Introduction I. As people throughout the world awake each morning to face a new day, they do so under different ways. A group of people live in comfortable home with shelter and rooms. They have adequate supply of food to eat, they are well garmented, they are well nourished, and they have substantial level of security. The other group, which is comprised of the majority people of this earth of around 6.4 billion people, is unlikely to have such life as the former group. They have insufficient food and shelter, low nourishment level, inadequate education level and as such that their prospects for a better life are quite uncertain. According the UNDPs Annual Development Report, over forty percent of the worlds population lives in poverty, which is on less than $2 per day. These percent of people are the ones suffering from undernutrition and poor health, have low literacy level, settled in degraded areas, have no political voice, and are socially excluded. According to Gary Fields (2001), the respective forty percent attempt to earn a menial living on small and marginal farms or in dilapidated urban slums. However, we have seen some countries coming out of the claw of poverty using various resources available or achievable by them. The nations were able to increase their GNI and sustain economic growth. Our main concern is not only how to make GNI grow but also distinguish indicators that would make it grow. It the amount from GNI is only distributed among the rich, then poverty and inequality would worsen, but if it were generated for the whole nation, then the fruits of economic growth would be shared more evenly. As Gary Fields (2001) stated that, even though many developing countries have had significant growth, but such increment has brought little in the way of significant benefits to the impoverished ones. The Millennium Declaration in 2000 aimed on the growing commitment to end the extreme poverty. Such notification was needed, since the elimination of widespread poverty and high and even growing income inequality are at the core of all development problems and as Gary Fields (2001) conferred that for many people the principal objective of development policy relies on the nature of the poverty and inequality. II. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) In the present century, the advancements in information and communication technologies (ICTs) are changing the various components of economic development. The changes in the ICTs have brought a positive impact in the process of public service delivery and socio-economic structure of economy (Bagga, 2005). Applications in ICTs have demonstrated their positive impacts in minimizing the processing costs, increase transparency and support economic development by income generating ventures, increase in agricultural production, and improvements in health and education sectors, all of which promote the overall quality of life of developing or least developed countries. ICTs are transforming all human activities including rural development in the information era. ICTs can be used as an enabling tool to fight poverty and its adverse effects, though there are divergent and contrary views in the use of ICT to alleviate poverty (IFAD Rural poverty report, 2001). The Rural poverty report by IFAD (2001) also stated that ICTs have become an indispensable tool to fight against poverty and provide developing
nations with an unprecedented opportunity to meet the main Millennium Development goals of poverty reduction, basic health care, and effective education level. Use of ICTs in rural areas for enhancing agricultural production and proved immensely beneficial as most of the poor people reside in the rural areas (Richardson, 1996). The use of ICT in education sector allowed the rural mass to express their voice and improved their prospects of employment for raising the quality of life and social security. The changes in ICTs have direct impact on the economic and socio stand of individual and the society (Bagga, 2005). With advancements in ICTs, we can use the new application in supplying health, educational and agricultural information efficiently and effectively. We have mainly focused on rural areas where ICT immergence will bring economic and socio development. Rural development is used to denote the actions and initiatives taken to improve the standard of living in non-urban vicinity, countryside and remote villages (Richardson, 1996). The respective region can judged with a low ratio of inhabitants to open space. The prominent activity in such communities is agriculture, which is production of food grains and raw materials. Rural development actions mostly aim at the social and economic development of the rural areas. There are many constituents that take part in the rural development process namely farmers, administrators, representatives of tourist boards, business managers of the food industry, local politicians and so on (Singh, 1995). The channel also is affected by a broad spectrum of underlying driving forces of which we will focus on the demographic transition to emerging trends in technology; ICT in our case. III. Literature Survey Several studies have been carried to date trying to relate ICT with poverty reduction. Most of the studies were specific relating to some particular countries: India, Bangladesh, China, sub Saharan Africa and South Africa to name a few. The study by Laviolette and Aktar (1998) that sub Saharan Africa has the most inaccessible media systems in the world has further complicated the issue of looking up to technology as the solution to Africas economic, social and political developments. They argued that telephone lines per capita in Africa are the lowest in the world has tainted the role of the Internet as a force to foster development. The reason given by the author is that the Internet system that is cheap in Africa is the dial-up system, but cable modem and broadband are comparatively expensive as government subsidies for improvement in ICTs are hard to come. However, De Beers (2001) have been able to find positive impact due to immergence of ICT in the economy. The author has found the great role the ICT plays in changing lives and moving the community forward in sub Saharan Africa through MMDA. This media agency trains grassroots personnel as experts who should go about teaching the grassroots participants how to use the ICT softwares. This is an efficient way of bringing the Internet to the people who are still getting use to this new technology. According to Keniston (2004), in India, ICT application is e-Governance in the recent past have demonstrated positive impact in minimizing the processing costs, increase transparency and support economic development by income generating ventures, increase in agricultural production, and improvements in health and education sectors, all of which
