1. Enterprising Ladakh
Prosperity, Youth Enterprise and Cultural Values in Peripheral Regions
Working Paper No 4
Information & Communication
Technology
by
Suchitra Ramesh
Ashish Kumar Bag
Center for Development of Corporate Citizenship
S P Jain Institute of Management & Research Mumbai
July 2005
Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh
Druk Pema Karpo Educational Society
Drukpa Trust
in association with
SECMOL
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2. Preface
This Working Paper was prepared as part of an 18-month project entitled
‘Enterprising Ladakh’. The Paper seeks to identify economic opportunities
available to Ladakhis – especially young Ladakhis - in local, national and
international markets. The findings will be discussed at a Workshop in Leh in July
2005, with the objective of identifying economic activities that Ladakhis
themselves consider feasible, acceptable and appropriate within Ladakhi society
and values.
Subsequently, the project team will scope the skills and attributes required to
access the preferred market opportunities, while the final stage of the project will
outline a new school curriculum to impart enterprise-related skills and motivation
to young Ladakhis, alongside traditional teaching of cultural and ecological
values.
‘Enterprising Ladakh’ is a project being conducted by the Ladakh Autonomous
Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Leh, Druk Pema Karpo Educational Society
and Drukpa Trust, in association with SECMOL.
The findings set out in this Working Paper are the work of Suchitra Ramesh and
Ashish Kumar Bag of the Center for Development of Corporate Citizenship, S P
Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai. The work was carried out
under the supervision of Professor Jiban Mukhopadyay, Professor M. S. Rao and
Professor Nirja Mattoo (Chair of the Centre for Development of Corporate
Citizenship).
You are kindly invited to communicate your views on this Working Paper to the
project team:
Project Coordinator
'Enterprising Ladakh'
Hemis Complex, Zangsti
Leh, Ladakh -194 101
Phone: +91 94191 77536; 252 133
enterprisingladakh@rediffmail.com
This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European
Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of Ladakh
Autonomous Hill Development Council, Druk Pema Karpo Educational Society
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3. and Drukpa Trust, and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the
position of the European Union.
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4. Executive Summary
Sandwiched between the Tibetan plains and the Himalayan ranges is the Land of
High Passes called Ladakh. It is one of the districts of the State of Jammu and
Kashmir and lies in the north east of the state. It has an extremely hostile climate
and its topography is such that it is virtually cut from the rest of the country for
half a year. Adding to the woes is the fact that Ladakh is poor in natural
resources. All these factors have led to Ladakh being one of the most backward
areas in the country. Education levels are poor and restricted to the city areas of
Leh and Kargil. Basic infrastructure like roads, transport, and power is in bad
shape and people are mostly employed in agriculture, tourism and
government/military/para-military jobs. It is with this problem in mind, that Ladakh
Autonomous Hill Development Council came up with an ambitious project to turn
around the face of Ladakh by the year 2025.
This project titled ‘Enterprising Ladakh’ involves developing infrastructure and
making policy changes so as to facilitate entrepreneurial activities in 11 different
sectors. The idea is to encourage individual ownership of businesses as a mode
of sustainable development of Ladakh and it economy.
Focus of the Project
Information & Communication Technology (ICT) is one of the sectors that provide
viable and sustainable opportunities for entrepreneurial activities in the region.
Certain disadvantages that Ladakh has with respect to other sectors in terms of
lack of raw materials and inaccessibility for 6 months are nullified when it comes
to ICT. However, ICT is in nascent state in the region. There are other problems
that plague the development of this sector and can cause serious damage if not
rectified in time.
Scope of the Project
Exhaustive analysis of the sector was done through interviews, focus group
meetings and field visits. Feasible areas of business were identified as ‘Low End
IT solutions’, Internet Centres, Computer Institutes, Hardware Maintenance
Contracts and Telecom Solutions. However, these become feasible only when
certain ground level changes are made in the area of education and
infrastructure.
The Outcomes generated
This report talks about the various recommendations and policy changes that are
required to take care of the bottlenecks discussed above. Essential amongst
them is allowing private participation in the field of education. Private institutes
have the expertise and manpower to provide quality education. On the other
hand, government has the students and the necessary infrastructure to
complement this expertise. Much of the current problems stems from the fact that
there is not much coordination and cooperation between the two. Institutes like
NIIT, Aptech and IGNOU can provide ideal support to government initiatives.
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5. Further, the current ICT syllabus is in disarray. There are grammatical mistakes
and no order in the difficulty level of the courses. Certain topics like computer
ethics which, though important, have been given undue coverage and have
made the course more theoretical. The syllabus needs to be revised and should
be done in conjunction with the industry personnel and domain experts. There is
also need for setting a Polytechnic in the region that can provide vocational
courses in computer designing, programming, movie software, accounting etc.
