A challenging task for IBM: Tablet PC @ $150

The President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam asked IBM to join the global knowledge platform by developing low cost tablet PCs and computers based on nano technology.

Students to handle e-Governance in Indian state

Engineering students in Karnataka will now handle e-Governance initiatives of the state government. In a novel scheme aimed at addressing e-Governance glitches faced by several government departments, the Board for IT Education Standards (BITES) in association with the IT department and IBM has launched Project INVITE (Initiative to Nurture a Vibrant Information Technology Ecosystem).

e-Governance ensures transparency and better management

Some states of India are much ahead of other states in the field of e-Governance. The disparity in the impact of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) across the country underscores the uneven economic development. This was the unanimous view of IT experts at a seminar on

Opening windows of public sector IT solutions : Peter Moore, Managing Director, Public Sector, Microsoft

The common knowledge that Microsoft is “a PC running windows” being particularly viewed in developing countries is grossly erroneous and completely out of place. However, the perception of Microsoft varies from country to country in terms of what it does. “We are the only real player that has very strong desktop presence and a very strong server presence,” concurs Peter Moore, Managing Director, Public Sector, Microsoft

Nigeria: e-Ambassadors

In preparation for the final take off of the Nigerian e-government project, prominent governors, ministers and heads of parastatals have been appointed project champions for their various establishments.

‘Indian’ ties up with Amadeus for e-tickets

The National carrier ‘Indian’ has tied up with Amadeus to provide e-tickets to its passengers. IBM will undertake the upgradation of processes and systems at Indian to bring it to International Air Transport Association e-ticketing standards.

Rural mobile services get click in Bengal, NGO becoming catalyst

The Grameen Sanchar Sewak (GSS) scheme, an ambitious pilot project to introduce rural mobile services kickstarted by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Lmited (BSNL) and the Department of Posts in 2002, is ready to be regularised and go national, after a resounding triumph in the Indian state West Bengal.

Creating a connectivity backbone for rural Bengal : Dr. GD Gautama, Principal Secretary, IT, West Bengal

Owing to the fast progress of the state of West Bengal in recent years in IT and e-Governance services, it is now being counted as one among the leading states in e-Governance along with Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. West Bengal is now all set to implement India

From e-Business to e-Government : R. Ramki, Director, SAP Asia Pvt. Ltd.

SAP is a recognised leader in providing collaborative business solutions for all type of industries and for every major market. SAP has increased efficiency, improved accountability and enabled responsive constituent services in more than 1,050 public sector organisations worldwide.

Open Source Software

[This article was published in the June 2005 issue of the eGov Magazine (http://www.egovonline.net) ]

In most developing countries, the adoption of a national programme can prevent technological lock-in through selective, judicious and
cost-effective use of open source software.