promote the quality of rural life. E-governance applications were more brought into focus by Thadaboina (2009). He reviewed the e-Governance initiative called the Warana Wired Village Project in providing the transactional services for the rural people with the benefit of time and cost savings in obtaining the public services with efficiency and effectiveness. Moreover, the author examined changes in agricultural productivity and improved quality of life due to ICT services. Dhar (2007) studied on the impact of ICTs in rural India. The author explored whether ICTs can be deployed to enable the improvement of rural human capital and increase participation in market opportunities. The author tried to verify the demand-side factors of the market of ICTs in rural area. Lastly, the author has established issues critical to enhancing the accessibility of ICT services to the poorest rural households. Tiwari (2008) linked ICTs and poverty reduction through user perspective study of rural Madhya Pradesh, India. She inferred that, conceptually, the potential of ICTs to enable poverty reduction through education, health, expansion of market opportunities and information is strong. However, the outcomes are quite different. Tiwari (2008) found out that based on the information gathered through the field survey and the users views, there is evidence of the presence of market imperfections through sluggish demand-side factors and information asymmetries. This appears to be the main cause impeding the uptake of the majority of services being offered according to the model being used to implement ICTs applications. Overall there is a strong supply-side market presence, but still weak demand persists due to poor information. Bangladesh is a good example where the diffusion of ICTs has brought economic development in the rural areas. The study carried by Aminuzzaman (2002)on the village pay phone of Grameen Bank have provided enough evidence of rising economic activity in rural Bangladesh during the last decade. In his study he characterized mobile phone as one of the significant application of ICT. The author concluded that any large-scale mobile phone programme like Grameen Telecoms Villages Phones will bring changes to the rural economy and life. The approach has eased the transaction boundaries of the local village market, reducing the isolation and fragmentation of the village economy. The respective company have been able to expand access to this vital information input for all segments of the population, reduce inequality and thus enhance the widely based, pro=poor orientation of rural development strategies. There are significant non-economic benefits, such as rapid and effective communications between family members, stronger family ties and so on. Another study by Bayes, Braun and Akhter (1999) has been carried taking the case of Grameen Bank initiatives in expanding village pay phones to reduce poverty in the rural areas. The authors concluded that access to mobile phones has had a noticeable effect on development and entrepreneurial activity in rural Bangladesh. The study showed that effective demand exists and appeared to be growing. They have also found from the study that the emergence of mobile phone has brought attitudinal change in social acceptance of women as lead agents in creating conditions appropriate for the spread of information technology. The experience of ICTs in Bangladesh indicated that the applications can be delivered to impoverished and remote rural areas efficiently and profitably. The ICT technologies has also demonstrated that advanced technology can diffuse in technology-shy society like Bangladesh, but provided that it is channeled
through a well designed institutional framework that does not disturb social norms and values. IV. Challenges: ICTs and Economic Development This section verifies the challenges confronted to document the attribution between ICTs and development. However, the need to find a linkage between ICT and economic development has recently grown and received considerable attention by researchers, policy makes and organizations. According to Digital Opportunity Task Force (2002), if increased use of ICTs leads to digital opportunities of human and economic development, then ICT can be framed and applied as an useful equipment in reducing poverty, expanding health services and educational level, and, moreover, improving the quality of life of the impoverished people. The Digital Task Force (2002) also noted that it is critical that such applications can be hold once ICT use is accompanied by concurrent public policies supporting equitable access to social institutions such as health care, education, government and other benefits accrued because of the involvement of the ICT applications. The task force has also mentioned that even though ICT is an important tool, but it may not be poised as a solution for economic or social problems. The Digital Task Force (2002) has characterized economic society using the terms information society and knowledge-based economy. As expressed by the task force, in our global, networked economy and society, information is an essential resource for capacity-building and social and economic development. According to the United Nation Economic and Social Council (2000), a growing number of ICTs application projects, both domestically and internationally, have been focused at beneficially impacting economic development. The desired economic development benefits extend beyond potential economic growth and wealth creation. As pointed out by the United Nations in 2000 that ICT are enabled to improved access to government services, the applications can alleviate fraud and skepticism in elections, can increase quantity and quality of training opportunities, efficient in delivering health care services and so on. The relationship between ICT and economic development to has consider other outcomes rather than relying to GDP, employment and entrepreneurship. The advancement of ICT to facilitate improved health care, educational level, civic responsiveness and equitable access to economic opportunity (Ruth and Choudhury, 2001) creates social value for economic development achieved through the applications of ICTs. However as Ruth and Choudhury clarified, the approach overlooks the critical, dynamic role of social capital formation substantially underestimates the potential economic development benefits of ICT. According to Schreyer (2000), to attain the goal of an adequate and equitable deployment of ICT infrastructure, the three necessary conditions must be met. Firstly, market demand for ICT must be present. The end users of the ICT infrastructure are well-aware of market demand for ICT investment. Secondly, the regulatory environment must be stable and open for fair competition. The public policy analysts have to provide platform where regulatory environment encourages investment by private sectors in ICT infrastructure. Finally, there must be a willingness by ICT investors to take a risk. The focus of ICT use may be understated, if the investment of private capital is absent. Schreyer concluded that
