India: Bihar to e-connect villages
The dream of Bihar’s rural folks to surf the internet at their villages would soon become a reality. The government has initiated a plan to take information technology to the grass root level by setting up common service centres called Vasudha.Explaining the concept to DNA, deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said Vasudhas would be started in e-kiosks to be setup by the ‘SREI Sahaj E-Village’. The e-kiosks will function as the delivery point for e-governance as well as e-learning centres, where the youth can access distant education modules and vocational skills other than normal internet access.
USA: Civilian agencies’ IT spending to outpace DoD
Civilian agency spending on information technology projects will outpace Defense Department IT spending over the next five years, according to one industry association forecast.The Government Electronics and Information Technology Association (GEIA) projects civilian IT budgets will grow an average of 3 percent over the next five years.
Much of this growth will happen after fiscal 2011, said Meredith Luttner, an associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, who helped compile the GEIA report.
UAE: Sewa services under one roof from Nov 1
Customers of Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa) will be able to complete formalities of securing gas, water and electricity supplies in one place from November 1, 2007.Sewa is working towards launching a customer service centre called Tawseel (installation) by which all the formalities for all kind of services provided by Sewa will be facilitate and completed.
Tanzania: Costech says IT experts are undertilised in govt departments
A senior official with the Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH) has said that Tanzania lacks experts in information technology (IT).Speaking during a two-day workshop on National and Sectoral Strategies for E-Government on Thursday in Dar es Salaam, Enock Mpenzwa, said that apart from the shortage those available were under utilised.
15 public agencies to offer SMS services in Jordan
Starting December, cellular phone subscribers will be receiving SMSs informing them, for example, that their driving licence would expire in a certain period of time, or that they should report to a certain public agency to complete some business with the government.The new service will be provided under a project implemented by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology. It involves a total of 15 public agencies and ministries that will send short messages to cellular phones related to announcements and services offered by these agencies, according to Director of e-Government Programme Hassan Horani.