Public and Private Sector Development

This summary is part of a research project carried out between March and October 2006 in support of the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD), one of The Communication Initiative (The CI)'s
partners.

According to this case study, Nepal was greatly influenced by the progress of the many countries in the region that had already welcomed the development of information technology (IT), particularly the two Asian superpowers, India and China. Nepal had witnessed India's ability to carve out a market in the IT sector, and was hoping to find a place in the field. Many other countries in the region, including Malaysia and Singapore, had already recognised the importance of the production and use of information and communication technology (ICT) for competitiveness and growth and the need to incorporate national information infrastructures to sustain and expand their economies.

Author Leanne Burton explains that, in 1996, the Nepalese Government created a Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) which took on the role of promoting, facilitating, and regulating science and technology - particularly in the IT sector - in the country. The basic goal of the Ministry was to create an environment for the adequate development of science and technology and make necessary arrangements for its effective application in the task of national development.

Early in the planning process, the government expressed its desire to mold Nepal into a knowledge-based society. The broad objective for the IT sector was to promote IT as a tool for social and economic development; to promote social development by using IT to improve agricultural, health, education, and other services and sectors; and to promote economic development by establishing an IT park to produce and export low-cost software. Specific objectives were to:

• involve the private sector in the development of the information and communication sector;
• extend communication services to rural areas by adopting modern technology;
• develop the information and communication sector as a tool for socio-economic development.

One major impetus for adopting an IT policy was to attract foreign investment and to create a foundation for greater involvement in the global economy (through e-commerce and promotion of the private sector).

The process of producing the IT policy was a long but inclusive one. However, over the last few years with scarce resources tied up in security efforts, implementation of the IT Policy has slipped from the government’s priority list. Although the institutional provisions have been put in place, the key implementing body is too under-resourced to effectively oversee implementation.

According to this study, the development of Nepal’s IT Policy was an important achievement for the government and for the IT sector. The Information Technology Policy 2000 was developed through a participatory process that involved most of the key stakeholders in the policy area. This process facilitated the buy-in of participants, and fostered a better relationship between the government and other sectors, particularly the private sector.

The Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Planning Commission recognised their limited ability to design a national IT policy, given their lack of expertise in the sector. Private sector, academic, civil society, and other government actors were invited to participate because of their familiarity in the field.

At the Ministry level, multiple changes in both political and bureaucratic staff have frustrated efforts by the private sector to build IT capacity within the government.

The political and social instability has worsened considerably since 2000, the year the IT Policy was approved. The government has been overwhelmed by political discord, a royal massacre, and a worsening insurgency. It has been forced to divert a large portion of its resources to restoring law and order in the country.

An IT Bill outlining action plans for the sector has been drafted and is awaiting Parliamentary approval. The Ministry of Science and Technology launched a subsidised programme to provide IT training. At least three of Nepal’s four universities have computer science or computer engineering degrees at the Bachelor level, and roughly 5,000 graduates are expected from these programmes over the next few years. The Ministry is planning to establish two new institutes: the Institute of Information Technology (in the IT park in Katmandu) and the Institute of Technology (in Western Nepal, focusing on biotechnology and IT research).

The background papers that informed the policy together with the IT Bill have been published as a book.

The policy sub-committee realised early on in the process that they needed expert advice and support in this new field and shared India’s IT Policy with the Ministry, as a document to assist in developing its own policy. It formed six consultative groups to produce background papers on what were identified as the key issues to inform the IT policy:

1) universal access to information

2) information and communication technology infrastructure

3) human resource development

4) software production and application

5) electronic commerce (e-commerce)

6) electronic governance (e-governance)

Although the institutional provisions have been put in place, the key implementing body (the Nepal Information Technology Centre or NITC, set up in 2002, two years after the Policy was approved) is too under-resourced to effectively oversee implementation. An implementation programme involving both the government and private sector still needs to be encouraged and supported to maximise the potential for IT in Nepal.