Information and Communication Technology: speeding towards and ICT-enhanced tomorrow
"Our government accords very high priority to ICT education for our youth and will in the next decade invest vast funds to ensure that every child will be imparted with ICT skills. ICT will also help Sri Lankans to truly integrate and work towards becoming a cohesive nation. From North to South and East to West, people will communicate with each other using ICT and enhance communal harmony. That is our ultimate objective." – President Rajapaksa
Firmly committed to the view that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is the driving force of tomorrow's economies and that it is the tool and enabler that will push the boundaries of socio-economic development, President Rajapaksa has not only prioritized ICT but has taken steps to mainstream ICT in all development activities.
As a result Sri Lanka's percentage ranking in the Network Readiness Index has moved up from 72 to 53 in a space of three years and ICT Literacy figure has increased from 4 percent in 2004 to close to 30 percent today. This will be doubled by 2012. Sri Lanka's ranking has also improved significantly in the e-Gov readiness index as well as the BPO location index in the last few years.
The President has emphasized the urgent need to equip the people, especially the youth, with proficiency in the English language on the one side and to provide them with access to computers and internet facilities, through the rapid development of use of information technology, on the other. In this context a unique network of 'tele-centers' known as the Nenasalas was set up and now numbers over 600 centers all across the island. Over three thousand five hundred (3,500) IT labs have also been established in schools across the country.
The Nenasalas are also the base for citizen access to local radio broadcasts of market prices, for farmers to access crop/agricultural information, rural people to access e-health/telemedicine facilities, the visually impaired to access digital "talking books" (audio books) etc.
The E-society Development initiative also provides grants of $5,000 for specific projects from communities or organizations with relevant experience in a Community Assistance Program. These grants cover many areas including indigenous content, educational content, ICT-based competitions to promote ICT literacy and support for setting up income generating websites. Some of the highlights include:
- Obtaining satellite information on fish movements over the Internet and sending longitudinal and latitude co-ordinates via sms to fishermen;
- Training for SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) open source accounting packages;
- Creating digital content related to indigenous medicine;
- English language learning via Satellite;
- Documenting violence against women using ICT.
The Government Information Centre, the Birth, Marriage and Death Certificate project, the Lanka Government Network, and the e-Society come to the fore-front as projects that have used ICT for the benefit, and to improve the daily lives of ordinary people.
"1919," the online Government Information Centre and the Impaired Aid project won awards at the 2009 World Summit Awards (WSA), a global initiative for selecting and promoting the world's best e-contents and applications.
The Government also established the Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) to define, catalyze, and lead implementation of the country's ICT policy. ICTA has a very effective institutional model that draws on Singapore's and Korea's unique e-Development experience. It has been granted independence to implement a multi-pronged program of activities that it calls – "Actioning ideas."
In terms of job creation, over 45,000 new jobs have been created in Sri Lanka's Information Technology (IT) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector since 2005. IT Enabled Service exports have already become the 5th largest foreign exchange earner in the country with US$250 million in 2008. By 2015, it is expected that the IT/BPO industry will be the country's number one export revenue earner with exports of $2 billion and 103,025 jobs.
Sri Lanka is also being recognized as an emerging center of excellence for Financial and Accounting Outsourcing. Today Colombo ranks 5th in the world in this area of expertise, and, most recently, AT Kearney (2009) reported that Sri Lanka moved 13 points on the off-shoring index, the biggest improvement amongst 50 countries.
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For more information : http://www.icta.lk/
