• CAN Info Tech ’05: Time to Graduate

• Himal cover courts controversy

CAN Info Tech ’05: Time to Graduate (News Feature)

In view of the overwhelming response of visitors, especially the young people, at the 11th Computer Association of Nepal (CAN) Info-Tech 2005 that concluded in the capital Sunday, industry leaders say now it is time to reflect and redesign the show.

On Saturday, hundreds of visitors, especially the young people queued up in front of the Birendra International Convention Centre (BICC) at least for half an hour each to enter the premises to view the show put together by the CAN. 

“It’s something like a fun-fair. I have come here with my friends to see latest versions of mobiles, computers and CDs,” said Ritika, a –plus two student at a private Kathmandu college. While over 100 exhibitors were finding it hard to explain about their products and services to hundreds of inquisitive visitors, exhibitors said CAN now needed to focus on the targeted segment of prospective buyers. 

“Due to mismanagement of the crowd, we have not succeeded in convincing the clients. Now on the CAN organizers have to be alert about the crowd that the event is going to face and the mismatch between the exhibitors and the visitors of the event,” Poonam Chand Dugar, executive director of Ishan Infosys Pvt. Ltd, told PC-Info—an official magazine of the CAN Info-Tech ’05.

CAN officials, however, said they expected that the `business day’ allocated for Sunday to be successful. Said Biplav Man Singh, president of CAN, “ Of course, the bottom-line is business. At a time when the economy is passing through recession, we have brought the whole IT market in front of the consumers to help prop up economic activities.”

CAN must be happy to see that over 230,000 people visited the six-day long exhibition, but exhibitors said overall sales this year were down.

Talking to Nepalnews at the BICC premises Sunday, general secretary of CAN, Vivek Rana, said CAN Info-Tech was a national IT fair and that everybody who wanted to know about IT (Information Technology) should have an opportunity to get a feel of what IT is. “It is a major event for us as it helps in revenue generation and in the cash flow of companies,” he added.

Industry leaders say now it is time for CAN to reflect and review its strategies.

CEO of Mercantile Communications Pvt. Ltd. Sanjib Rajbhandari : photo nepalnews.com

“A lot of visitors are more educated now an they are more familiar towards ICT (Information and Communication Technologies). People are buying more sophisticated products and are demanding better quality products,” said Sanjib Rajbhandari, CEO of Mercantile Communications Pvt. Ltd, the pioneering IT company in the country. “It’s an indication of more developed market. So, CAN too needs to take a quantum leap and move beyond the present pattern of show,” he added.

The expanding IT market in the country has attracted foreign companies to make their presence felt in Nepal. Companies from India, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore, among others, took part in the show.

Thanks to wide-ranging interests on IT and multi-media, even first time exhibitors said they got very good response from the visitors. “Some 150 buyers have booked our products during the show,” said Mahesh Pandey, chief executive director of Space Tech Computer (P.) Ltd. that deals in branded, assembled, laptop computers and peripherals. “Most of the buyers were interested in assembled computers as there is huge price margin between the assembled and branded computers,” said Pandey.

Not only in selling products and services, huge competition could be seen this year to attract students and young people towards various ICT courses. Softech IT School, a private sector institute, offered a package of “free” Pentium 4 computer, travel to Bangalore and Hyderabad and job placement guarantee to students who enrolled in its six-month long course of Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 at a cost of Rs 43,000.

“The package we have offered is value for money and we have already enrolled around 80 students so far,” said Vikal Mishra of the Softech IT School.

While the cat-walking models at the stall that was showcasing latest editions of Sony Ericsson mobile phones was able to attract a huge crowd, sales personnel at the nearby stall owned by Nepal Electro Power System Pvt. Ltd said they too were happy with the visitors response.

“Though we showcased UPS that cost up to Rs 1.2 million, most of the people were interested in household UPS and voltage stabilizers the price range of which starts from Rs 2,650,” said Prem Adhikary of the Nepal Electro Power System (P) Ltd. that manufactures UPS, stabilizers etc. at its production unit at Birgunj. “Industrial areas and hospitals are our major customers for our huge UPS products,” he added.

General Secretary of CAN Vivek Rana : Photo www.can.org.np

While the CAN Info-Tech seemed something like a ‘make-believe world’ for many who can’t afford a computer or don’t have access to Internet facilities, IT professionals say it has played a catalytic role in creating favourable policy environment and establishing IT as a promising sector in the country’s economy.

“The IT policy 2004 has opened up a lot of new areas. But IT has to be seen not only as a technical tool but also as a socio-economic and industrial tool,” insisted Vivek Rana of the CAN. “ICT has to be seen as a tool for development process.”

