Tag Archives: India
LIRNEasia CEO at the 3rd IJLT-CIS Lecture Series, National Law School of India University, Bangalore
The Indian Journal of Law and Technology in association with the Centre for Internet and Society (IJLT-CIS) , Bangalore is organising the 3rd IJLT-CIS Lecture Series at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore. The lecture series will be spread out over the course of the year and will include eminent speakers who will [...]
India’s growth spurt slows: Agriculture seen as drag
LIRNEasia has been working on making agriculture markets more efficient since 2007. Here, in a discussion of decelerating growth in India, is a justification for our focus and our intention to do more work in agriculture. Agriculture employs about half of India’s work force, for example, yet the agricultural revolution that flourished in the 1970s [...]
Hope in the heart & money in the pocket
This is what we might use if we were to have a tagline. We’ve been using it since our launch in 2004. But now it seems that MIT Poverty Lab research shows that hope in the heart leads to money in the pocket. Nice summary by the Economist. The results were far more dramatic. Well [...]
India: 63 percent of all households e-connected
First reports of the Indian census are coming in. Communication: A telephone, whether a land line or mobile, is used by 63 percent of total households – 82 percent in urban areas and 54 percent in rural areas, an increase of 54 percentage points from 2001. A mobile phone is owned by 59 percent of [...]
Teleuse@BOP Profile: Rann Vijay Kumar
The second of the videos features Rann Vijay Kumar, an agricultural first handler from Samasthipur in Bihar, India. He regularly buys vegetables and cereals directly from farmers, which he then stores and sells to wholesalers. He relies heavily on his mobile phone: to stay in touch with both his supplier farmers and buyers, and to know [...]
Teleuse@BOP Profile: Poonam Devi
In keeping with the objectives of the Teleuse@BOP4 study, a series of videos have been completed. The focus is predominantly on the productive use of mobile phones. The first in this series features Poonam Devi, a beautician from Bihar, India. Poonam’s life has been transformed since she started using a mobile phone in 2007. It [...]
What form should Internet governance take?
This was the question that was addressed at a plenary session at the APNIC conference in New Delhi today. The debate that centers on the role and function of multi-stakeholders, not limited to governments alone, was conducted by a panel representing multiple stakeholders, including Hon Hasanul Haq Inu, Chair of the Standing Committee on post [...]
India ITS Conference concluded 24 Feb 2012
We took the description of this conference, Regional ITS [International Telecom Society] conference, seriously. I served on the program committee. Despite one visa casualty and one last minute cancellation, with five people attending, we had perhaps the largest organizational presence. But it was focused almost entirely on India and India’s many telecom problems. Of all [...]
Outsourcing: Small scale is in; complex and creative is in
This NYT story describes a phase transition. Small players are beginning to outsource; the tasks are more complex and creative. This is huge for small countries and small service export firms. The production values may be a little amateurish by MTV standards, but for $2,000 it cost a small fraction of the typical budget for [...]
Transforming government services delivery: Kerala deliberations
There was a small but high profile Government Transformation Forum organized in Kovalam, Kerala, Feb 5-6, 2012. The Kerala Chief Minister and the Minister in charge of IT made appearances and the high-profile MP of the area, Dr Shashi Tharoor, delivered the keynote address and showed deep engagement. I chaired the session on international and [...]
Sri Lanka and India: The substance of agreement
It has been an unfortunate fact that Sri Lanka and India have signed many agreements that have not been implemented. This caused me to write a column some years back entitled “An MOU to implement MOUs.”. The one difference that I see in the short LBO report on cooperation between India and Sri Lanka on [...]
Cyclone Thane: Early warning and preparedness saves lives
We complain every time early warning is not given or false warnings/evacuation orders are issued. But praise must be given when right action is taken and lives are saved. Indian authorities are to be praised. Witnesses in Chennai and Pondicherry said trees had been toppled, there had been power outages throughout the night and disruption [...]
What exactly is a spectrum shortage?
When I was in government, I heard complaints of shortages of scarce resources and ability to earn adequate revenue all the time. I paid attention, but always verified. Specifically, with regard to claims of spectrum “shortage,” there is a problem. It is true that without a minimum allotment (say 2.5 MHz for CDMA and 5 [...]
Forty percent of searches from mobile phones in India (v. 14 percent in US) says Google
Google sees mobiles as the future, especially in markets like India, according to Business Standard. Mobile Internet fastest growing vertical, says Google India MD. Listing a set of next big trends in the overall technology sector, Google India says mobile Internet is set to lead the way for the industry. As against 14 per cent [...]
Why Filipino BPO workers earn more than their Indian counterparts
Entry level BPO workers in the Philippines earn USD 300 a month, 20 percent more than the USD 250 their counterparts earn in India. Why? In addition to language skills, the Philippines has better utility infrastructure than India — so companies spend little on generators and diesel fuel. Also, cities here are safer and have [...]
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