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VOL. 27, NO. 22, February 08, 2007 (Magh 25 2064 B.S.)
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CAN INFO TECH
IT Dream
The dream of utilizing the information technology for country's prosperity remains unfulfilled
By SANJAYA DHAKAL
Every year since the last fourteen years, the dream of utilizing the information technology for economic development of the country is renewed when the nation observes the annual ritual of Info Tech Show organized by the Computer Association of Nepal (CAN).
And every year, the dream remains unfulfilled due to lack of initiatives on the part of planners and policy-makers.
The way the much-touted IT Park in Banepa has been left to dilapidate also indicates the level of attention this sector has received in recent years.
While neighbors like India and China have emerged as global giants in software and hardware, respectively, Nepal has missed the bus.
The promising sector of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), too, has not taken off in the country.
" India earns over $7 billion from BPO alone every year. If we can earn even a fraction of that amount, it could mean a big boost for our economy," said Biplav Man Singh, president of CAN.
BPOs include the enterprises such as the call centers, medical and legal transcriptions and host of other activities that are outsourced by foreign multinational companies.
Nepal can easily cash in the BPO market, according to Singh, because it only requires English language and IT proficient workforce. Every year around 2000 students graduate in IT studies in the country while tens of thousands pass from Plus Two schools with reasonably proficiency in English.
"If these youths can be involved in BPOs, that could resolve the problem of unemployment by a certain extent," said Singh.
According to him, there are around 20-25 BPOs operating in the country right now.
"The BPOs provide hug opportunity for us students of IT in the country. The government should create conducive environment for investment and growth in this sector," said Raju Kattel, an IT student.
Despite promising potentials, why couldn't the BPOs take off then?
"There are a number of reasons, the lack of stability in the political environment is one reason that has prevented big businesses from coming in," said Ashish Kapoor, chief of the Serving Minds, one of the largest BPOs operating in the country. The Serving Minds is involved in program development, web designing and host of other activities.
14th CAN Show
The 14th CAN Info Tech kicked off in the capital city from Tuesday (Jan 29). Information and Communication minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara inaugurated the Info-Tech at the Birendra International Convention Center (BICC), Naya Baneshwor.
The event runs for six days till February 4, showcasing the latest advancement made in the information and technological (IT) sector.
Apart from the latest innovations in the IT sector, mini-laptops, color printers, multipurpose gadgets including a range of soft-wares and hard-wares are on display.
Similarly, products of renowned international companies including economical laptops will be the new attractions this year. Besides hosting various exhibitions, CAN is also organizing the eighth ICT Conference on February 1 and 2 with the underlying objective of expanding the reach of ICT developments to rural areas of Nepal. The conference will have paper presentations by national and foreign ICT experts on seven different tracts – Effective Communication, E-Governance (E-Business Market and Government Initiation), ICT Usage in Finance, ICT Manpower, Outsourcing Possibilities and Cyber Security.
As the national body of information technology in Nepal, CAN has been organizing CAN Info-tech since 1995 as a forum for displaying latest technology, creating awareness about IT applications in the country and promoting Nepali IT sector across the world.
