The beginning of 2009 has been significant, yet full of extremes in the e-Governance and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) arena. On one side, US President Barack Obama is promoting the usage of Internet, on the other hand, we have witnessed the infamous IT giant fraud case courtesy – Satyam. In his endeavour to connect with the masses, Obama plans to pump in investments worth billions of dollars in computerisation of medical records, creation of smarter electrical grids and expanding high-speed Internet access in rural and underserved communities. Also as a matter of fact, Indian government for its e-Governance initiative, is also not leaving any stone unturned in its efforts for connecting the unconnected, which is appreciable in the time
of recession.
While taking into account the current fiscal scenario, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected a growth rate of over 5 percent for India in 2009 and 2010 instead of the earlier projection of 9 percent. Ironically this is the second highest growth rate in the world, at a time, even, the US is expected to make a negative growth rate in these years to come. As the adage goes, ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ and India is emerging as a silver lining in the cloud of super economies.
In our current issue, we have written about how young and old politicians alike are using Internet through blogging to connect to the masses. Also, debates and deliberations on ICT has often taken into account the shift towards m-Governance. To highlight this aspect, Dr. SMS initiative of the Government of Kerala is one such case study which marks such a shift and adds value by providing health information through mobile phones. This is our special focus this month.
We look forward to your comments and feedback on this issue of egov.
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