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The Power of M in billions of hands across South Asia: Enabling Mobile Innovations for Sustainable Socio-Economic Development
R Chandrashekhar
Mobile phones are surpassing all other media in terms of penetration in the region: television, radio, Internet, newspapers, magazines and landlines. Mobile platforms are becoming the natural choice for extending essential and innovative digital services to the broadest section of the population.
Human endeavour is closely associated with the ability to communicate and create new knowledge. There is strong evidence that human beings have a basic need for information and to communicate with each other. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) create new possibilities for communicating information and have the potential to add significantly to the human capacity for creating new knowledge.
In the past, a nation’s wealth was largely a function of its endowment of natural resources, its labour force and its accumulated capital base. The ‘new’ wealth of nations places increasing emphasis on knowledge in its various embodied forms.
One of these service delivery channels in the information and communication technology field is mobile phone. Use of mobile phone in delivering e-government services gave birth to mobile government, or m-government. This channel is made even more relevant considering much faster growing mobile penetration rate over Internet penetration, a factor, which can play a considerable role in bridging the digital divide. m-Government (mobile government) provides its users, both citizens and civil servants, unique opportunities through freedom of mobile access to provided services and information literally from any place, at any time (24×7 operation model).
Use of mobile technology for delivering services has several benefits like cost reduction, efficiency, transformation/modernization of public sector organizations, added convenience and flexibility, better services to the citizens and last but not the least, the ability to reach a larger number of people through mobile devices than would be possible using wired internet or wireless networks. But each device and technology has its own power to deliver.
Governments worldwide are endeavoring to design, implement and provide service, which represent for their citizens limited burden in terms of costs and effort…
The role of non-government organizations, especially in the communication industry, is also very important if we are to reap the benefits of mobile technology leading to sustainable and inclusive development on the whole.
South Asia is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing mobile markets, but still suffers from a significant digital divide. Mobile phones are surpassing all other media in terms of penetration in the region: television, radio, Internet, newspapers, magazines and landlines. Mobile platforms are becoming the natural choice for extending essential and innovative digital services to the broadest section of the population.
Yet, it is heartening to note the innovative use of the mobile phone as an information and communication tool across India as well.
The interventions could be observed across key departments such as rural development, Panchayati Raj, social welfare, women and child development, policing, health, emergency services, government alerts, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, and food and civil supplies, among others. For example, e-Seva centres, which fall under the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, are sending text messages to applicants for 16 services, including the issue of birth and death certificates.
The efforts of organizations like Digital Empowerment Foundation are especially commendable since they not only contribute to the development through their various initiatives, but also provide this new medium a platform for showcasing the best examples of development in the field.
One such unique platform is the ‘m-billionth awards’ which recognizes the best practices in mobile innovations across South Asia, endeavours that have lead to socio-economic transformations.
I heartily congratulate all the award winners and urge them not to rest yet, because we have miles to go before we sleep. I am pleased to see contributions coming from all across South Asia and laud the organizers’ efforts in bringing us all together to this fabulous platform
I am sure the first edition of mBillionth Mobile Congress & Awards with so many worthy contributors vying for the prestige will be set a new benchmark for sustainable development in the field. I hope that key inputs from this platform will lead to further development which will include one and all, more so the marginalized section of the society, so that we can together steadily move towards the vision of the world that the award envisages and seeks to achieve.
I heartily congratulate all the award winners and urge them not to rest yet, because we have miles to go before we sleep. I am pleased to see contributions coming from all across South Asia and laud the organizers’ efforts in bringing us all together to this fabulous platform.
With best regards
R Chandrashekhar
Secretary, Department of Communication Technology
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
Government of India
One of these service delivery channels in the information and communication technology field is mobile phone. Use of mobile phone in delivering e-government services gave birth to mobile government, or m-government While innovators and service providers trying to bring in new services and products for the people, whether our policy makers and regulators are able to understand and ready to facilitate them – is a big question
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