Nepal
Expert Group Meeting on Regional
Cooperation on Follow up to WSIS and
ICT4D
Purushottam Ghimire
Under Secretary
Ministry of Environment Science and Technology
(MOEST) Nepal
Nov 30-Dec 1, 2006 Bangkok
Nepal in Brief
Total Area 147181 Sq Km
Population 23.2 Million
Rural population 88%
Urban 12%
Geographical Division Land Population
Himalayan region 35% 7.45%
Hills and Mountain 42% 44.46%
Low land Terai 23% 47.49%
National Policy for ICT Development
Encouraging private sectors for development and
promotion of IT sector in order to eradicate
poverty
Developing sustainable and competitive IT by
using modern technology in the rural areas,
Introducing new development programs in IT for
socio-economic development
Enter into Information Society
Effectively enter into the Information
Society through extension of
Telecommunication service and enactment
of necessary Policy, Acts and Rules (such
as Electronic Transaction Act, Rules and
Regulations etc
ICT Related Act and Polices of
Nepal
Telecommunications Act 1997 and
Regulation 1998
IT Policy 2000 and (Revised 2006 Process in
the final approval)
Establishment of NTA (Telecom-authority)
Telecommunication Policy 2004
Electronic Transaction Act 2004 ( Ratify form
the Parliament Oct 2006)
ET Regulation IT Tribunal Regulation 2004
ICT Vision and Objectives
Vision
By the year 2015, Nepal will have transformed itself into a
knowledge-based society by becoming fully capable of
harnessing information and communication technologies and
through this means, achieving the goals of good governance,
poverty reduction and social and economic development
Objectives
To make information technology accessible to the general public
and increase employment through this means
To build knowledge-based industries
To build a knowledge-based society
IT Policy and Strategy
1. Strategic focus, legal and regulatory
framework,
2. Infrastructures
3. Content and Application
4. Private Sector Participation
5. Human Resource Development
Institutional Arrangements
Ministry of Environment, Science and
Technology (MOEST)
High Level Commission for Information Technology
(HLCIT)
National Information Technology Center (NITC)
Ministry of Information and Communication
(MOIC)
Millennium Development Goal and
ICT as a Tool
MDG 1- Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
Information Dissemination (through rural tele-center)
Awareness Raising
Increase Productivity (agriculture information)
Efficient Public Service Delivery (Efficient public servant)
MDG 2- Achieve Universal Primary Education
School Net
Education in/ with ICT
School Content on Web
Millennium Development Goal and
ICT as a Tool cont..
MDG 3- Promote Gender Equality and Empower
Women
Equal Access to ICT
ICT Applications on Women’s Initiatives
MDG 4- Reduce Child Mortality
E-health
E-learning
Program dissemination through Media
Online Consultation
Millennium Development Goal and
ICT as a Tool cont..
MDG 7- Ensure Environmental Sustainability
Raising Awareness
Information Dissemination
Geographical Information System (GIS)
MDG 8- Develop a Global Partnership for
Development
ICT friendly Policy, Legislation, Regulation,
Operation, Financial Mechanism & Customer Care
Integration and Harmonization of Sectoral Policies
with ICT application and Services
WSIS Action Lines and National
Initiative Framework
1. Role of Public Government Authorities and
Stakeholders
• Policy & Legislation
• Trade and Investment
• Product/ Service/ Application
2. ICT Infrastructure
• High Speed, High Volume of Voice and Data
Carrying Capacity Infrastructure
• Develop network
WSIS Action Lines and National
Initiative Framework
3. Access to Information and Knowledge
• Easy & Affordable Access to ICT (Tele-center rural areas
V-sat for commercial propose)
• Access to Information
• Access to Media
4. Capacity Building
• Knowledge
• Skill
• Capacity
• Competitiveness
WSIS Action Lines and National
Initiative Framework
5. Building Confidence and Security in Use of ICTs
• Harmonization between Service provider and users
• Fast, Reliable and Secured Service
6 Enabling Environment
. Fair, Stable & Predictable Policy
• Clear, Understandable, Simple Law
• Neutral and Efficient Regulation
• Ensured Market
• Simple and Transparent Procedure
WSIS Action Lines and National
Initiative Framework
7. ICT-Applications: e-government, e-business, e-
learning, e-health, e-employment, e- environment, e-
agriculture, e-science
7.1 Multi Years-Multi disciplinary Project Implementation
for G2G, G2B and G2C Business with Multi Stake
Holder’s Partnership in a transparent way with
Democratic Character
WSIS Action Lines and National
Initiative Framework
8- Cultural Diversity and Identity, Linguistic Diversity and Local
Content
• Digitization of Culture and Language
• Development of Local content
• Application of Local Content
9. Media
• Access to Media
• Access to Information
• Informed Sovereign Citizens
• Responsible Government
• Free Society
• Independent Institution
WSIS Action Lines and National
Initiative Framework
10. Ethical Dimensions of the Information Society
• Fair, Unbiased and Accurate Information
Dissemination
• Strict follow of Ethical Values & Norms on Profession
11. International and Regional Cooperation
• Technical and Financial Support
• Human Resource Development
• Infrastructure Development
• R&D
Challenges
Build a Better Understanding of role of ICT
in Development Endeavor
Infrastructure
Resource Mobilization
Strategic Institutional Restructuring
Effective Implementation ICT application
On Going Initiatives and need for
regional cooperation
Capacity building of MOEST, MOIC and
NTA, Nepal Telecom, and private sector
such as CAN, ITPF, ISPN
Define role of MOIC and MOEST to avoid
overlapping
Prompt, Simple, cost effective and
Transparent public service delivery
On Going Initiatives and need for
regional cooperation cont…
Necessary Legislation in line with ICT Policy
provisions
e-government Master Plan Implementation
Establishment of Rural ICT Centers
Broadening sub-regional initiatives
Strengthening cooperation at the regional level
Facilitating cross-regional cooperation
Thank you