Internet and Its Impact on Developing Countries

The net and its repair on maturation countries examples from chinaw atomic number 18 and India T. Kanti Srikantaiah Dominican University, River Forest, Illinois, ground forces and The net income and its impact on mainland china and India 199 true February 1998 Revised March 1998 Dong Xiaoying Peking University, Beijing, mainland China Introduction In the new nurture climate many countries ar relying on electronic access code to selective randomness by the lucre, which is revolutionising nurture management and randomness technology. Developed countries have ameliorate their communication systems and atomic number 18 able to share information in a user-friendly environment.They have used the net income in various sectors agriculture health public sector management exertion environment telecommunications trade etc. The Internet is now penetrating developing countries. This paper discusses the role of the Internet in such countries, with specific reference t o China and India. The Internet The idea of the Internet originated about 25 years ago at the US Defense Department Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), to keep track of data by means of computer hardware and software. The Internet is now a complex web of profits connected with high-speed links cutting across countries.There are no circumscribe boundaries for the Internet in cyberspace. Re centimeime statistics show 50,000 networks in to a greater extent than 100 countries with more than 50 million users (MIDS press release). It is estimated that the rate of growth in Internet use is just about 20 per cent a month. Currently the Internet is not proprietary and is available to anyvirtuoso with computer access connected to the external world. Since the USA launched the information superhighway in 1994, the Internet has come to play an ever-increasing role in the vast information market in many countries (Table I). Asian Libraries, Vol. 7 none 9, 1998, pp. 199-209. MCB Univ ersity Press, 1017-6748Asian Libraries 7,9 Country G-7 countries Canada France Germany Italy lacquer Great Britain USA Africa South Africa Cyprus Tunisia Jamaica Senegal Egypt Mozambique Burkina Faso Cameroon Ghana Kenya Morocco New Caledonia Niger Swaziland Host Initial connection Country Turkey Indonesia Philippines India China capital of Kuwait Malaysia United Arab Republic Kazakhstan Macau Fiji Uzbekistan Vietnam Lebanon Lithuania Latin America Brazil Mexico Chile Ecuador Peru Argentina Bermuda Venezuela Puerto Rico Costa Rica Guam Virgin Islands Nicaragua Panama Dominican Republic Host 22,963 10,861 4,309 4,794 25,594 3,555 6 994 1,136 1 0 153 3 1,128 2,761Initial connection 12/91 07/93 04/94 11/90 04/94 12/92 11/92 11/93 11/93 04/94 06/93 12/94 04/95 06/94 04/94 200 690,316 292,096 875,631 211,966 955,688 878,215 825,048 07/88 07/88 09/89 08/89 08/89 04/89 07/88 419 1,973 15 349 275 1,894 44 2 75 275 457 888 59 34 240 12/91 12/92 05/91 05/94 10/94 11/93 03/95 10/94 12/92 10/9 4 11/93 10/94 10/94 10/94 05/94 Asia and Middle East Taiwan 40,706 12/91 Table I. South Korea 132,370 04/90 diffusion of hosts Israel 61,140 08/89 connected to the Internet capital of Singapore 60,674 05/91 (1997) G-7 countries, Thailand 12,794 07/92 Africa, Asia, Middle East and Latin America Source of host number http// entanglement. w. com/zone/www/dist-byname. html, 1997 68,685 126 19,168 1,078 6,510 18,985 1,648 4,679 114 4,259 91 7 743 390 25 06/90 02/89 04/90 07/92 11/93 10/90 05/90 02/94 10/89 01/93 10/93 03/93 02/94 06/94 04/95 Malaysias Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohammed, once said It can be no misadventure that there is today no wealthy developed awkward that is information poor, and no information rich country that is poor and underdeveloped (Nagy, 1991, p. 57). This statement emphasises the importance of the Internet for developing countries.From an international perspective access to and use of the Internet is unbalanced there are obvious gaps between developed and developing countries in terms of the numbers of nets, hosts and users. As a study from the Panos Institute indicated The Internet and its impact on Table I provides data on hosts and connection dates for selected countries in China and India Africa, Latin America, Asia and Pacific, along with G-7 countries for comparison.Of the hosts 56 per cent were in the USA, 26 per cent in Europe, 16 per cent in Canada and Latin America, 12 per cent in Asia and the Middle East, and the dwelling 1 per cent were in African countries. The G-7 countries took about 80 per cent of total nets connected with the Internet, and the number of nets in 55 developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America amounted to further 5 per cent. According to another study, based on data from human beings Bank frugal and cordial indicators, the correlation of Internet nodes with GNP per capita is 0. 