Thousands of years ago at the dawn of human civilization, agricultural society evolved from the plough. In the second half of the eighteenth century, with the advent of the steam engine the industrial revolution took place in Europe. Now at the dawn of the new millennium another revolution of entirely different kind is taking place across the globe -- a silent revolution, much more powerful and all pervasive -- it is information technology revolution. No wonder that the present age is being called the information age.
The term information technology or IT has been replaced by information and communication technology or ICT which involves collection, storage, processing and distribution of information. Computers, internet and electronic communication are integral parts of ICT. Texts, numbers, audios and videos are being exchanged throughout the world without space and time barrier. ICT has accelerated the pace of globalization. At the heart of the startling development in some of the developing countries there lies ICT. Countries having access to and control over information will dominate the world economically and politically.
While the huge march of the ICT revolution is going ahead in many countries, will Bangladesh remain merely a spectator? The problems in Bangladesh surrounding ICT are manifold: very low telephone density, high charge of internet service providers, access of insignificant number of people to internet, the present low speed and efficiency of the communication system in the country, low pace of computerization in various offices and sectors, absence of cyber laws and many things more. In the backdrop of all these, a big event is going to take place at the end of this year. We are going to be connected to the information super highway as fibre optic backbone within the country and the fibre optic submarine cable connection is going to be complete. Suddenly we will be amidst a digital communication system many thousand times more efficient, speedy and powerful. Are we as a nation getting ready for this big arrival?
In Bangladesh, in the ICT sector a large work force with different levels and various expertise is growing. Computer literacy is imparted, computer applications are taught, training given, diploma, bachelor's and master's degrees awarded. Training centres, colleges, computer institutes, private universities and public universities are all contributing in different ways. The related departments are IT, ICT, Computer Applications, Computer Science, Computer Engineering and Telecommunication Engineering. Steps for quality control of computer education of all kinds should be taken. Very soon the need and supply of the ICT work force of different level is to be assessed.
We cannot reap the benefits of ICT if it is confined in selected households in one or two big cities and if we fail to take it to the doorsteps of general people throughout the country. It is possible to open a huge number of cyber centres in the small towns and villages in the country. The cyber centers can be a place where people will get opportunity to send and receive e-mail and can have telephonic talk over the internet. These are the places where people will have access to internet for information on agriculture and business, health service and can have education, entertainment and so on through internet. All post offices can work as cyber centers, in addition to their normal present duties. These cyber centres can be economically profitable for the entrepreneurs. One may raise the question how the illiterate and ill-educated village people can understand English. It may sound like a fiction, but in near future we will find texts in English converted to texts in Bangla, more surprisingly to voice in Bangla! Extensive researches are going on in India to convert text in English to voice in different Indian languages including Bangla. The success is round the corner.
Electronic governance or e-governance is much talked about in this information age. In Bangladesh it can make the government more efficient, transparent and effective. Besides, it can generate an experienced IT workforce which cannot only earn money within the country but fetch huge amount of money from abroad. Although the ultimate hope of IT revolution depends on private enterprise, it is the introduction of e-governance that can trigger the IT revolution in the country as it covers all sectors and the whole country. In e-governance, government can give information to public and public can have access to important information and documents of the government. Public opinion may be sought on various issues as interaction between public and government can be built through internets and websites. People can vent their grievances and lodge their complaints.
Through intranet (unlike internet it does not go to satellite, nor does it leave the country in some other way) the Prime Minister's office may be connected with all the ministries and the ministries may be connected within themselves. The ministries and directorates can have connection with their departments throughout the country. Establishment ministry can have connection with DC offices which in turn can have connection with TNO offices. Through intranet Home Ministry can be connected with BDR, Coast Guard and Ansar Head Quarters and SP offices which in turn can be connected with all thanas. Thanas can have information of all recorded crimes and investigation reports. Electronic databases may be used to store details of crimes committed, list of criminals along with their biometric signatures in the form of photographs and fingerprints. Reliable biometric devices and related software are already available in the market.
Videoconferencing to accelerate decision making reducing the cost of travel and accommodation will result in huge cut in the cost of governance. Progress of different projects in distant places can be monitored from the capital city and divisional headquarters. Tender advertisement and tender bidding for government purchases can be done using the internet. Status of various projects of public interest could be displayed through a web site. All information about different stages, starting from the initial conception of a project, to approval of the project, floating of tender documents and ending up with the awarding of the contract to the bidder could be made available to the general public for the sake of transparency. Advertisement for various posts in the government sector may be put up on the websites of the ministry concerned and candidates may apply through internet.
Government should immediately take steps to create a Central Data Bank for the entire population. Electronic ID cards should be made for each individual. That ID card can be used for voting, opening a bank account, having a license or passport, giving tax or income tax, for obtaining job and so on. Various utility bills like power supply, water supply, gas supply and telecommunications can be paid by consumers through internet. They can interact with these utility agencies regarding inaccurate bills or other complaints.
