![]() The MOS server connected several times a day to transfer messages. In 1994, after RONAST ended its ERNET project, MOS acquired the technology and set up the first commercial e-mail service with a link to Australia. The phone connection was of low quality and expensive because of the daily international call charges to Bombay, though, and the project soon ended. The service was only for the use of RONAST's scientific community. The Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay had a UNDP-funded Internet connection through the Education and Research Network (ERNET) project, and RONAST set up a system whereby they could connect on a regular basis to ERNET in Bombay to transfer e-mail messages. ![]() The Internet was first introduced into Nepal in 1993 in a venture of the Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (RONAST) and a private company, Mercantile Office Systems (MOS). ![]() The contents of this section are based on interviews with informants within the Nepali Internet community and information that is common knowledge in Nepal except where otherwise cited. Over 60% of Nepal's development budget is funded by international donors, which amounts to approximately 30% of its overall budget ( NSAC, 1998). While Nepal is politically independent, it has become heavily dependent economically on external economic aid over the last 50 years. Since 1951 Nepal has opened up significantly to tourism and foreign aid, but rules about foreigners living and working in Nepal continue to be quite strict. During what is known as the Rana period, from 1846 to 1951, it was almost completely closed to all outsiders. Even with the geographic situation, Nepal began to close itself off in 1816 after a war with the British. Nepal has been politically independent throughout its history and isolated both geographically and politically. The 15% of the population involved in these sectors currently account for 60% of GDP ( NSAC, 1998). As a percentage of GDP, though, industry and commerce and the service sector are growing steadily. Most of the remaining working population are in the service sector. Over 80% of the population relies on agriculture for their income, and fewer than 5% are involved in industry or commerce. The bottom 20% of households receive only 3.7% of the national income, while the top 10% earns almost 50%. ![]() The distribution of income is wide and growing, though. Only 15% of the population has access to electricity ( NSAC, 1998).Īnnual per capita income in Nepal is US $210. Of the 75 districts in Nepal, ten of them have no roads at all because of their remoteness. Because of the rugged terrain, road building is a significant part of development activity, but many people still live far from any road. It covers an area of 140,000 square kilometres and is estimated to have a population of 24 million at present. Nepal is a landlocked, mountainous, constitutional monarchy located between the two most populous countries in the world, India and China. Finally, a common perspective about knowledge sharing in Nepal is explored as it relates to the use of the Internet and the structure of Websites in Nepal. Issues for NGOs regarding the Internet include the cost of telephone calls and integration of the use of the Internet and the development and maintenance of Websites into other office routines. There is an overwhelmingly positive attitude towards these technologies among NGOs and a view that they are primarily useful in allowing individuals and organizations to access a great deal of information easily for the first time, and also for maintaining contacts and creating networks internationally. This article outlines the growth of both sectors, and analyzes how NGOs view the Internet and how they are using it. The Electronic Networking Project, funded by the International Development Research Centre and implemented by the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development, was key in joining these two sectors. At the same time, the Internet and the use of e-mail has increased rapidly. The number of registered NGOs in Nepal has skyrocketed in the last ten years, growing in number from 220 in 1990 to somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 today.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |