India turns to ICT for better delivery of welfare schemes
Bihar will become the first state in the country to videograph the distribution of PDS coupons to weed out ineligible recipients. And the Union human resources ministry proposes to use a cheap, indigenously made tablet PC to record BPL and caste data
Hyderabad uses cell phones and GPRS to improve civic services
Using easily available technology to improve governance may be the way out of the quagmire of corruption and bad governance
Developing countries use mobile phones to fight poverty
Given the high penetration of mobile telephony in developing countries like India, using it to deliver scarce banking services in rural areas is one way of fulfilling the government’s financial inclusion programme
Healthcare just an SMS away, in Kerala
Using technology to improve healthcare, Dr SMS provides users with instant health-related information
Gates to promote health projects in Bihar
Microsoft chief Bill Gates has signed a memorandum of cooperation on behalf of his foundation with the Bihar government to work on health projects to eradicate polio, kala azar and tuberculosis in the state
IT industry joins global initiative to cut greenhouse gas emissions
Leading companies and industry bodies pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 4 million tonnes over the next three years
Intel thwarted $ 100 laptop, claims OLPC programme's chief
A project that aimed to bridge the digital divide between rich, industrialised nations and the developing world by providing affordable laptops to poor children has been allegedly jeopardised by the business imperatives of its chief funding partner
Social networking sites take up just causes
From Mumbai Unplug to car-free days, a social consciousness comes to networking sites such as Facebook
India to collect and upload data on villages
Mooted in the 1980s but delayed because of an alleged cash crunch, officials say the exercise will help organise and augment information on the thousands of villages in India
Karnataka to launch 'E-Halli' info kiosks for villages
In the project’s first phase, E-Halli centres will be set up in the 10 districts of Davangere, Chitradurga, Shimoga, Chikmagalur, Haveri, Gadag, Dharwad, Belgaum, Koppal and Bellary