community members, policy makers and ICT investors are bound in an interactive, inter-dependent relationship. The factors that reduce the divide between ICT and economic development show adequate qualification for ameliorating global public welfare. However, the private sector looks for more strong evidences that can support profit and development along with the advancement of ICTs. V. Involvement of ICTs in Reducing Poverty The definition of poverty is multidimensional, comprised of food security, health, education, rights and dignity, among other elements (Harvard Forum, 2004).This requires the role of ICTs to be multidimensional as well. ICTs can acquire the respective characteristics by acting as a mean or mechanism that can make a significant contribution to the fight for poverty reduction. As Harris (2004) stated ICTs are not able to solve poverty on their own, but they can make a contribution to the process that lead to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Often economic growth requires expanding of infrastructure services to rural areas where the majority of the poor reside far from urban amenities. To connect the rural economies with the whole nation, the government needs to make substantial investment in infrastructure. The investment might be delayed or absent if poverty reduction is not given high priority in the government agenda. This is true for ICTs expansion which can be efficient where infrastructure is strong and policies are involved in reducing poverty. According to Scott, McKemey and Souter (2005), if one looks at Africa the costs of access to ICTs will simply mean that there will never be ICT emergence as it currently resides. It is understood that privatization on its own has not been a successful strategy. The lack of effective regulation has actually brought only dismay to the African nations. Hence, along with investment we need effective policies to ensure that ICT can advance smoothly in the rural areas. A study by McKemey et al. (2003) showed that telecommunications is the only service which is providing profitable in remote rural areas. The study also found that demand among rural communities is higher; thus, the fact inferring that investment in infrastructure is profitable or requires fewer subsidies. The development of new wireless technologies has led to the emergence of innovative business models that may prove effective in rural areas. There is no study that suggested that ICT infrastructures are highly significant than the traditional infrastructures such as roads, energy, water and so on. However, ICT applications can work to enhance the value of traditional infrastructure. An example sighted by Gerster and Zimmermann (2003), roads can open up access to markets for farmers and the use of phones can then enable them to select markets more efficiently and conduct remote transactions. Many developing or LDC economies are linking ICT infrastructure expansion to other services. For example, the Rural Communication Development Fund in Uganda is linked to the Energy for Rural Transformation project (McKemey et al., 2003).
ICTs can accrue positive impact to private sector development. In rural areas, where agriculture is predominantly the main sector, is mainly driven by small and medium enterprises. The productivity in agricultural sector depends on flexible and efficient markets (Souter, 2004). Small and medium enterprises play an important role in developing and LDC economy. Entrepreneurship is the source of flexibility in the markets, but the fact that entrepreneurs lack management skill is ignored. ICTs provide entrepreneurs new approach to improve flexibility and efficiency. The business networks are channel of innovation and are often used to increase productivity through specialization and flexibility. These can be made possible through the applications of ICTs. The method can be implemented using incubator programmes, even though such prohrammes are often focused towards educated people, rather than the impoverished ones. However, the government and other non-government organizations are working together to take ICTs at grassroots level to benefit all class of people. Economic growth is often clawed back due to lower investment from risk and transaction costs. ICTs can assist the economy to lower the risk and transaction costs by providing more information to the rural citizens. By enabling the poor to coordinate, to voice their concerns and to lobby decision makers can lead to reforms in the justice system. This will create strong social justice system leading to sustained growth and, as well, reducing poverty. If trade, technology and ideas are exchanged in open markets, then economic growth can be achieved faster. ICTs can make it possible to access global markets, better technologies for delivering products and services, and new opportunities to acquire knowledge. The rural citizens have to have market access to efficiently and effectively sell their goods and services. They need to acquire knowledge about physical infrastructure, relations between producers, traders and consumers and information about price and consumer preferences in order to facilitate useful market contents to their advantage in selling the goods and services. Another factor that has become increasingly important to rural area is remittance as stated by Fan (2004). To ensure smooth flow of the remittances, ICTs applications can be used. The approach can not only be done internationally, but also in the flow of cash within the nations. Social capital has been regarded as one of the significant capital to rural households. ICTs can show the households of alternative opportunity through imply other livelihood strategies. Moreover, the new technologies of ICTs offer cost effective way to convey their social regards. A study by Roller and Waverman (1996) suggested that rural households are able to earn higher incomes from the production of agricultural goods for non-local markets. The author gave evidence that ICTs can play a significant role, along with trade liberalization and improved transport infrastructure, in forming new markets. As a result, the rural areas will face higher incomes which in turn will increase demand for consumer goods. Hence, the process will lead to the creation of non-farm jobs and employment diversification, mainly in small towns close to agricultural production areas. Roller and Waverman (19960 emphasized on telecommunications in particular can enhance connections between rural and urban populations; even though the main benefits are social.
