Poor digital literacy hinders growth in Nepal

KATHMANDU: MAY. 3 – Poor digital literacy is one of the challenges to achieving the goal of a digital Nepal, stakeholders said on Monday.

Speaking at a programme entitled ‘Problems in the making of digital Nepal’ organised by Tech Journos Forum on Monday, Baikuntha Aryal, secretary of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, said that the government is investing Rs22 billion to implement ‘Digital Nepal Framework’.

The government has requested World Bank’s support for the digital economy.

“We are negotiating with the World Bank for the funding.”

Digital Nepal Framework covers digital foundation, agriculture, health, education, energy, tourism, finance and urban infrastructure.

It was approved by the government on October 22, 2019, and has been included in the 15th plan as a game-changer project.

Aryal said that the government has initiated a digital education in coordination with the Ministry of Education which would start from a few schools in rural areas in the initial phase.

Nepal’s telecom regulator is drafting an integrated national Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) policy to improve access to information technology to all aspects of society and development and to avoid the widening of the digital gap.

The proposed draft envisions serving as an umbrella policy framework, encompassing telecommunications and broadband, ICTs and digital economy landscape to meet the development aspirations of the country.

There are strong linkages between digital adoption and GDP growth. According to a World Bank report, every 10 percent increase in internet penetration in a country results in an incremental economic growth of 1.3 percent.

Nepal has observed impressive growth in the information and communication sector in the last few years.

Although internet use in the least developed countries like Nepal is growing rapidly, disparities still exist between different groups. For example, the percentage of women using the internet is lower than that of men. Additionally, there is a disparity observed between individuals living in urban and rural areas.

With substantial growth in the ICTs, there are many issues the sector has to address as per the changing times, said the stakeholders.

-Kathmandu Post