] Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are powerful tools for stimulating economic growth and social change. The quality of, and access to, information are critical to the successful application and adoption of ICTs by society. Technological developments have moved at such a pace that a relatively modest investment can enable very rapid capacity-building of information infrastructure. The internet, cell phones, fax machines and pagers are a way of life in modern society. The Information Technology Act, 2000 of India, has provided legal recognition for transactions carried out by means of electronic data interchange and other means of electronic communication, commonly referred to as "electronic commerce". This brought a sea change in documentation and mode of communication. Today the software industry in India is nearly 10 billion dollars strong, with a flat domestic market of 2 billion dollars contributing 16% of nation's exports.
Internet Subscribers in India (As on 30.09.2002) 3870437 (Source : Ministry of Telecommunication, Govt. of India.)
| Date | Internet Connections | Users |
|---|---|---|
| August 15, 1995 | 0.002 | 0.01 |
| March 31, 1996 | 0.05 | 0.25 |
| March 31, 1997 | 0.09 | 0.45 |
| March 31, 1998 | 0.14 | 0.7 |
| March 31, 1999 | 0.28 | 1.4 |
| March 31, 2000 | 0.9 | 2.8 |
| December 31, 2000 | 1.8 | 5.5 |
| (Projections) | ||
| March 31, 2001 | 2.3 | 7 |
| March 31, 2002 | 4.5 | 13.5 |
| December 31, 2003 | 10 | 30 |
The number or ratio of social minority group such as PWDs, women, elderly, poor, rural area, using Internet is summarized as below : -
India has 88,731 ( as per news in Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications on Oct. 2002 ) broadband Internet subscribers; this number will grow to 126,557 in 2003, and to 162,880 in 2005.
| Year | Total | Urban | Rural |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-1996 | 1.3 | 4.0 | 0.3 |
| 1996-1997 | 1.6 | 4.8 | 0.3 |
| 1997-1998 | 1.9 | 5.8 | 0.4 |
| 1998-1999 | 2.3 | 6.9 | 0.5 |
| 1999-2000 | 2.9 | 8.2 | 0.7 |
| 2000-2001 | 3.6 | 10.6 | 0.9 |
| 2001-2002 | 4.3 | 12.2 | 1.2 |
| 2002 (Dec 31) | 4.9 | 13.7 | 1.4 |
| No. of Subscribers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| March 1998 | March 1999 | March 2000 | |
| Total | 882361 | 1199578 | 1884311 |
There are over 1.417 crore ( 14.17 million ) mobile phone subscribers in India as of may 2003.
Numbers of mobile phone users are expected to surge to 12 crore (120 million) by 2008, making the sector one of the hottest markets for global telecom majors.
In India the usage charges of Internet remain one of the highest in the world. Internet dial up is still charged as local calls, netting approximately Rs.26 per hour to the BSNL/ MTNL. Add to it the ISP charge of Rs.10 per hour. A typical household with 3 hours of Internet access per day would need nearly 3500 per month to have access to the net.
Drive against the digital divide - The Department of Information Technology, Government of India & the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab, USA have jointly conceived the Media Lab Asia. The objective being to address the challenges of poverty, literacy, education, health, employment and micro - entrepreneurship through the use of information and communication technologies on a large scale.
Media Lab Asia is intended to be a distributed organization that will work with industry, non government organizations (NGOs), government and most importantly, ordinary people to bring the benefits of innovations in information and communication technologies to communities across all of India.
Majority of the population in developing countries live in rural areas, while the majority of the Rehabilitation facilities exist in the cities. In India, for example, 80% of the population is served by only 20% of doctors. This leaves nearly 11% of the world's population that resides in the rural India without access to high quality healthcare. Knowledge transfer to these areas has traditionally been difficult to achieve. ICTs, however, are increasingly being used to facilitate two-way information exchange in healthcare, providing isolated communities with access to the latest health information and treatment and informing officials of rural public health issues.
Telerehabilitation is a new concept, the Ministry and National Institutes ( Details of National Institutes in the area of disability rehabilitation are available in the next section ) are looking for reaching to the unreached.