According to Rana, the IT sector has been able to attract a lot of young talents and the challenge now was to absorb them in the domestic market and help them gain skills which could be sold even in the international market. “So far, Info-Tech has remained only supply-oriented, now we have to try to make it demand-oriented,” he added. nepalnews.com by Jan 31 05

Himal cover courts controversy (News Feature)

The latest cover story of Himal—a leading fortnightly newsmagazine—has courted controversy thanks to its cover page illustration that shows His Majesty King Gyanendra standing in a row and joining hands with leaders of  major political parties in the country.

Perhaps for the first time in the history of Nepali media, the fortnightly magazine, published by Himal Media Pvt. Ltd.-- a  leading publishing house—had the guts to show the monarch joining hands with his subjects. Interestingly, centrist Girija Prasad Koirala and Sher Bahadur Deuba are on the right side of the monarch while leftist Madhav Kumar Nepal and rightist Pashupati Shumsher Rana are on the left side of the of the King. (see: pic). 

Obviously, the picture was not a real one and the magazine duly said it was a photo montage. Interestingly, the Himal cover (Jan 14-28) entitled, “The Only Way to End the Violence,” invited harsh criticism mainly from the `tabloid’ press that prefers to introduce itself as ‘royalist.’

On January 17, under the heading “Gai Jatra,” Jana Bhavana weekly wrote: Himal cover photo that involved the dignity of the monarchy is a naked experiment of imaginary photographic and artistic license.

The weekly further wrote, “At one time, (then) editor of Saptahik Bimarsha, Harihar Birahi, was punished for publishing a cartoon that depicted the chief justice as a monkey. Should those at Himal similarly be punished for bringing out a photo containing the constitutional monarch? Intellectual circles feel that such a photograph is an abuse of press freedom.”

A day later, Nispakshya weekly, in its front-page commentary, opined that the group photograph published in Himal Khabarpatripa had not only tricked readers but also offended the journalistic code of conduct. 

“Heads of the king, Girija, Deuba, Madhab and Pashupati had been pasted on somebody else’ bodies. It is really sad as well as funny to see how this publication has degraded the king and the institution of monarchy by making the king join hands with those disreputable leaders so do not accept the integrity of the king and the royal institution,” wrote Nispakshya weekly dated Jan. 18 in its front page story.

“The purpose of the news may be good, but such fake photographs make a bad impact. Intellectuals say that Himal needs to apologise for dishonouring the monarchy. The palace should also make its objections public against such irresponsible journalism and issue a warning, say intellectuals,” the weekly said.

In what seemed like orchestrated stories, both the weeklies did not identify who those intellectuals were. While claiming that the Himal cover had violated the code of conduct, both of them published the same photo in their newspapers.

So, has the photo illustration really violated the journalistic code of conduct?

Talking to Nepalnews briefly, chairman of Press Council of Nepal—a press watchdog that has semi-judicial authorities-- Mathbar Singh Basnet, said whether certain news item or photo has violated the code of conduct or not depends on  its presentation. “If the photo is objectionable, it is against the code of conduct. If not, it is not against the code,” he added.

Basnet, however, said that the Council had got a separate committee to look into the matters and that the committee would look into issues only when it received the complaint.

So far nobody has registered a complaint at the Press Council.

Editor of Himal Khabarpatrika Rajendra Dahal (Photo courtesy: Nepali Times)

The Himal team, on its part, said it had received very encouraging comments from the audience. “It is the duty of the media to recommend ways to make the society free of on-going violence. As a newsmagazine we have done just that,” Rajendra Dahal, editor of Himal Khabarpatrika, told Nepalnews.

“The criticism against us has been very narrow and seems to have been directed out of personal interest,” said Dahal. “In fact, our cover story is very much within the parameters of the code of conduct and it is also the optimum utilization of the journalistic duty,” he added.

A senior office-bearer at the Federation of Nepalese Jounalists (FNJ), who did not want to be named, said Himal had acted very much within the parameters of the journalistic ethics and that there should not be any objection as its intent was good.

Critics say there are certain elements that don’t want to see the king joining hands with the political leaders as it would hurt their vested interests. Dismissing such elements, in the Himal cover story, Hari Sharma, a political scientist, wrote:  The summary of all types of recommendations made so far to immediately end the nine-year-old violence and political uncertainty is the unity among political forces that have been bound by the Constitution of the Kingdom of Nepal, 1990, namely-- the king, government and the political parties.

“When these forces stand together, any of the alternatives—(elections to the) constituent assembly, fresh elections or restoration of the dissolved parliament—can more or less become viable. Unless that happens, to anticipate  that there would be dialogue (between the government and rebels) or that a way out could come up would be nothing but futile,” he added. nepalnews.com Bhagirath Yogi Jan 27 05

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