Sustainable Access in Rural India project (SARI)
2006, Rajendra Kumar and Michael Best, The Journal of Community Informatics
In a study of social diffusion of telecentreuse in rural south India, the authors find that these centres are being used only by a relatively small proportion of the village households despite their having been in operation for well over a year. Based on a survey of the telecentre users, they find that these users are, in general, young, male, school or college students, relatively more educated, belong to relatively higher income households, and come from socially and economically advanced communities.
ICT for development: Hope or hype?
November 9, 2006, Athar Osama, Scidev.net
The author contends that serious problems of development must first be confronted before the potential of ICT for development can be fulfilled. Despite the many examples of 'successful' projects, mainly in India, the myths of ICT in development abound.
What works: n-Logue's rural connectivity model
December 2004, John Paul, Digital Dividend
In a country where rural telecommunications infrastructure has traditionally been installed only through licensing obligations, n-Logue Communications Ltd. has created a for-profit business model designed to affordably meet the latent demand for rural connectivity. n-Logue aims to fulfill its stated mission of "significantly enhancing the quality of life of every rural Indian" by setting up a profitable network of wirelessly-connected Internet kiosks in villages throughout India.
Development informatics - Reaching the rural India role of NIC
February 2006, D.C. Misra, Dr. N. Vijayaditya, National Informatics Centre
This paper provides an account of some of the major initiatives undertaken by National Informatics Centre (NIC) in collaboration with Indian government in the area of Development Informatics, particularly touching the rural domain. NIC has been spearheading the application of ICT to streamline government functioning across the length and breadth of the country, and right down to the grassroots level.
Connecting rural India: Taking a step back for two forward
February 2006, Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Anuradha Ramachandran, Sangamitra Ramachander, Information Technology in Developing Countries
This article looks into the impact of rural internet kiosks and attempts to assess how much has been collectively learned in India regarding physical connectivity, availability of computers and equipment and the business model used to scale up processes.
Creating a participatory telecentre enterprise
2002, Raul Roman and Royal Colle, Cornell University
This paper looks at the obstacles to community participation in telecentre operations and suggests some approaches that have the potential to increase participation, especially that of women. Cultural barriers pose a serious problem to ICT access, and the authors cite their work in India on training women's self-help group members, as a worthwhile means of promoting their empowerment.
Cybercafes and their potential as community development tools in India
Anikar M. Haseloff
It is often argued that cybercafes could help bridge the digital divide, as they provide Internet access to people who cannot afford to have Internet connections at their homes or who need help in order to make use of ICTs. The following study seeks to test this assumption, and also explore the problems and potential of cyber-cafes.