Telerehabilitation may be described as the uses of technology such as video cameras, computers, telephones, video phones and internet to provide rehabilitation services to beneficiaries who live a distance away from rehabilitation experts
Telerehabilitation program also seeks to use computer & internet to improve the quality of life of disabled person, by allowing him/her to
Application of Tele-Rehabilitation
A National level ( Covering All places in India ) Telephonic help line for Persons with disabilities is under consideration. The help line will provide information about all disabilities, about various centers available for diagnosis, fitment of aids & appliances, training & employment guidance.
The salient features of the system are
This Speech Enabled Interactive Voice response system (IVRS)
Connectivity to Information database or CRM
Fax on demand
E-Mail Management
Speech recognition & Text to Speech
Mobile connectivity
Also it is proposed to setup barrier free Information kiosks which can be easily accessible by persons with disability.
The mandate of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India is to ensure social justice to and empowerment of the disadvantaged and marginalized sections of the society such as Persons with disabilities, victims of alcohol and drug abuse, Children in need of protection and care, aged persons etc.
As per survey done by National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) in 1991, about 1.9 percent of the total population of the country at that time i.e. 1.61 crore persons had physical or sensory disabilities which included visual, speech, hearing and locomotor disabilities. In a separate survey of children ( age 0-14 years ) with delayed mental development, it was found that 29 out of 1000 children in the rural areas have developmental delays which are usually associated with mental retardation.
The policy framework in the area of disability is enshrined in the three legislative enactments, viz. , The Persons with Disabilities Act.1995, The Rehabilitation Council of India 1992 and the National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy , Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act 1999.
Rehabilitation is high on the agenda of the Government. A number of schemes, programmers and projects are implemented supported by an infrastructural network of the Disability Division in the Ministry.
The infrastructure includes
The Government of India has set up National Institutes to provide a complete package of welfare services to persons with physical and mental disabilities and to deal with their multi-dimensional problems. The National Institutes are:
These institutes play a vital role in meeting the needs of trained manpower for services to the disabled.
Efforts are being made to consolidate and expand the rehabilitation services to the remotest corners of the country. Information relating to disability in general and prevention of disabilities in particular has been disseminated through various media. The National Institutes and Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO) have taken up outreach programmers in a big way under the Scheme of Aids and Appliances for purchase/fitting of aids and appliances. Over 100 districts through out the country have been identified for setting up of District Disability Rehabilitation Centers (DDRCs) to provide comprehensive rehabilitation services to Persons with disabilities.
The Internet and the World Wide Web are tremendous resources for all who can use them. It is a fact that certain segments of the population have a more difficult time accessing these resources than other segments.
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Rehabilitation Council of India & National Institute's have developed their web sites, which enables faster information dissemination.
The website of National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped, 'AYJNIHH.ORG', has exhaustive information on Hearing Impairment and Rehabilitation. This include awareness topics about prevention & rehabilitation, details about aids and appliances, educational guidance, parent guidance, schemes and facilities offered by Government, and list of special schools for the hearing impaired in India. Also the training programmers and other activity details are published through the site.
Order can be placed for awareness/training materials like - brochures/booklets/video etc. through the website. Also chat facility is incorporated for communication between disabled people and with rehabilitation professionals.
'JOBSFORDEAF.COM' is an innovative effort to bridge the gap between employers and employment seekers with disability.
'CHECKHEARING.COM' is being developed with the intention of reaching the unreached population including that of rural and remote areas and helping them in assessing their hearing problem and guiding them.
National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped (NIHH), Mumbai has realized the importance of Information Technology in rehabilitating the persons with disability, and started Computer training programmers for persons with hearing impairment in 1989 at Mumbai and subsequently at various centers across India. So far the Institute has trained around 400 hearing impaired persons.
Agenda for action to promote information accessibility and reduce the gap of digital divide for PWDs.
It is very essential to share the ideas, information and technology, between agencies working for rehabilitation of PWDs with in the country and regionally to improve the services.
Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped
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