Impact of Communication Technology on Rural Population

1

“Not all problems have a technological answer, but when they do, that is the

more lasting solution”.

“Andrew Grove”

MANAGEMENT OF EMERGING PARADIGM CONFLICT IN THE GLOBALIZING

WORLD

TOPIC- IMPACT OF COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY ON RURAL POPULATION

SUBMITTED BY –

AARTI DEVI

SUSHEEL KUMAR SHUKLA

DESIGNATION –STUDENT

INSTITUTE –ISME

International School of Management Excellence

CAP-1, EOIZ, Export Promotion Industrial Park

Near ITPL, Whitefield, Bangalore-560 066, INDIA

Date : 03-01-2010

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IMPACT OF COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY ON RURAL POPULATION

Executive summary:-

‘Development is neither a simple nor straight forward linear process‟. The aim of this paper is to

examine the extent to which communication technology has contributed towards India‟s rural

development. Conventionally communication includes the electronic media, human communication

and new information technology. Communication technology is always expression of socio-

economic, geographical and political interests, partialities, alignments and commitments. The growth

and development in communication technology has revolutionized the life in rural India. The

different areas that had been influenced by communication technology are listed below –

Agriculture

Education

Health care

Economical development

empowering women

Good governance

Access to knowledge

The analysis presented indicates that it‟s not only the rural population that is being benefitted but all

also the urban population has reaped huge benefits. The current communication policy of the country,

which is one of the face of it is proactive for rural development, but remains urban “pro rich” in

effect. This is because the rural India supports the whole country in terms of supply of raw material,

food products and other material benefits. Therefore the growth of India lies in growth of rural India.

Reflecting on these and other experiences included in this research, we found that implementing

Communication technology in rural development projects will require paying attention to 3 key

factors of success:

1. For whom: "A detailed understanding of the work environment of end users, needs of the

beneficiaries, and specific benefits proposed to be delivered leads to well-planned and

executed projects..."

2. What bundle of services: "In terms of income and employment generation, and improving

skills, rural ICT centers must be multipurpose in order to be economically viable..."

3


3. How well they are managed: "The empirical record revealed that all the projects took longer

than expected. They required adjustment to underlying, unfavorable implementation

conditions..." Strategies discussed here for enhancing chances of success with regard to

management/sustainability include: ensuring private-sector involvement, implementing built-

in reviews, timing investments well, enhancing existing programmers, ensuring multipurpose

and multi functionality, defining outcome indicators, and realistically replicating pilot

projects.

Key words: - Communication technology, information technology, rural development, economic

impact, agriculture, health, education, sociology, women, governance.

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Table of content

1 Introduction..............................................................................................................5,6

2 Socio-Cultural Perspective......................................................................................6,7

3 Current Communication Scenario..........................................................................7

4 Objective...................................................................................................................8

5 Methodology.............................................................................................................8

6 Finding and Analysis................................................................................................8

6.1 Agriculture....................................................................................................8,9

6.2 Education.......................................................................................................9,10

6.3 Healthcare.......................................................................................................10,11

6.4 Economical Development..............................................................................11

6.5 Empowering Women......................................................................................12

6.6 Access to Knowledge.....................................................................................12

7 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................13

8 References........................................................................................................................14

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Introduction:-

“Development is neither a simple, nor straight forward linear process. It is a multi dimensional

exercise that seeks to transform society by addressing the entire complex of interwoven strands,

living impulses, which are part of organic whole” (Haqquani, 2003). Development, as a process

meant to empower the poor, reduce exploitation, and oppression by those having economical, social,

and political power .It also means an equitable sharing of resources, improved health care and

education for all.

The majority of Indian people live in villages and one of the major component and driving force of

rural development is communication. Conventionally, communication includes the electronic media,

human communication & now information technology (IT). All forms of communication have

dominated the development the development scene in which its persuasive role has been most

dominant within the democratic political frame work of the country. Persuasive communication for

rural development has been given highest priority for bringing about desirable social and behavioral

change among the most vulnerable rural poor and women.

Technogical changes further compounded the direction of rural development as information and

communication technology has been thought by communication and development workers as a

panacea for other ills that obstruct the development process. It has lead to indiscriminate application

and use of ICT in every aspect of information dissemination, management &governance of

development. Communication technology is always expression of socio-economic, geographical and

political interests, partialities, alignments and commitments. “In brief the will to technical knowledge

is the will to technical power” (Armitage 2001. Our view is that communication technology in more

than one way reflects socio-cultural and political values of the society in which they were invention

and nurtured. The relationship between democracy and communication technology is quite tenuous

and transient.

The growth and development in communication technology has revolutionized the life in rural India.