88 per cent.Adjusted for population size, the country with the highest density of nodes for population was Swit zerland. The USA ranked six-spotth, and India was one of the lowest. So the revolution in electronic publishing and accessing is not really spheric (Jacobson, 1994). The timing of connection to the Internet is epochal. For instance, while most developed countries obtained their connections to the Internet between 1988 and 1990, developing countries began around 1994-95. even so now many developing countries do not have Internet facilities. An approximate date of Internet connectivity for selected countries is also given in Table I.The World Bank has published data on various economic and social indicators for 133 countries. Table II shows data on population, literacy and GNP for selected developing countries and the G-7 countries. Tables I and II show a definite correlation among GNP per capita, population, analphabetism and number of networks connected with the Internet. The data show that the higher(prenominal) the GNP per capita and the lower the illiteracy rate, the great t he number of links to the Internet, whereas indicators such as higher population, higher illiteracy and lower GNP per capita accompany fewer connections to the Internet.For most developing countries Internet connections brought the friendly opportunity of leapfrog development through participating and competing in global trade, share information globally in education, look into and manufacturing/productivity sectors, and alleviating p everywherety, contributing to improved social and economic indicators. culture environment in China and India China and India are the two most populous countries in the world. With more than 2 million people in these two countries, the market for the Internet is vast.In addition, both China and India are information-rich countries with a long tradition of learning, publishing and media activities. Both countries have lately experienced phenomenal growth in economic terms. According to a World Bank report, the annual average growth of GNP during t he period 1985-94 in China and in India was around 7 per cent and 3 per cent respectively (World Bank Atlas, 1996). Compared with other developing countries of the akin scale, China and India have shown significant growth in the development here is a danger of a new information elitism which excludes the majority of the worlds population (John, 1995). 201 Asian Libraries 7,9 G-7 countries Canada France Germany Italy Japan United Kingdom USA Africa Cameroon Egypt Kenya South Africa Asia China Indonesia India Malaysia Thailand Latin America Argentina Brazil Mexico Peru GNP per capita in US$, 1994 Real growth rate, 1985-94 (%) Population, 1994 (000) ontogenesis rate, 1985-94 (%) Illiteracy rate, 1990 (%) 202 19,570 23,470 25,580 19,270 34,630 18. 410 25,860 680 710 260 3,010 530 880 310 3,520 2,210 8,060 3,370 4,010 1,890 0. 4 1. 7 1. 9 1. 3. 2 1. 4 1. 3 6. 6 1. 6 0. 0 1. 4 6. 9 6. 0 2. 9 2. 7 8. 2 1. 9 0. 4 0. 6 2. 5 29,121 57,726 81,141 57,154 124,782 58,088 260,529 12,871 57,556 2 6,017 41,591 1,190,918 189,907 913,600 19,498 58,718 34,180 159,143 91,858 23,331 1. 3 0. 5 0. 5 0. 1 0. 2 0. 3 1. 0 2. 8 2. 0 2. 9 2. 4 1. 4 2. 0 2. 0 2. 5 1. 6 1. 4 1. 8 2. 2 2. 0 * * * 3 * * * 46 52 31 27 23 52 22 7 5 19 13 15 Table II. Basic indicators for selected developing countries and G-7 countries Notes = not available *according to UNESCO, illiteracy is less than 5 per cent Source The World Bank Atlas (1996) Washington DC World Bank ycle and in the utilisation of information technologies and information management. The steep decrease in the price of personal computers, proliferating software in Asia and the multimedia influx have contributed to growing markets and Internet use in China and India. Sales of PCs in these regions have expanded more than 20 per cent each year (Sherry, 1995, p. 71). A rating scale by the Gartner Group predicts a long-term authority for information technology in the Asian and Pacific region (Gartner Group, 1996).The rating is based on populat ion, education, GDP, economic growth, government support to IT, popularity of IT, IT industry (and its competitiveness), the industry type and international perspective. Table III shows details for China and India, as well as selected countries for comparison. The total rating score for China was 75 and for India 58. In China the population of 1. 2 billion lives on 9. 6 million square kilometres. With its long civilisation and tradition of learning, and with its economy CountryEconomic Government Popularity constancy Total Population Education GDP growth support to IT of IT Competitive type planetary score 9 9 4 3 4 8 7 4 9 8 7 5 9 9 7 6 5 6 3 2 2 5 4 1 5 2 18 10 12 17 16 12 12 12 14 14 8 5 8 5 6 6 8 4 9 8 7 6 0 2 10 9 7 3 6 8 3 4 7 10 0 1 9 9 7 3 5 7 1 3 7 10 6 7 5 4 5 7 7 4 7 7 6 5 8 7 4 2 4 2 7 5 6 4 4 3 53 50 75 58 58 58 62 52 50 55 62 60 The Internet and its impact on China and India 203 USA 8 Japan 8 China 10 India 10 Indonesia 8 South Korea 6 Malaysia 3 The Philippines 6 Si ngapore 1 Taiwan 4 Thailand 6 Vietnam 6 Source Gartner Group (1996), China Infoworld, Vol. 1, 29 July Table III. Long-term potential of information technology in Asian and Pacific countries growing rapidly since 1980, China has become one of the most powerful information resources and an integral part of the world information community. In 1995 there were 101,381 books, 7,583 kinds of magazines (4,014 are scientific and technical journals) and 2,089 newspapers (205 national and 844 provincial newspapers) published by nearly 600 publishers nationwide (Handbook of Press, 1996). There are 1,080 universities located in 29 provinces, and more than one million students graduate each year.There are 350,000 libraries of different types public, university and school, research, military and labour union libraries. There are plans to have at least(prenominal) one library in each village and urban range in China by the year 2000. Government has always been the biggest information producer a nd consumer. A total of 34 information centres belonging to different central government departments, China Statistical Bureau, China Economic reading effect and theme Scientific and Technical Commission (NSTC) distribute and collect information from the central government at