An overview of growth in the ICT sector in India: can this growth be pro-poor?

摘要

This paper reviews the ICT sector in India and explores the impact on rural poverty within the country. Given the early stages of its expansion, the literature on the impact of ICT on poverty reduction is at a rudimentary stage. The paper identifies issues critical to examining if ICT has implicit poverty reduction pathways. A discussion follows on who the poor are, what is their interface if any with the local ICT sector and what is meant by pro-poor growth. Possible transmission mechanisms of benefit from the ICT growth to the poor in India are then proposed.