ICTs and Development in India

Perspectives on the Rural Network Society

By (author) T. T. Sreekumar

Publication date:

15 May 2011

Publisher

Anthem Press

Dimensions:

229x153mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781843318439

‘ICTs and Development in India’ is a unique attempt to study the nature and consequences of the growing presence of Information Technology in development projects in India, focusing particularly on E-governance and Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) development programs initiated by Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). Sreekumar persuasively argues that there is in fact a wide chasm between the expectations and the actual benefits of CSO initiatives in rural India, and that recognising this crucial fact yields important lessons in conceptualizing development and social action in rural areas.

List of Figures and Tables; Preface; 1. Introduction: Exploring the Rural Network Society; 2. Civil Society and Cyber-Libertarian Developmentalism; 3. Decrypting E-Governance; 4. Cyber-Kiosks and Dilemmas of Social Inclusion; 5. Innovating for the Rural Network Society; 6. ICT and Development: critical Issues; Notes; Bibliography; Index

‘Rural India has become a model laboratory for global experiments in a new era of market-driven development communication. T. T. Sreekumar’s critical and empirically rich study of India’s emerging “rural network society” offers a much needed counter-history to the dominant techno-utopian narratives that continue to fuel both policy and scholarly discussions.’ — Paula Chakravartty, Associate Professor, Department of Communication, University of Massachusetts