Changing technology, emerging development: Sustainable development in rural India through mobile telephony

Abstract

The correlation between technologies, sustainable development, socio-economic issues have assumed significance in the changing global world. In the new millennium, there is no denying the fact that information and communication technologies play a key role in the growth of a country. There is substantial evidence that technology has power to harbor progress as it affects many dimensions of societal and economic aspects like education, health, quality of life. It is pertinent to develop an understanding about the methods and techniques in which technology can be utilized to respond to the emerging paradigms of development in a responsible manner. Recent findings show that ICT plays a vital role in advancing economic growth and reducing poverty. ICT can be used to directly influence the productivity, cost effectiveness and competitiveness in industries. On the other hand, the results for not being able to recognize the benefits of ICT can also devastating. It can be inferred that without a strategic integrated approach it will be intricate to take advantage of the potential ICT driving the socioeconomic development. Originally built by Massachussetts Institute of Technology and funded by Gates Foundation, UN Democracy Fund and others, CGNet Swara as an online website was created with the goal of bringing development through mobile phones and interactive voice recording. CGNet Swara as a citizen journalism platform has huge implications for creating awareness, improving governance and spurring development not only in rural India but in other developing countries which are affected by poverty and poor social indicators. This paper focuses on the on the role and extent of information and communication technology (ICT) in socio economic development, highlighting the utilization of technology for sustained development, the reach of technology, the access to it in terms of use and consumption and the potential of technology as an enabler in the developing world.