There can be transparency and safety in land registration if the whole process of registration is computerized. Through Geographic Information System or GIS, with the click of a point on the map information about land, terrain, climate, agriculture, oil, gas, coal, transport, development and demography can be obtained. GIS can be utilized effectively by various ministries.
Bangladesh has great potentialities for earning crores of dollars in foreign currency by providing ICT-enabled services to the foreign buyers. Bangladesh has a time difference of twelve hours with North America and other main market which makes possible easy delivery of ICT enabled services. Availability of large number of computer-trained young people with English base on the one hand and cheap wage of the trained manpower on the other puts Bangladesh in an advantageous position. Political will of the government manifested in the declaration of ICT as a 'Thrust Sector' and its desire to turn Bangladesh into an ICT driven country will definitely help. The prospective ICT enabled services are call centres, medical transcription, data entry, back office processing, insurance claim processing, salary processing, engineering design, translation, animation and many things more.
Some firms in Bangladesh are producing quality software which have great demand both at home and abroad. They, however, face severe competition from the foreign firms as many Bangladeshi buyers have a tendency to buy 'foreign' products. Additional taxes may be imposed on foreign software to boost the local firms. Government will need a large number of software for e-governance and this may give the local talented software developers an opportunity to improve their expertise and gain experience. This will ultimately improve their prospect of getting orders for software from abroad.
Through internet there has been an explosion of information, creation of transparency and a tremendous opportunity for acquiring knowledge and doing research in all disciplines. People have access to libraries, books and journals through internet. Distance education and virtual teachers are made possible widely by using ICT. In Bangladesh education and research can get a strong boost by exploiting all these opportunities.
Telemedicine or e-health care has a great future in Bangladesh. Patients in the remote places can consult the doctors over the internet. In the future distant analysis/transmission may be possible. Using telemedicine, doctors and other caregivers can consult with specialists thousands of miles away, provide diagnosis and treatment, continually upgrade their education and skills; and share medical records and X-rays. Telemedicine or e-health care can be of great help for the health of the rural people. A village can be linked to the health services available inside and outside the country.
Rural economy and health care can be substantially improved with the application of ICT. Farmers can have continued specific advice regarding fertilizers, choice of crops and timing of sowing for their individual plots. They can learn relevant technology. Growers can know the current prices of vegetables, fruits etc. throughout the country and can make their strategy for timing and place for sale of their products.
Taking the advantage of nationwide infrastructure in telecommunication, IT enabled services could be set up in rural areas. Businesses will take the advantage of low cost of office space and lower wages. Standard of living in rural areas will grow. Educated rural youths will get employment. This will help lower the rate of migration to big cities.
Electronic commerce or e-commerce covers many forms of trade of goods and services, all of which rely on the internet to market, identify, select, pay for and deliver these goods and services. Although it originated in developed countries, e-commerce has changed the perspectives of entrepreneurs the world over, including the remote areas of developing countries. E-commerce and e-banking or online banking is in its nascent state in Bangladesh. We should develop e-commerce culture to create such buyers who would expect quick service and supply. Bangladesh can specialize in e-service, any service that can be provided through internet. More and more services will emerge which will be just appropriate for providing through internet.
The recently established Incubation Centre at Kawranbazar, Dhaka with data transmission facility and uninterrupted electric supply will attract companies involved in software and IT enabled services to start their business from the centre. The nation is now eagerly waiting for the establishment of the High Tech Park with all modern infrastructural facilities planned at Kaliakair near Dhaka, which will be a milestone in IT industry, high tech industry and R&D in Bangladesh.
The present government approved the National ICT policy in October 2002 with the aim of building an ICT-driven nation comprising a knowledge-based society. ICT Task Force with Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia as the chairperson has been created for making policy decisions regarding various ICT related activities. A project "Support to ICT Task Force" primarily for introducing e-governance is being implemented. It is much felt that there should be a Centre for E-governance Initiative which will oversee the total ICT implementation in the country thus coordinating all ICT activities. An important and essential unit of this centre should be a National Data Resource Centre where all the information and data can be stored.
To help the ICT sector flourish in the country, there is a great need for an effective legal framework. Suitable legal reforms can create an ICT friendly legal environment which will help this sector grow by attracting investment. A recent amendment of the Copyright Act 2004 incorporating issues related to ICT will reduce the piracy of copyright of an individual or a company. Software, animation and web page can have copyright using this act. Our much desired paperless environment and filing system in our offices needs certain legal protection. To create a smooth environment for e-commerce, to safeguard the dealings over the net and to check the threat to computer communication ICT law should be passed in the parliament. The law needs to have a legal framework that recognizes digital signatures and other electronic documents and have enough provisions to check cyber crimes, which are not covered by existing law of the land. In order to let the IT sector take off, government should pass a comprehensive cyber law without any further delay. Bangladesh is passing through a juncture where the present government has the opportunity to take the nation successfully into the digital world and can thus play a historic role at the dawn of this new millennium.
- by Dr. M. Aminul Islam
Pro-Vice-Chancellor, National University Source: The Daily Star: February 15, 2005
