Keeping Abreast
RAPID and unprecedented development of
science and technology has left the human kind breathless. The new innovations are a part
and parcel of the developed world and they are reaping requisite benefits in their
endeavour to raise the standard of their people. But the same has not materialised in a
developing and poor country like ours. It might not have been right to say that we lack
the potentials but the fact remains that despite the abundance of human and natural
resources a majority of the people is still feeling the severe pinches of economic
deprivation. Our capacity to adopt new techniques and technology is immense given the will
to do so. This is an age when the information communication technology has come to the
fore in every field conceivable. This is not to say that having computers by the hundreds
or access to Internet will solve all the problems that we are facing at the present times.
But, one thing has to be remembered they are at best the tools for achieving what we opt
for or have eyes on. As in everything else, the development in other parts of the world
has its impact on Nepal also. The need to plan the strategies both on short and long term
to utilise the vast potential that the information generated all over the world can be
utilised for our own good.
Herein, it may be relevant to mention that
Minister for Information and Communications Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta, while speaking at
the concluding session of the second meeting of SAARC Information Ministers at Islamabad,
the other day, highlighted the fact that the South Asian region has a large reservoir of
resources both natural and human, but they have not been fully utilised for the benefit of
the people inhabiting this part of the world. In this connection he further said that the
east-west optical fibre network which is in the offing in Nepal might be part of the SAARC
information highway. This obviously generates optimism that such a highway would greatly
assist the information communication that is so vital for the development of this region
as a whole. The cost-effectiveness is a matter to point. In over a decade and half, since
the establishment of SAARC, numerous initiatives have been undertaken so that all the
countries that comprise South Asia stand to benefit. As expected, the pace has picked up
since the 11th SAARC Summit held in January this year. The commitment of all the SAARC
countries is there for further enhancing meaningful cooperation among all.
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