While there are few shining examples of achievements of ICT in development, there are a large

number of failures and unauthenticated claims. The rural areas are suffering with extreme poverty and

isolation. Such isolation has led to many miseries and tragic consequences in many families. This

trend is more evident due to the absence of joint family system, which has deprived the supportive

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role of family members. It is seen that communication technology have to some extent end isolation

and therefore proved to be most effective tool of economic development in recent times. The mobile

phone technology has been so powerful and costs so little that it has now proved possible to sell

mobile phone access to the poor. The rural poor have access to wireless banking and payment

systems. The mobile revolution is creating logistics revolution in farm to retail marketing connecting

farmers to food retailers enabling them to sell the produce at high farm gate prices without delay.

Communication technologies provide the value added services to the farmers in many areas. The

broad areas covered are: recommendation on best agricultural practices, nutrient management, animal

husbandry, problems & possible solutions for the specific location, information on Mandies, weather

& climate and several other areas.

Socio-Cultural perspective:-

We are one the world‟s oldest and ancient civilizations that evolved. After independence we have

been experimenting and carving a path of revitalization for development through democracy. The

existing sharp divide between the small but economically, politically and socially “rich elite ruling

class” and a very big but “economically and socially deprived” continue to persist as a legacy of the

past. While the rich elite have had access to knowledge, both oral and written, the economically poor

remained confined only to oral knowledge. Privatization of education has further helped the rich elite

to dominate the contemporary social and political scene at the cost of poor who remain oblivious of

communication technology for any improvement in their existing miserable life (Agrawal, 2000).

Communication has been seen by a large number of development planners as a panacea for solving

major social ills and problems. Apart from development, the introduction of communication in the

educational process for open and distance learning is seen as step towards improving the quality of

education and bridging the social and educational gap (Agrawal 1993). However, experience

indicates that those rich who could afford to have access to private resources have hogged the

advantages whether development or education. In this respect, it seems that communication

technology has, in no way has helped the poor for improving their socio-economic condition.

As the country witnessed a boom in Communication in the past decades, most of the developments

had been limited to urban areas. It is well known that communication plays a vital role in overall

growth in country. It has been proved that mobile telephony has a positive and significant impact on

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economic growth. But communication infrastructure is still lacking in rural areas. The focus is to

empower people living in villages by taking advantage of appropriate technology to address issues

relating to farmers who are in need of communication, access to input from experts and services of

reliable quality. Service to farmers is an integral part of the marketing in gaining trust of rural masses.

Current communication scenario:-

The closing decade of twentieth century was the opening of historic information and communication

technology interventions for development. This period has witnessed enormous and unprecedented

changes in every aspect of communication technologies, policies, infrastructure development and

services. Political leaders in India have begun abandoning archaic government control over

communication that has lately moved from government to national and international private players.

Before 1992 economic liberalization the rural development followed an “extension model” in which

broadcast media were used to reach the large population or target group. In the post economic

liberalization phase without abandoning the extension model “social marketing approach” to rural

development has been adopted. India being in the forefront of communication technology revolution

has not lagged behind to harness the Information and communication technology for strengthening

the rural masses. Communication is a major challenge and serious impediment in taking the fruits of

development to our farmers in the country.

IFFCO was amongst the first in India to realize the importance and benefits of information and

communication technology (ICT) for the development of rural India and applied the technology under

'ICT Initiatives for Farmers & Cooperatives'. IFFCO has realized that a reliable and economical

Communication medium, as well as, useful services of relevance over this channel has the potential to

transform the quality of living in our villages. The need of the hour is to take valuable information

inputs to farmers- directly to their „ears‟ & „eyes‟ using latest information media like mobile

technologies, in addition, rural friendly technologies which are simple, affordable and can address the

basic needs of our farmers need to be designed, developed and supplied in all the villages of our

country.

It has already started reshaping the life of a number of elites in India. But what about the rest? Little

is known, many areas of development including rural development. The role of communication

technology for development must be viewed in this new and changed environment. How these ICT

global and regional changes have influenced the access and use of ICT for development of rural

population remains an issue of discussion and analysis.

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Objective: -

To examine the extent to which communication technology has contributed towards India‟s

rural development.

To identify the impact of rural technologies on rural population verses urban population.

To identify the dynamic process of adoption of emerging communication technologies by

rural population.

To access attitudes of rural towards using emerging communication technologies for search &

acquisition of knowledge.

Methodology: - The synthesis of research presented below is based on an extensive review of the

literature on development of rural population, impact of communication on rural India. Mainly we

have taken secondary data sources as references to analyze the study. To conduct the search, it was

first necessary to define the objective of the study, and then to identify sources of information.

Studies of applications using technologies that are highly unlikely to be available in rural developing

areas in the foreseeable future, such as switched broadband networks used for medical imaging, were

excluded. We have tried to find out the impact of communication technologies on rural population

verses urban population.

