Addressing a workshop organised to mark the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) here on Friday, Paudel called on to bring projects for laying optical fibre along highways and feeder roads. “The government will arrange the required funds,” he said.

She said that technological advancements in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) field have created numerous opportunities for people around the world and this year's theme for WTISD "ICTs and improving road safety" was very relevant to the growing traffic and road accidents problem.

Telecommunications experts have showed that fatality rate is less in those countries that use modern tools in their road management system.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) organised the seminar at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre marking the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD).

In order to defend the country against infiltration by seaborne terrorists or pirates, the State Government of Kerala, has decided to issue biometric identity cards to seafaring fishermen in the state.

The National Informatics Centre (NIC) in Kerala will issue 800 fishermen in the state with machine-readable biometric cards, in the first phase of the project. The project is scheduled to begin in September this year and it aims at including nearly 300,000 fishermen. Currently, the NIC already has a national database of 300,000 registered fishing vessels.

He announced that there are six locations in the district where people can get their biometric recordd taken and added that even BPL card holders still need to get the ADHAR.

He continued that almost 33% of the total registration of ADHAR has been completed in the district and added that the state govt directives is for the administration of CCpur to complete obtaining the biometric record by June 30.

The Colorado Department of Corrections and Denver Health Medical Center are launching a telemedicine pilot program in June for incarcerated patients that need consultations in the areas of rheumatology, infectious disease, orthopedics and general surgery. Instead of office visits, inmates and doctors will meet using high-definition video conferencing.

The state hopes the program will reduce the risk of prisoner escape and save money by avoiding costly offsite trips to the medical center. Nineteen different corrections facilities in Colorado will take part in the telemedicine effort.

The yet to be published eHealth Strategy is also expected to recommend that all patients are assigned an IHI, which will be linked to the new public service cards currently being rolled out by the Department of Social Protection.

Speaking to IMN last week at the World of Health IT conference, the Head of ICT at the Department of Health Mr Kevin Conlon explained that work on the introduction of IHIs was at an advanced stage; however, it would need to be backed by legislation under the new Health Information Bill.

The E-health initiative, a remote doctor/patient interface, allows a patient to see a doctor without leaving his home or office.

It does not seek to prevent patients from visiting hospital but to augment existing health care delivery services.

The report, which showcased the positive socio-economic impact of the Internet in Ghana and across Africa, said “capturing the Internet’s potential for economic growth and social gains requires thinking and acting collaboratively, often across sectors,” adding that “harnessing ICT is an endeavour that involves multiple policy actors across multiple sectors.”

The report, commissioned by Google and launched in Accra this week, was conducted by Dalberg Global Development Advisors, an international management consultancy firm.

Dr Engineer Ali Mohamad Al Khouri, Director General of Emirates Identity Authority stressed that the UAE has made important strides on the road to transform to the “Electronic Government” under its quest to establish its international competitive position, and to be one of the best governments across the world by the year 2021.

Dr Al Khouri said during his participation with a worksheet at the “International Identity Conference 2013” held in Istanbul-Turkey on Wednesday, that the UAE is in race with time to develop the “Government of the Future,” aiming to achieve happiness in the community, through improving the government work efficiency, effectiveness and excellence and develop a comprehensive service that would make life easier for the people.