There has been much expectation regarding the viability of e-governance
projects as a mean of generating employment opportunity. Upon analysis, it was
found that computerisation of government offices can be completely done by the
existing manpower in the NIC office. Most of the software applications that are
used in government offices are developed by a crack software development team
that works at the Director’s office in a region. These software packages are then
implemented at the district offices by the respective NIC offices. Since, the only
work left at that level is that of installation and data entry, it can very well be done
by the current NIC office. Thus, as a sustainable business generating
proposition, e-governance projects does not offer many opportunities.
In the case of infrastructure, the laying of optical fibre cables and installation of
STPI towers at Stok and Spituk should ease the telecommunication situation in
the region. The upcoming power plant in Saspole would generate 50 KWH of
power and should be sufficient to meet the power requirements of Leh. Solar
generation has shown good potential in Ladakh and work has already started in
certain regions of Leh in this regard. Government should encourage mini solar
generating plants at each village so that they can complement the bigger plant at
Saspole when it becomes operational.
Other suggestions are detailed in the report. If these are implemented, the march
towards Vision 2025 should not be difficult. But the crux of everything lies in
implementation. If it is not implemented properly, then all the suggestions and
recommendations will cease to be effective and just remain paperwork.
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6. Table of contents
1 Introduction to the IT sector .................................................................................................7
2 Vision 2020.................................................................................................................................7
3 Comparative Advantage of Ladakh Region ......................................................................8
4 From Comparative advantage to Competitive advantage.............................................8
4.1 Business Process Outsourcing and IT Solutions ....................................................................8
4.2 Setting up of Internet Centers...............................................................................................10
4.3 Computer Institutes and Tutoring ........................................................................................12
4.4 Hardware Maintenance Contracts ........................................................................................13
5 Impediments............................................................................................................................14
6 Recommendations/ Further plan of action by LAHDC.................................................15
6.1 Education..............................................................................................................................15
6.1.1Students ..............................................................................................................................15
6.1.2 Faculty...............................................................................................................................16
6.2 Infrastructure ........................................................................................................................17
6.3 Power....................................................................................................................................17
6.4 Awareness & Miscellaneous ................................................................................................17
7 Conclusion...............................................................................................................................18
Abbreviations .............................................................................................................................20
References ..................................................................................................................................21
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7. 1 Introduction to the IT sector
The Information & Communication Technology (ICT) sector encompasses a whole
gamut of areas ranging from Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) to a variety of
telecommunication projects. However, given the state of infrastructure and education
levels in Ladakh, the scope of the project had been limited to analysing the feasibility of
the following areas:
• Business process outsourcing
• Information technology (IT) solutions
• IT Park
• Setting up internet centers
• Computer Institutes and tutoring
• Hardware maintenance contracts
• Telecom solutions for better connectivity and associated employment avenues
2 Vision 2020
The Vision document envisages IT to be the tool that will enable Ladakh to achieve the
goal of becoming a strong, prosperous and self- reliant community. It will enable the
region in wealth creation and generation of high quality employment. The services of
information and communication technology can be applied to
• Promotion of e-governance to bring in efficiency and accountability
• Promotion of IT and IT based education
• Removing the bottleneck in connectivity and communication with the rest of the
world
• Computerisation of all offices, records and data
• Build confidence in the people of Ladakh in IT and its future scope in education,
economic and human resources development and overall prosperity of the
region.
• Micro-level planning by the use of ICT-enabled services like GIS and DPS
The objective of the Hill Council is make Ladakh an IT-based region by the year 2025 to
cater to:
• Employment generation
• IT led economic growth
• Manpower generation
• Planning through IT
• IT education
• Interconnecting villages, blocks, towns
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8. 3 Comparative Advantage of Ladakh Region
Ladakh has no comparative advantage in the field of the ICT as such at this point.
But if there is any sector that can open up prospects for other sunshine sectors in
Ladakh, then it is ICT. However, because of the following factors, ICT in Ladakh may
become important:
1. Independence of the ICT industry on climate, natural resources and accessibility.
Thus, wherein other industries may fail, an ICT sector still has a chance.
2. ICT will not affect the ecosystem and the environmental balance of the region,
unlike other industries. Thus, its acceptability by the masses and the politic is
easier.
3. Initially, jobs like that of the government, armed forces and tourism were easily
available and people were satisfied. But, of late, the job opportunities in these
areas have stagnated and unemployment has been on the rise. ICT provides a
viable resource for the people.
4. People of the state are witness to a boom in ICT in the rest of the country and
would like to follow the example in order to bring prosperity to the economy.
5. Traders and businessmen are increasingly looking at markets outside Ladakh.
They need all possible information about these markets. They need to
communicate to these far flung markets to increase their presence. Internet can
provide them with this opportunity.
6. The Hill Council has understood the potential of this sector and taken steps to
increase IT awareness in the state.
