Nepal

1. Nepal

2. Expert Group Meeting on Regional Cooperation on Follow up to WSIS and ICT4D Purushottam Ghimire Under Secretary Ministry of Environment Science and Technology (MOEST) Nepal Nov 30-Dec 1, 2006 Bangkok

3. Total Area 147181 Sq Km Population 23.2 Million Rural population 88% Urban 12% Geographical Division Land Population Himalayan region 35% 7.45% Hills and Mountain 42% 44.46% Low land Terai 23% 47.49% Nepal in Brief

4. National Policy for ICT Development Encouraging private sectors for development and promotion of IT sector in order to eradicate poverty Developing sustainable and competitive IT by using modern technology in the rural areas, Introducing new development programs in IT for socio-economic development

5. Enter into Information Society Effectively enter into the Information Society through extension of Telecommunication service and enactment of necessary Policy, Acts and Rules (such as Electronic Transaction Act, Rules and Regulations etc

6. ICT Related Act and Polices of Nepal Telecommunications Act 1997 and Regulation 1998 IT Policy 2000 and (Revised 2006 Process in the final approval) Establishment of NTA (Telecom-authority) Telecommunication Policy 2004 Electronic Transaction Act 2004 ( Ratify form the Parliament Oct 2006) ET Regulation IT Tribunal Regulation 2004

7. ICT Vision and Objectives Vision By the year 2015, Nepal will have transformed itself into a knowledge-based society by becoming fully capable of harnessing information and communication technologies and through this means, achieving the goals of good governance, poverty reduction and social and economic development Objectives To make information technology accessible to the general public and increase employment through this means To build knowledge-based industries To build a knowledge-based society

8. IT Policy and Strategy Strategic focus, legal and regulatory framework, Infrastructures Content and Application Private Sector Participation Human Resource Development

9. Institutional Arrangements Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MOEST) High Level Commission for Information Technology (HLCIT) National Information Technology Center (NITC) Ministry of Information and Communication (MOIC)

10. Millennium Development Goal and ICT as a Tool MDG 1- Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger Information Dissemination (through rural tele-center) Awareness Raising Increase Productivity (agriculture information) Efficient Public Service Delivery (Efficient public servant) MDG 2- Achieve Universal Primary Education School Net Education in/ with ICT School Content on Web

11. Millennium Development Goal and ICT as a Tool cont.. MDG 3- Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women Equal Access to ICT ICT Applications on Women�s Initiatives MDG 4- Reduce Child Mortality E-health E-learning Program dissemination through Media Online Consultation

12. Millennium Development Goal and ICT as a Tool cont.. MDG 7- Ensure Environmental Sustainability Raising Awareness Information Dissemination Geographical Information System (GIS) MDG 8- Develop a Global Partnership for Development ICT friendly Policy, Legislation, Regulation, Operation, Financial Mechanism & Customer Care Integration and Harmonization of Sectoral Policies with ICT application and Services

13. WSIS Action Lines and National Initiative Framework 1. Role of Public Government Authorities and Stakeholders Policy & Legislation Trade and Investment Product/ Service/ Application 2. ICT Infrastructure High Speed, High Volume of Voice and Data Carrying Capacity Infrastructure Develop network

14. WSIS Action Lines and National Initiative Framework 3. Access to Information and Knowledge Easy & Affordable Access to ICT (Tele-center rural areas V-sat for commercial propose) Access to Information Access to Media 4. Capacity Building Knowledge Skill Capacity Competitiveness

15. WSIS Action Lines and National Initiative Framework 5. Building Confidence and Security in Use of ICTs Harmonization between Service provider and users Fast, Reliable and Secured Service 6 Enabling Environment . Fair, Stable & Predictable Policy Clear, Understandable, Simple Law Neutral and Efficient Regulation Ensured Market Simple and Transparent Procedure

16. WSIS Action Lines and National Initiative Framework 7. ICT-Applications: e-government, e-business, e-learning, e-health, e-employment, e- environment, e- agriculture, e-science 7.1 Multi Years-Multi disciplinary Project Implementation for G2G, G2B and G2C Business with Multi Stake Holder�s Partnership in a transparent way with Democratic Character

17. WSIS Action Lines and National Initiative Framework 8- Cultural Diversity and Identity, Linguistic Diversity and Local Content Digitization of Culture and Language Development of Local content Application of Local Content 9. Media Access to Media Access to Information Informed Sovereign Citizens Responsible Government Free Society Independent Institution

18. WSIS Action Lines and National Initiative Framework 10. Ethical Dimensions of the Information Society Fair, Unbiased and Accurate Information Dissemination Strict follow of Ethical Values & Norms on Profession 11. International and Regional Cooperation Technical and Financial Support Human Resource Development Infrastructure Development R & D

19. Challenges Build a Better Understanding of role of ICT in Development Endeavor Infrastructure Resource Mobilization Strategic Institutional Restructuring Effective Implementation ICT application

20. On Going Initiatives and need for regional cooperation Capacity building of MOEST, MOIC and NTA, Nepal Telecom, and private sector such as CAN, ITPF, ISPN Define role of MOIC and MOEST to avoid overlapping Prompt, Simple, cost effective and Transparent public service delivery

21. On Going Initiatives and need for regional cooperation cont� Necessary Legislation in line with ICT Policy provisions e-government Master Plan Implementation Establishment of Rural ICT Centers Broadening sub-regional initiatives Strengthening cooperation at the regional level Facilitating cross-regional cooperation

22. Thank you