provincial, city and county levels.Chinese general information systems are divided into six categories (1) information centres affiliated with the matter Scientific and Technical Commission (2) information centres belonging to central government ministries (3) information centres of a provincial nature (4) information centres of a specialised nature affiliated to regional governments (5) information centres affiliated with state enterprises, universities and other research institutions Asian Libraries 7,9 204 (6) information centres of non-governmental, regional, professional and similar bodies (Dong, 1995).Since 1994, the global upsurge of the information highway has influenced Chinese decision-makers. Chin as information superhighway, consisting of eight golden projects, covers networks among universities, industry and state enterprises. The public need for the Internet and its potential are vast. India, which gained independence in 1947, covers a vast area of over 3. 2 million square kilometres and has a population of more than 900 million. In the area of information India is relatively rich, being the seventh largest publisher in he world. It also supports a flourishing book industry some 11,000 publishers publish more than 18,000 monographs each year and there are more than 30,000 periodicals, of which 5,000 are in English. There are thousands of book-sellers, more than 196 universities and 8,100 colleges and research institutions. The student population in higher education alone exceeds 5 million. In Delhi alone, there are 360 booksellers, six universities, 80 colleges, approximately 40 research institutions and over 100 government agencies.Government offices and quasi-government offices at central, state, district, subdistrict and village levels produce and consume vast amounts of information. At the national level the main sources of information include various line ministries the Central Statistical shaping (CSO) the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) the Registrar-General of India (RGI) the National Information center (NIC) the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) INSDOC DELNET Tata Energy Research Institution the Centre for cognition and Environment and the Federation of India Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI).There are hundreds of governmental bodies at state and local levels. The information output from these offices in the various sectors is considerable. In addition, information is created, acquired and disseminated in all manufacturing and service sectors. These sectors indicate the scope for the Internet in India. Over the years the demand for information has increased in India and China. In India the market f or information in English is enormous, as English speakers form a significant proportion of the literate population.They are for the most part wellestablished in economic and social terms and need information in paper and electronic forms. This is also reflected in the fact that the majority of newspapers and periodicals are published in English. India, one of the largest publishers in the world, exports many books and periodicals to countries in Asia and Africa and also to Western countries. It imports much printed The Internet and material from abroad. its impact on China has make substantial progress in information management.China and India According to a 1996 report, there were 1,038 databases covering both Chinese and English sources, representing an increase of almost 30 per cent since the previous survey in 1992 (Guide to Chinese Databases, 1996) 205 there were 41 per cent of databases concentrated in science, industry and technology economy and business databases account ed for 28. 6 per cent, a considerable increase over the 1992 figure social science took 15 per cent general, 5. 6 per cent law and medicine gained 3. 5 per cent news and mass media took about 2. 9 per cent databases with abstracts represented 66. per cent, and full-text and number databases took less than 30 per cent. With the inclusion of Hong Kong, China has become a superpower in information acquisition and distribution, not only in Asia but also on a global basis. It is anticipated that demand for information in China allow continue to grow in significant terms in the next decade. In both India and China access to the Internet will be extremely valuable. Internet connections In China the first TCP/IP link to the Internet was established in 1994, in the Institute of Higher Physics (IHEP), Chinese Academy of Science.The following are also connected with the Internet Chinese Public Internet (Chinanet), established and run by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, th e backbone of Internet connection in Beijing. It is available through local post offices for a subscription. China Education and Research network (CERNET), owned by the domain Education Commission. In 1996 CERNET connected 100 universities nation-wide. Eventually, it will connect to all universities and will become the basis for the booming educational and research development. National Computing and Networking Facilities of China (NCFC), started in 1989 and was the first high-speed network funded by the State Planning Commission and the World Bank. In 1994 its international route was opened. Gi Tong Company Network (GBNET), established in 1994, and supported by the Ministry of Electricity, has more than 1,000 users. Over three years China has shown an increase in numbers of computers and Internet users. According to statistics provided by the Information Centre of Asian Libraries 7,9 206 China Internet, the