Last but not least, ICTs can be implemented to convey the message of the rural citizens on policies regarding reduction of poverty. ICT as a sector can provide the new opportunities to reduce poverty. The availability and accessibility of ICT services is dependent on the regulatory environment controlling the ICT sector. The respective environment should be matched with the system that prioritizes the reduction of poverty. VI. The Assistance of ICTs to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) are the targets by all the nations to eradicate poverty. The goals are dependent poverty ridden economy where the growth, delivery of services to poor and livelihood are low. The Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nation on September of 2000 are given below: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Achieve universal primary education. Promote gender equality and empowerment of women. Reduce child mortality. Improve maternal health. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Ensure environmental sustainability. Develop a global partnership for development.
If ICTs have to contribute to aid in achieving the MDGs, then the use of applications have to mainstreamed, and to be effectively and efficiently facilitate where the technologies are appropriate and relevant. ICTs are able to reach poor region through strong policy and investment, and will be able to act as a mechanism by which market may change potentially in favor of the rural poor; thus ICTs are a type of component that aid in eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. ICTs can be treated as a mechanism for supporting teachers in isolated schools according to World Bank (2004); thus, ICTs are able to achieve universal primary education. ICTs can provide alternative business idea suitable for women and an opportunity for women to start businesses they may not otherwise have been able to; hence, ICTs have become a primary tool to promote gender equality and empowerment of women. A good example is village pay phone business started by the women of rural Bangladesh under the correspondence of Grameen Phone (Aminuzzaman, 2002). ICTs application like mobile phone and internet services can act as a significant tool to support health workers in isolated clinics; this formation of ICTs will aid in reducing child mortality, improve maternal health, and combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases. An example given by Batchelor et al. (2003) is of Voxiva, a telephone and computer database for health work in Peru. Health workers in various remote clinics in Peru call to register communicable cases allowing planning and response, and workers gain advice supporting their daily work. To ensure environmental sustainability, we have seen that media can be used very effectively to raise the level of awareness and accountability of the principles of sustainable development integrated into a nations policies and programmes. Moreover, environmental monitoring, modeling, forecasting
environmental threats and so on, all depends on ICTs equipments and applications. An example sited by USAID (2004) of the Afghanistan Codan Radio Program. The program has linked communications among the Kabul-based Afghan Government and its thirtytwo provincial governments through an electronic network. Due to recent advances in electronic communication system, international news and reports are accessible easily by any department in any country and are open to public to view. The media have been able to report internationally disasters, for example the recent earthquake in Haiti, that provoke immediate humanitarian aid. This would have been difficult and time consuming without the blessing of the use of ICTs components like e-mail and international communications. In an example of Global Partnership that works towards the last MDG, Australia, Japan and New Zealand co-operated to build an internal network for the University of the South Pacific to send and receive training material and be able to communicate via satellite. (JICA, 2003) VII. Conclusion From the above sources and information, we have been able to deduce the potential of ICTs in using to reduce poverty, the main concern of our goal. The paper have also shown the characteristics of ICTs and its involvement in aiding to achieve MDG. When considering the benefits of investment in ICTs, policy-makers should be aware of the available lesson taken from activities in other sectors. The question for policy-makers is no longer whether ICT can be implemented or not as we have understood we can, but to poise Should it used? We have to search for the best strategy for enhancing livelihoods, for increasing supply efficiencies and for improving planning process, and then we have to justify whether ICTs should be used or not. ICTs do not have to be treated as a separate path to the economic development, but as an equipment to improvise and advance the approach.