PM Deuba accords top priority to IT

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KATHMANDU, Nov 7 - Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has said that the government has accorded top priority to information technology (IT) making it a part of development agenda.

"We have missed the opportunity brought about by the industrial revolution, but we cannot afford to miss the opportunity brought about by IT revolution", said PM Deuba.

IT is the only sector in which a land-locked and mountainous country like ours can excel as it makes geography irrelevant, expressing hope that IT could help in e-governance in the remote areas of the kingdom, he said.

To bring the potentials closer to reality, the implications of IT revolution is being carefully studied, he said while inaugurating the 15th Asian Forum for the Standardization of Information Technology (15th AFSIT) amid a function here today.

The government has made efforts to render IT accessible to the common masses by deregulating the sector. Unless we can computerize local language, a commoner cannot make use of the benefit brought about by IT revolution and he will be deprived of global communication.

"I hope the ongoing meeting of IT experts and professionals gathered here would make some headway into this direction, which will help us materializing our goal of making IT accessible to a common man", said Premier Deuba.

The international gateway has been opened to the private sector and the government has initiated the process of opening up information and communication (ICT) to the private sector, with a view to making the services competitive and efficient, he said.

In order to facilitate the development of ICT, an IT policy has already been implemented and an IT bill would soon be passed and enacted, said the prime minister. Deuba also thanked the Japanese Government for sponsoring the event and AFSIT for choosing Nepal for its 15th meeting.

Minister of State for Science and Technology Bhakta Bahadur Balayar said that the government has expedited the construction works of an IT Park in Banepa, some 25 kilometers east of the capital city, and begun the training of a number of people in different levels of IT.

Rameshananda Vaidya, member of National Planning Commission (NPC), expressed views that access to IT depends largely on its affordability and standardization plays a crucial role in making the technology affordable.

The major thrust of IT should be its accessibility to the common man and the government is making efforts to take it to the remote villages, he said.

Mahesh Man Shrestha, Secretary at the Ministry of Science and Technology expressed the views that the theme of the 15th AFSIT - E-government in Asia: Asian Requirement for Document Standards - is a relevant and timely issue.

Information economy and economics of knowledge are gradually dominating the goal economic scene with the rapid emergence of knowledge-based industry and society in which growth, development, employment and improved living are becoming more and more dependent on IT, he said.

Akio Kanaya, Executive Director of Centre of the International Cooperation for Computerization, Japan expressed the views that documentation of all aspect of culture and languages can help in standardization of IT products. Stating the e-government is the key issue of the forum, he said infrastructure development is the basics for It growth.

Allen Tuladhar, CEO, Unlimited and Coordinator of Committee for Standardization of Nepali in Computers, said that much progress has been made in the process of developing Devnagari script in Nepali for computerization and efforts are also being made to develop multi-lingual domain names, which would facilitate users to read Nepali content in computers from any part of the world.

As all the AFSIT member countries’ first language is other than English, they are making effort to develop standard fonts in local language. As the larger section of the population of the countries use local language, computer penetration would not be effective unless they can use local language in computers.

Lochan Lal Amatya, President of Computer Association of Nepal (CAN), Professor Shogo Sakakura, Director General of Japanese Standard Association (JSA), Japan, Takamichi Okabe, Charge d’Affairs at Embassy of Japan in Nepal and Professor Dr Shun Ishikazi, Keio University of Japan also spoke on the occasion. The five-day event is being participated in by 52 IT experts and professionals from 16 Asian countries.

Int’l cooperation for poverty reduction stressed

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KATHMANDU, Nov 7 - While scientists and governments in the developed world have been seeking new heights of production frontiers in the agriculture sector through scientific breakthroughs, many parts of the world have not been successful even to attain the productivity levels set by the green revolution technology.

Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives Mahesh Acharya made the above statement while speaking at the Plenary Session of the 31st conference of the Food and Agriculture Organisation Tuesday, according to a copy of the minister’s statement provided by the ministry here today.