number of Internet users increased dramatically between 1994 and Novemb er 1997.The number of hosts connecting with the Internet increased approximately 35 times, from 569 to 19,739. The number of users increased steadily from 1,600 in 1994 to 620,000 in 1997, coming mainly from education, science, business and government (Information Centre of China Internet, 1997). ChinaNet plans to cover 30 provinces, and nation-wide users will exceed one million (Ge, 1996, p. 161). Internet users are generally scientists, social scientists, academics, university students, researchers and technical experts with higher-educational backgrounds and proficient in English.Access is gained, primarily, through universities, scientific and technical institutions and corporations. In India Internet access was initiated in November 1986 through the Education and Research Network (ERNET), with assistance from the Government of India and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Eight institutions were involved the five Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), the Indian In stitute of Science (IISC) in Bangalore, the National Centre for Software Technology (CST) in Bombay and the Department of Electronics (DOE) in Delhi.The objectives included (1) setting up a nationwide computer network for the academic and research community to promote research and development in India and abroad (2) strengthening national capabilities in information infrastructure (3) building specialised human resources through education and training to increase awareness of information resources available through the Internet and (4) opening an India-USA technology gateway to provide a wide information base with other servers (ERNET, 1995).Three other upcountry service providers became involved at a later date (1) SOFTNET by STP (2) National Information Centre (NICNET) and (3) Gateway Internet Access Services (GIAS) (Ramakrishnan, n. d. ). By September 1996, India had more than 100,000 Internet users, 70,000 through ERNET, 15,000 through SOFTNET 2,000 through NICNET and 8,000 thr ough GIAS. User numbers are expected to grow to one million in the next three years by then computer penetration will be around 10 million PCs.The education and research community has maximum penetration with 65 per cent, followed by business users of 25 per cent and other users of 10 per cent in the government and private households. A dramatic growth is expected once private sectors enter the Internet market. The city of Bangalore is expected to dominate the internal market because of its electronic city image (Ramakrishnan, n. d. ).Current issues and conclusions The Internet and There are three major areas of concern about the Internet that are significant in its impact on developing countries China and India (1) national information insurance policy (2) regulatory framework and information infrastructure and 207 (3) education and training. National information policy Developing countries have a long tradition of oral culture therefore, awareness of information sources in writte n form tends to be minimal.While national information policy in developing countries concentrates on trade, international relations, national security and technology, very little attention has been paid to accessing information electronically through the Internet and to deriving benefits. Developing countries, in order to achieve faster economic growth, should include in their official documents high-priority plans for implementing electronic information delivery systems. Policy statements should be integrated into national planning documents such as five-year plans and should be implemented on schedule.Sufficient patronage should be allocated at the planning stage and should be make available quickly for implementation. Regulatory framework and information infrastructure The regulatory framework in developed countries enforces protection of investment, intellectual property and individual loneliness in the information market. The legal framework addresses private sector involveme nt, skilled human resources, standards and implementation. In most developing countries regulatory frameworks concerning information do not exist.Although the rapid growth in information technology is changing methods of doing business at home, at work and in organisations in both developed and developing countries, regulatory frameworks have had very little effect on developing countries. While information technology, including telecommunications, has penetrated every market in the developed world, developing countries calm view information technology as a means to support management information systems, finance and accounting facilities, and data processing.Computer penetration per capita in both China and India in the area of small office/home office (SOHO) is still not significant in relation to population numbers. Telecommunications still remain a major issue in both China and India. If information infrastructure were to cover the widespread Chinese and Indian populations, and technology were to be made available to access global information through the Internet, then the economic scene would be revitalised. Awareness of the Internet and its importance for policy makers xists only at the executive level, but unfortunately, not at the political level. This postulate to be addressed urgently in both countries. Asian Libraries 7,9 208 Education and training Workforces in developing countries, as in developed countries, are changing from labour intensive to knowledge-based work. In developed countries, surveys have shown Internet use