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Nepal taps IBM to set IT policy for “smarter country” vision

Tony Chan | August 4, 2009 | 0 Comments

The Government of Nepal’s High Level Commission for Information Technology (HLCIT) has tapped IBM to help with the development of “policy, frameworks, research and solutions to support Nepal’s vision of being a smart country.”

As part of a long-term cooperation and collaboration, IBM will create an innovation policy to help the Government of Nepal achieve its development goals specific to e-government transformation and IT sector development, as well as key infrastructure and IT skills capacity building. The collaboration is part of IBM’s Smarter Planet initiative, which aims to apply a range of technologies to drive sustainable economic development in different geographies and industries.

Leading the collaboration will be an Innovation & Smarter Planet Task Force to be set up by the Government’s HLCIT and chaired by the HLCIT vice chairman along with representation from key stakeholders, including IBM. However, IBM will be contributing its “domain expertise” in helping run National Innovation Initiatives and Smarter Planet policy reviews.

“Technology provides a cost effective way of making local systems and infrastructure smarter, improving the quality of life for citizens. Through our collaboration with IBM, we will put in place the core infrastructure required to move the large majority of processes in Nepal into the digital society,” says the Honorable Manohar K Bhattarai, vice chairman, HLCIT, Government of Nepal. “This project is significant because of its scope and what it will deliver to the people here, simplifying their dealings with government agencies and increasing overall efficiency.”

Sanjiv Pande, vice president, emerging markets, IBM India/South Asia, says the collaboration will pave the way for Nepal to “reorient their structures, information technology and policies around the citizens they server.” IBM, Pande adds, will help HLCIT build a framework for interconnecting “dynamically” with its citizens, communities and businesses in real time to “spur growth, innovation and progress.”

A major focus of the initiative will be IT skills development and implementation of the Smarter Planet solutions. IBM will extend the company’s Shared University Research (SUR) grants and University Relations (UR) grants, as well as funding for students and postdoctoral research fellows. As part of the collaboration, IBM and HLCIT will establish an Open Innovation Resource Center in Nepal.

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