IT Experience in India: Bridging the Digital Divide

Citation

Kuchi, T. (2005), "IT Experience in India: Bridging the Digital Divide", The Electronic Library, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 147-148. https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470510582853

Digital divide – “the consequence of … poverty, social inequalities, inadequacy of resources, illiteracy, corruption, injustice, poor health, and lack of public services” is the central focus of IT experience in India: Bridging the Digital Divide. This book discusses the effects of unequal investment of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on developed and developing countries that have given rise to the digital divide – the gap between the information haves and have‐nots. The editors identify four types of digital divides from experiences and analysis discussed at a workshop held in Bangalore, India. The objective of the workshop was to “explore how, if at all, new technologies of information and communication could increase social equity and strengthen cultural diversity.”

The four digital divides recognized in this work are interrelated and discussed in the context of Indian experiences. The first divide is the difference between individuals due to economic and social conditions within their country. This is reflected in the inadequate use of, or lack of availability of, ICTs among poorer people. The second digital divide identifies linguistic and cultural differences. This divide is very visible and obvious, especially in multilingual countries such as India. The third divide is identified as the growing differences between rich and poor countries. The level of investments in ICTs and English language being the primary language in which all these technologies are developing clearly increases the digital divide between rich and poor countries. Further, a fourth divide due to ICTs is seen as the rapid growth of a “new elite group” termed Digerati. These constitute sort of the nouveau riche who primarily work with and invest in ICTs related business. There is doubt that this group's riches and high rate of growth will trickle down to the rest of society, especially the poor.

The main idea of “How, if at all, can ICTs be used to ensure the fulfillment of essential human needs and to further basic human rights?” resonates throughout the book. The importance of weighing the needs and problems of the people against investments in ICTs as solutions seems to be the theme of the ten chapters of the book. These chapters present a range of views and approaches to the discussion of application of ICTs. Two chapters discuss the regulation and liberalization of India's telecom industry and its implications; a chapter on development of a food security system discusses an information experiment; three chapters about information technology and diversity, governance for the poor, and digital development provide insights into the role of technology investments. A couple of chapters deal with the creation of information technology resources in Indian languages and the issues and politics of this process. The final chapter draws similarities of technology development and growth in Silicon Valley and Taiwan to the Indian experience. Overall, the book comprehensively covers what it seeks out to do – present a range of perspectives on understanding basic needs versus using technology as solutions to address those needs.

Despite the content of the book mainly covering information related to India, it provides general insights for any country that has to make choices between allocating resources to ICTs versus basic needs and priorities. This book is a must read for social scientists, policy planners, libraries, and information technology related organizations. The lessons offered in this book can help plan digital investment more strategically so as to ensure a fair distribution of resources, which will lead towards a more equitable development and a smaller digital divide in the future.