Finding and Analysis:-

As the growth and development in communication technology has revolutionized the life in rural

India. The analysis presented indicates that it‟s not only the rural population that is being benefitted

but all also the urban population has reaped huge benefits. The current communication policy of the

country, which is one of the face of it is proactive for rural development, but remains urban “pro rich”

in effect. This is because the rural India supports the whole country in terms of supply of raw

material, food products and other material benefits. Therefore the growth of India lies in growth of

rural India. The different areas that had been influenced by communication technology are listed

below –

Agriculture:-

Access to current market information can enable farmers and fishermen to get higher prices for their

produce than may be available from local middlemen. Market information is now available

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electronically. These types of information services may help farmers negotiate higher prices with

resulting higher revenues than previously. In addition to price and user resistance to computer

technology, other factors may be relevant in developing regions such as social or economic

constraints prohibiting farmers from putting information to use. For example, in many parts of the

country peasants have little choice but to sell their crops to local middlemen, even if they know they

would get better prices at regional markets. Also, if rural farmers have no access to credit, they may

not be able to buy improved seeds or fertilizers that they have learned about from extension agents or

other sources. Logistics can also be important in agriculture and fisheries, where perishable goods

must reach the market before they spoil. Some government and private organization have taken

initiative to make aware the farmers to use best input (manures, fertilizers, seeds and irrigation to get

best output. for example :-

Project Sampark:

IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited (IKSL) Pilot in UP (E), extended to 15 circles

Partners: IFFCO & Airtel

It sends voice messages daily to farmers on Mandi prices, Farming techniques, Weather

forecasts Fertilizer availability.

There are help lines to answer and resolve farmers „queries.

Empower farmers by giving access to relevant information in real-time

Help increase production efficiency

Create access to previously inaccessible commodities and services

Lead to better health and physical condition of the rural population

Create better access to employment & providing earning opportunities.

Connectivity will help user in prosperity.

Education:-

Perhaps the greatest experience in using telecommunications for development is in the field of

education. Educators were among the first to apply mass media to extend the range of education,

using radio in the 1950s and 1960s for non formal education such as basic literacy for adults, and for

formal education, either by teaching children directly in classrooms where teachers were unqualified,

or by instructing the teachers themselves, so that they could better teach the students. In the 1970s,

educators also began to use television in countries where it was available, the advent of satellite

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technology offered an opportunity to distribute educational programs over an entire country or region.

Satellites also provided a reliable means of interactive communication to link locations that

previously had only HF radio or no telecommunications services at all. Today, radio is still used

extensively for distance education in many parts of the country. While televised courses are more

often found in industrialized areas. However, the major change has been in the growth of interactive

applications, ranging from audio tutorials and student interaction to computer conferencing and in

some limited applications, fully interactive video, typically using video compression. Most of these

applications require very limited bandwidth; even video adequate for some instructional purposes can

use as few as two 64 Kbit telephone lines.

Health care:-

Telecommunications is used for three different functions in support of health care delivery:

Consultation: -To give advice to rural health workers, or directly to isolated patients;

Training:-To train to health care workers,

Education: - gives knowledge about target populations including expectant mothers, mothers of

young children, groups susceptible to contagious diseases, etc.

Consultation:-

The model of combining telecommunications with transportation to provide health services in an

isolated area has been very useful. Two-way radio networks are used in many parts of the countries to

support isolated para professional health workers. More reliable networks relying on terrestrial

systems or satellites are also used for medical consultation in developing regions.

Training & Education:-

Telecommunications networks can also be used for training and continuing education of health

workers. Numerous projects have used communication technology in support of health education,

much of which is targeted to women as expectant mothers, mothers of small children, and community

residents. Successful campaigns have used a variety of media from posters to radio and television,

depending on the message and the resources available. Interactive communication is less common,

but may be used for administrative support and for follow up with health workers and project staff. In

general, it has been found that mass media messages plus interpersonal communication are needed to

effect changes in behavior as well as attitude, for example in oral rehydration therapy, in which the

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mother is taught to feed a mixture of clean water, salt and sugar to children with diarrhea. Similar

strategies are now being used for AIDS prevention.

Administrative and Professional Support:-

To the above categories can be added supported provided by interactive networks, for administrative

functions such as ordering of medical supplies and scheduling field Visits; data collection from the

field, and access to medical journals for research and reference.

Economical development:-

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and urban slums gain maximum benefits in enhancing

their businesses through the use of mobile services. In underserved areas, mobile phones can help to

widen markets, create better information flows, lower transaction costs and substitute for costly

physical transport Real benefits of telecommunications only start when a region passes a threshold

penetration rate of about 25%.Many areas have still not attained that level, which indicates the

importance of increasing teledensity as soon as possible. According to a recently published ICRIER

(Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations) Report, Telecommunications is a

critical building block for the country‟s economic development. Indian states with higher mobile

penetration can be expected to grow faster, and by 1.2% points for every 10%increase in mobile

penetration rate. Access to communications needs to be seen as a foundation on which other

initiatives can be built. Information via mobile, such as weather reports and market prices, has begun

to have an impact on productivity for the agricultural sector.

