Section 1
Background
Information and Communication Technologies are increasingly at the core of strategies aimed at securing the goals of sustainable development and stimulating economic growth in countries around the world. Among others, these technologies are shaping the way social interaction takes place and public services are delivered in some fundamental ways. It is precisely along these lines that the Government of Nepal has placed a great deal of importance on transformative potential of ICTs and positioning these technologies within the larger context of its far reaching developmental aspirations premised around poverty reduction as an overarching goal.
ICTs assume particular significance in the light of fact that efficiency more than ever is now an indicator of competitiveness. As such, nations, private sector entities and people that find the means to become more efficient will advance and prosper.
Among others, ICTs hold the potential to help create conditions for better governance, with more transparent and efficient bureaucracies. Similarly, ICTs can help address structural problems in education systems enabling expanded access to education services as well as help bridge quality gaps in education. ICTs can also significantly improve the health sector by enabling expanded outreach to health care services and driving efficiency through the system.
In addition to the roles these technologies play in development, the sector also offers tremendous prospects for economic growth and employment creation through enablement of IT-ITeS/BPO based business models.
It is within these contexts that the Government of Nepal has accorded high level of policy emphasis for the development ICT sector. Nepal has the opportunity to make a difference by adopting and using ICT as a tool available to reduce the development divide and increase the chances of improving the quality of life of the citizens.
Apart from opportunities however, the ever evolving nature of ICTs also offers a host of challenges from policy perspectives. For one, fast paced technological innovations in ICT domain come attendant with far reaching policy implications which traditional policy formulation approaches fail to address properly. As a result, existing policy provisions in Nepal need to be revisited in the light of dynamism that characterizes the sector.
This policy is premised around the realization that there is an urgent need to formulate strategic responses to account for technological trends shaping the ICT sector. Formulating policy responses in alignment with the dynamism of the sector becomes all the more important given the need to adequately factor in key strategic imperatives impinging on faster uptake of ICTs in the country, namely issues surrounding cyber security, data protection, privacy and respect for intellectual property rights. Equally important is the need to address the challenges posed by technological convergence especially from regulatory and governance perspectives. Given that telecom connectivity is fast expanding across the country, inching closer to saturation point, the focus should now should also shift on demand side fundamentals that need to be strengthened in order to ensure strategic alignment of resourcefulness offered by ICTs with our growth and development aspirations.
ICTs assume particular significance in the light of fact that efficiency more than ever is now an indicator of competitiveness. As such, nations, private sector entities and people that find the means to become more efficient will advance and prosper.
Among others, ICTs hold the potential to help create conditions for better governance, with more transparent and efficient bureaucracies. Similarly, ICTs can help address structural problems in education systems enabling expanded access to education services as well as help bridge quality gaps in education. ICTs can also significantly improve the health sector by enabling expanded outreach to health care services and driving efficiency through the system.
In addition to the roles these technologies play in development, the sector also offers tremendous prospects for economic growth and employment creation through enablement of IT-ITeS/BPO based business models.
It is within these contexts that the Government of Nepal has accorded high level of policy emphasis for the development ICT sector. Nepal has the opportunity to make a difference by adopting and using ICT as a tool available to reduce the development divide and increase the chances of improving the quality of life of the citizens.
Apart from opportunities however, the ever evolving nature of ICTs also offers a host of challenges from policy perspectives. For one, fast paced technological innovations in ICT domain come attendant with far reaching policy implications which traditional policy formulation approaches fail to address properly. As a result, existing policy provisions in Nepal need to be revisited in the light of dynamism that characterizes the sector.
This policy is premised around the realization that there is an urgent need to formulate strategic responses to account for technological trends shaping the ICT sector. Formulating policy responses in alignment with the dynamism of the sector becomes all the more important given the need to adequately factor in key strategic imperatives impinging on faster uptake of ICTs in the country, namely issues surrounding cyber security, data protection, privacy and respect for intellectual property rights. Equally important is the need to address the challenges posed by technological convergence especially from regulatory and governance perspectives. Given that telecom connectivity is fast expanding across the country, inching closer to saturation point, the focus should now should also shift on demand side fundamentals that need to be strengthened in order to ensure strategic alignment of resourcefulness offered by ICTs with our growth and development aspirations.