is associated with higher education. The same principle applies in developing countries. Thus, attention needs to be paid to improving literacy rates.It is the responsibility of governments, central, state and local, of learning institutions and civic associations to work together to chide literacy levels in developing countries. The training of information professionals should be given priority. Trained information profession als will be able to utilise the Internet more expeditiously and will be more effective in acquiring, organising and disseminating information. Often, developing countries are concerned about safeguarding their heritage of language and culture and supporting political systems.They are weary of foreign economic formats. Appropriate training for information professionals is an immediate requirement. Trained professionals can then educate the masses and take advantage of the Internet, sharing the dissemination of knowledge through cyberspace and adding value to the global information sector. The information revolution is real, and an information economy has already emerged, accelerating economic and social modification. Information is crucial and is the central resource and basis for competition.The Internet will assist in development in the following ways assessing the information capacity of the country and determining user needs, organising and synthesising information and providin g access to internal and external information disseminating information to meet the needs of the public and private sectors and the daily information needs of the general public. The two items are almost inseparable and have a symbiotic relationship. In developing countries it is urgent to train information professionals to support information infrastructure and information management.In the contemporary world, information is vital to all sectors. Thus, the role of governments in utilising the Internet is critical. First, it influences appropriate use of the Internet for social and economic change in the transition from labour-intensive production to knowledge-based information industries. Second, it defines public and private sector relationships and opens the market to a strong private information sector. Third, it redefines telecommunication policies to discriminate down monopolies and to encourage competition among international and indigenous vendors.In conclusion, there is n o single solution that can be applied, uniformly, to all agencys in developing countries. each case needs to be evaluated and customised to meet individual country needs. Priorities must be determined, depending on available resources. Indigenous resources should be harnessed and other resources tapped, including funding from international organisations. The Internet has considerable potential in developing countries it is relevant to lobbying for more government support and budget allocation it ffers delivery modes for the collection and dissemination of information it may The Internet and be used to mobilise support among specialised ministries, universities and its impact on industries to produce and manage information, and to emphasise institutional China and India arrangements to influence policy makers and information purveyors to promote the Internet for the countrys development. References Dong, X. (1995), The development and management of secondary information systems and services in China, International Information and Library Review, Vol. 27, pp. 83-94. ERNET to Academic and Research Community (1995), brochure. Gartner Group (1996), Information industry in Asia and Pacific is catching up and will become a main player in the 21st century, China Infoworld, Vol. 41. Ge, W. (1996), Internet in China the state of art and perspectives, China Computerworld, Vol. 9, September. Guide to Chinese Databases (1996), State Planning Commission and the State Scientific and Technological Commission, Beijing. Handbook of Press and Publ ication Statistics in China (1996), Press and Publications Administration, Beijing.Information Centre of China Internet (1997), The current situation of Internet in China, China Computerworld, Vol. 10, November. Jacobson, T. L. (1994), The electronic publishing revolution is not global , Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Vol. 45 No. 10, pp. 745-52. John, M. (1995), Third world faces information poverty , CD News Bank Comprehensive, Reuters America, 11 October. MIDS press release New data on the size of the Internet and the matrix, . Nagy, H. 1991), Information technology in World Bank lending increasing the development and development impact, World Bank Discussion Papers, Vol. 120,World Bank, Washington, DC. Ramakrishnan, S. (n. d. ), head, Information Infrastructure Division, Department of Electronics, Government of India, New Delhi, personal communication. Sherry, A. (1995), The East is wired, Far Eastern Economic Review, Vol. 15. The World Bank Atlas (1996), World Bank, Washington, DC. approximately the authors Dr Dong Xiaoying is Associate Professor in the Department of Information Management at Peking University.She is also a member of the Editorial Advisory table of Asian Libraries. Address Department of Information Management, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China. E-mail emailprotected bta. net. cn. Dr T. Kanti Srikantaiah is Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Librar y and Information Science at Dominican University, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Dominican University, 7900 West Division Street, River Forest, IL 60305. E-mail emailprotected dom. edu 209