Empowering women:-

Development agencies have identified the role of women in development as an important priority. To

date, there is little research on the impact of telecommunications, particularly on women in rural

regions of developing countries. Additional research is needed on telecommunications usage by rural

women in different cultures, and factors that appear to affect both usage by women and the indirect

benefits of telecommunications for rural women in general, for example, in terms of improved

maternal and child care, education and opportunities, and market prices for rural products. A

particular priority for countries is improving female literacy. The Bank could fund research on

applications of telecommunications for rural literacy, either through direct instruction of rural girls

and women, or through teacher training and other support for female literacy campaigns.

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Good governance: -

We observe that a two-way flow of information between policy making and public debate is

necessary for good governance, and that media holds the role of facilitating that flow. However, it

states that the media must be fostered to engender transparency, accountability, and responsiveness

through an enabling environment.

Our view is that governance requires an inclusive public space based on informed dialogue and

debate and suggests that communication, which can facilitate a broader voice and accountability, has

a positive impact on good governance. Further, the positive benefit of communication "is most

evident when the basic preconditions for democracy and/or good governance exist, for example,

when there are established mechanisms for holding government to account, as in elections, and when

the government is prepared to listen.... It is also necessary to ensure that enabling factors are in place

so that voices can be heard and citizens be provided with the means to hold government to account.",

maximising the impact of communication programmes on governance may be enhanced by

advocating the use of the following: a differentiated approach - learning from conventional mass

media - to reach large populations; social marketing to target specific groups; social mobilisation to

bolster participation; media advocacy to gain support from governments and donors; and popular folk

media to generate dialogue and activate information networks.

Access to knowledge: -

Accessing Knowledge is key to social and economic development. The use of information and

communication technologies offers new opportunities, but also risks increasing existing knowledge

gaps, due to socio-economic, educational, cultural, language and other barriers. Disparities exist on

the level of access to relevant information, as well as on the level of capacities to create, transform

and share it.

Conclusion: - In compiling these observations, we hope to highlight successful strategies for using

ICT to create a developmental impact, and to provide recommendations - from the point of view of

actual practitioners - for implementing various ICT applications in rural sectors in India. Because a

considerable number of ICT applications have been implemented and well-documented in India at the

district level, the focus of this book is on applications where there is much greater contact with

citizens - that is, at the Taluka level. ICT applications in rural development are classified here as

those that provide decision support to public administrators for improving planning and monitoring

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of developmental programmes, improve services to citizens and bring in transparency, empower

citizens through access to information and knowledge, and expand private sector development.

Our research gives a detail of a number of different motivations for, strategies behind, and impacts of

ICT applications in the rural context in India. Here are just a few examples are: Agriculture,

Education, Health care, Economical development, Empowering Women Good governance and

Access to knowledge etc.

In the analysis we have found that it‟s not only the rural population that is being benefitted but all

also the urban population has reaped huge benefits. The current communication policy of the country,

which is one of the face of it is proactive for rural development, but remains urban “pro rich” in

effect. This is because the rural India supports the whole country in terms of supply of raw material,

food products and other material benefits. Therefore the growth of India lies in growth of rural India.

Reflecting on these and other experiences included in this research, we found that implementing

Communication technology in rural development projects will require paying attention to 3 key

factors of success:

1. For whom: "A detailed understanding of the work environment of end users, needs of the

beneficiaries, and specific benefits proposed to be delivered leads to well-planned and

executed projects..."

2. What bundle of services: "In terms of income and employment generation, and improving

skills, rural ICT centers must be multipurpose in order to be economically viable..."

3. How well they are managed: "The empirical record revealed that all the projects took longer

than expected. They required adjustment to underlying, unfavorable implementation

conditions..." Strategies discussed here for enhancing chances of success with regard to

management/sustainability include: ensuring private-sector involvement, implementing built-

in reviews, timing investments well, enhancing existing programmers, ensuring multipurpose

and multi functionality, defining outcome indicators, and realistically replicating pilot

projects.

14


References :-

Agrawal, Binod C.1981 SITE social evaluation ,Results, Experiences and

Implications.Ahmedabad : Space Application Center.

Armitage, John 2001, Resisting the Neoliberal Discourse of Technology: The Politics of Cyber

Culture in the Age of the Virtual Class. From Internet.

Haqqani, Abdul-Basit, ed. 2003, The Role of Information and Communication Technologies in

Global Development: Analysis and Policy Recommendations.

www.commint.com

www.satishserial.com

www.idrc.ca

portal.unesco.org

http://www.commint.com/

http://www.satishserial.com/

http://www.idrc.ca/

Impact of Communication Technology on Rural Population

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