- April 29: Steve Jobs denies 'location-gate'
- April 24: U.S. Coast Guard investigation finds 'poor safety culture' contributed to Deepwater Horizon disaster
- April 23: Apple collecting location data from iPhone, iPad
- April 17: Bloomberg and Clinton create green alliance
- April 16: Experts raise serious questions over safety of U.S. oil industry and warn another spill may be 'unavoidable'
- April 14: Scientists create schizophrenic brain cells
- April 13: Anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's spaceflight marks fifty years of human space travel
- April 13: NASA celebrates 30th anniversary of first shuttle launch; annouces new homes for retired shuttles
- April 8: Microsoft to release patches for 64 security flaws on Tuesday
- April 4: Genetically modified dairy cows produce 'human milk'
Prakash Raj Singh Suwal
Systems Consultant
Software Development Division
Blue Chip International (PVT) Ltd.
Nepal is a land locked Asian country between China and India located at a Latitude: 26° 22' N to
30° 27' N Longitude: 80° 4' E to 88° 12' E. It covers an area of 141,181m2, with average length
885 km (East to West) and average width 193km. (North to South.). It population is about
25,284,463 (July 2001 est.). Kathmandu is its capital.
The installation and operation of Main Frame IBM-1401 computer in 1971, in the National
Computer Center (NCC) at Kathmandu in 1971 for the National population census, saw the advent
of Electronic Data Processing Technology in Nepal. NCC was established with the purpose of
giving computer related service to government bodies, developing computer manpower and
enhancing computer consciousness. Later on NCC used ICL-2950/10 Main Frame computer, a DG
Mini-computer, a Prime Mini-computer. Now, there is an Information and Technology ministry
itself in the government level and a National Informatics Center (NIC) under the ministry,
instead of NCC, to advise and formulate National level IT policies and plans.
Inspired by the success of NCC's activities and to fulfill the people's quest for new knowledge
and skills, now a day there are more than 300 private Computer training institutes. These
institutes, both big and small have played a significant role in promoting IT awareness in the
country. Besides conducting training programs, many of these private companies offer
Consultancy services, Software Packages and Hardware maintenance as well as computer
assembly. IT solution provider companies are also slowly coming up in the capital Kathmandu.
In the education sector also IT subject have been introduced from the primary level to higher
secondary level. These days, there are many colleges running graduate level academic IT courses.
Personal Computer is fast becoming an essential household item in the affluent families of the
country.
Internet technology has also been introduced to the country. Modern Telecommunication
Services, which are the backbone of IT, are recently developed. In Nepal first Telephone Exchange was established in 1960. Telephone Services are provided only by Nepal
Telecommunication Corporation (NTC), a government undertaking. There is more than 7 private
Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the Kathmandu valley, besides NTC. Government has also
issued license for Cellular & WLL networks to Private parties.
NTC has at present 630,000 telephone lines & 100,000 GSM cellular Mobile phone lines. It has
VSAT network with 1,000 terminals in the mountain regions to serve the rural areas and 5,000-
lines WLL network in Western Development Region. Besides NTC, there are some private service
providers in Radio Paging, Video conferencing, Fax mail services, VSAT network etc.
These days many teenagers are hooked to Internet Chat and mail services. Internet cafes have
sprouted like mushrooms in the country. Tourists visiting the country are also finding it very
handy and useful. Web designing courses are in very much demand. Internet is fast becoming a
household necessity. Internet users are estimated to be around 200,000 currently and it is fast
increasing.
Some overseas jobs are also been carried out in the country. There are some institutions, doing
GIS related work for Japanese client. Some are doing medical transcription job for US client.
Some are doing software development jobs for overseas client. Some are independently working
as call centers for overseas clients.
The government has also brought forward IT policy to encourage IT related activities. The
government is building an IT park at Dhulikhel, a mountain resort of east of Kathmandu. Many
overseas companies have also opened their franchise at Kathmandu. Many are conducting
internationally recognized certified IT courses.
With all these activities, and infrastructure development, the information technology situation
in Nepal is heading towards rapid development. Qualified HR well versed in IT is rapidly growing
in the country. The IT related works done in the overseas country can be done here at the one
fourth of that cost, since HR costs as well as infrastructure costs here are very low. In fact,
many qualified IT personnel have immigrated to overseas for greener pastures.
Nepali IT companies are trying to get a breakthrough in the global market, which they are
finding it extremely difficult to get access and directly penetrate. IT is the main hope for a
landlocked mountainous country like Nepal. The day, Nepal will show its presence in the IT map
of the globe, will be the brightest day in the history of the country.
Source:http://www.cicc.or.jp