ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENTOF RURAL HOUSEHOLD THROUGH EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF INFORAMTION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOGIES BEST PRACTICES - A CASE STUDY ON NREGA

摘要

In the recent past, many developing nations have launched large scale, multi-year programs to accelerate the rural and urban economic convergence. Many of these programs have partially succeeded in achieving their objectives. An investigation into the reasons for sub-optimal achievements reveals lack of knowledge, lack of trust and power imbalances between agencies involved in executing such large scale programs. This paper examines how developments in information and communications technologies (ICT) can resolve the above issues using National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) as a case study. NREGA is one of the largest rural development programs ever to be undertaken by Government of India with the primary objective of creating sustainable rural livelihoods through rejuvenation of natural resource base i.e. creation of productive rural assets Within NREGA, there are many agencies involved from the time Government approves the fund to the time the funds are made available to the rural poor. Our paper examines how best practices of ICT can enhance knowledge, trust and power balance through collaboration and cooperation between the agencies. The recommendations have been made after studying the audit reports, identifying the problems, and applying the best practices of ICT technology to address the problems. For our recommendations to work, it is imperative to examine how technology has been adopted in other eGovernment programs and discuss its limitations. This paper discusses various ways by which ICT can provide economic empowerment to the rural poor and also identifies future research topics.