Minister Acharya also expressed high hopes on the earlier emphasis that was laid by the Genoa summit of the G-8 nations in making food security and food safety key elements of the Official Development Assistance.

Acharya also highlighted different critical issues faced by least developed and mountainous countries like Nepal. Though agriculture growth was identified as the key to achieve poverty alleviation in the Ninth Plan that is close to completion, the achievements were limited, he said.

He also stressed upon the need to tap the existing competitive advantages that exist in the mountain environment particularly in terms of amazing diversity and commercial niches.

Promotion of agricultural products and practices with mountain specific comparative advantages can go a long way in solving the problem of raising living standards and environmental sustainability, said Minister Acharya.

He also stressed upon the need for a multi-pronged approach that can address all related questions such as increasing productivity, instituting efficient distribution system, conserving natural resources and enhancing income of the poor.

For the poverty stricken nation to be able to address these interlocking issues, the atmosphere of generous international cooperation is vital, he stressed.

Acharya also brought into limelight the difficulties that Nepal would face after it joins the global rules based trading system. The complexity of import regimes and the cost of complying with sanitary and phytosanitary standards and technical barriers to trade can be insurmountable obstacles, particularly for small developing countries, he said.

In this context, building the capacities of the least developed countries to meet the WTO requirements cannot be over-emphasised, he added.

Emphasis on promotion of religious tourism

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KATHMANDU, Nov 7 - At a time when tourism entrepreneurs are facing difficult times chiefly due to a decline in tourist inflow, they have stressed upon the need to promote religious tourism to attract religious tourists, especially from India.

Tourism entrepreneurs were participating at a discussion programme organised by Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) in the capital today. On the occasion, they stressed upon the need to start awareness campaigns to change the attitude of the Nepalis towards the Indians.

Addressing the programme, Banwari Lal Mittal, former president of NCC, said that Nepal has not been able to promote places of religious importance among the Indians. "If we can promote such religious places, the inflow of religious tourist would increase," he added.

Stressing that Nepal has an immense potential for religious tourism, he said, "Nepal can be developed as a common tourism destination for Hindus as well as Buddhists. Foremost, there is a need to control the unwarranted behaviour against the Indians."

Chandra Shekhar Gyawali, Chairman of Narayani Hotel, pointed out the need to resolve the current difficulties that Indian tourists are facing while travelling to Nepal.

"The current identification procedure must be simplified," he said. Training at a massive scale must be provided to all personnel related to the tourism industry; from taxi-drivers to immigration and customs officials, he added.

The problems related with the use of Rs 500-rupee note and Rs 1000-rupee note needs to be solved, he said. Also, there is a need of by-land tourism promotion, establishing a link between Indian and Nepali cities through luxury bus service or railway connection, he said.

Basanta Raj Mishra, General Secretary of Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO), said, "There is a need to introduce new innovative packages to attract more tourists. This is important since many other countries are doing the same." We have requested the governmental bodies to scrap the monumental entry fees in the valley, he said.

Tek Bahadur Dangi, Director at the Nepal Tourism Board said that promotional programmes have to focus at expanding regional and neighbouring tourism because projections from international tourism organisations do not portray a rosy scenario of the international tourist movement lately.

Rajesh Kaji Shrestha, President of NCC, said that businessmen have now realised that tourism industry is not related with just hoteling and travel agencies but with almost every sector of the community. "The NCC is planning to go to various Indian cities for sectorwise promotional campaigns," he informed.

In addition, NCC is planning to invite spiritual personalities aiming to promote religious tourism through them in India, said Shrestha. The NCC will form an awareness committee including various eminent personalities from the field of tourism.

S P Shrestha, Vice-President of Nepal Association of Travel Agents (NATA), Ambika Shrestha, Chairman of Dwarika Village and Surendra Bir Malakar, Second Vice-President of NCC, also spoke in the occasion.