4 From Comparative advantage to Competitive advantage
4.1 Business Process Outsourcing and IT Solutions
AREA DESCRIPTION
Scale and Ladakhis are not sufficiently comfortable with English.
Scope Thus, in the short run, voice-based BPO support looks
less feasible. However, with STPI installing towers in
Leh, the internet connectivity should improve. Email
based BPO services is one potential area in this
regard. Such activities do not require any substantial
skills and can be provided by Ladakhis.
Local firms in travel and tourism, agriculture and other
sectors do not have much IT support. Providing them
these services in the form of creation of websites, CD-
ROMs can also be looked at. Present websites made
in Delhi cost around Rs 40,000- 50,000 when in fact
the same work in Ladakh would cost Rs 10,000-
15,000. Further, hassles like miscommunications and
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9. delay in adapting and upgrading can be avoided.
Thus, there is huge potential in this area.
Ladakhis can also provide their services to the printing
industry as they have good talent and interest in desk-
top publishing (DTP) and graphic designing.
Software support to movies and documentaries made
in Ladakh is another area that can be included in the
scope of the BPO and IT solutions.
Website consisting details of flourishing sectors like
agriculture, travel and wool processing can be created
which can help those involved in these sectors. It can
carry information like potential markets, prices and
financing options that can help these people.
Market Local Market:
There are 100-120 travel agencies and about 110
guest houses in Leh. Out of them only about 10% of
them have websites of their own. There is untapped
market in this segment.
There are many agriculture product processing, wool
processing and other firms that need IT support and
services. These include creation of industry websites
(on the line of e-choupal), CD-ROMs, advertisements
etc.
National Market:
STPI pools all the projects that it gets and distributes
them to its regional units. Starting an STPI unit at Leh
would ensure certain projects coming to Ladakhi firms.
Email-based support services to Banks, Travel
agencies, Mercantile Cooperatives.
International Market:
There is no immediate potential in the international
market as the number of the players and the
complexity of projects is too high for Ladakhis to get
into the area in an economically viable way.
Economics BPO and IT solutions as a complete individual effort is
difficult in Ladakh. Government has come up with the idea of
an IT park incubation centre. This initiative is justified and
should be furthered. It will lower the initial investment for any
individual, bring projects into Ladakh and thus make the
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10. sector viable. Only a coordinated effort as this can help
Ladakh establish a toe-hold in the IT industry in India.
Cost Heading (per annum) Amount (in Rs)
Office Space Rent 50,000
Hardware Rent (an average 25,000
of 5 computers @ Rs 5000/-
each)
Internet Connectivity ( @ Rs 24,000
2000/- per month)
Electricity Rent 12,000
Total Rs 1,11,000
Expenditures an entrepreneur has to pay in the IT park
A low-end IT project relating to conversion of PDF document
to Word fetches Rs 200,000. Without the IT park concept,
such a project would have been unviable.
Sustainability Presently 10-15 MCAs are working in this sector. The
number is set to quadruple in the coming couple of
years. Manpower should increase and nullify the
current shortage issue.
Infrastructure is also being improved. This should
improve connectivity and bring down the initial costs.
With proper governmental support, the IT sector can
boom to stand up on it own. The support should not be
in term of kind or cash. Rather, policy support which
favours competition and quality should be provided.
Entrepreneur’s Getting manpower under one banner.
Role Registering the firm with STPI and bagging the
projects.
Registering in the IT Park to avail the facilities.
Managing the finances.
4.2 Setting up of Internet Centers
AREA DESCRIPTION
Scale and Providing internet surfing and e-mail facilities.
Scope There are already many internet centres in Leh.
Further, increase in scale could be in terms of
increasing reliability, speed and thus, better service.
Market Local Market:
The locals, students and the residents of the place
who avoid surfing because of exorbitant costs can be
brought back if proper facilities are in place.
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11. National Market:
Approximately 14,000 Indian tourists visit Ladakh
every year. These are usually high-income Indians,
who have a good knowledge and appetite for the
internet. Proper facilities can bring in much business
from this segment.
International Market:
Similarly, 21,000 foreign tourists visit Ladakh every
year. They can provide substantial revenues to the
sector.
Certain tourists would like to work from Ladakh if
proper connections are available. This would extend
their stay and hence tourism in return.
Marketing There is no requirement of marketing these internet
Strategy centres. There is a substantial number of them in the
region. The only bottleneck is the infrastructure.
Economics
Cost Heading (per annum) Amount (in Rs)
Setting up cost 40,000
Rent for shop 25,000
Internet Connectivity 15,000
Diesel Generator Set 15,000
Fuel Costs 12,000
Salaries (@Rs 4000/- for a 48,000
single employee)
Total Rs 1,55,000
Cost heads of an Internet center with STPI Towers in
operation
Assuming, Internet is made available at Rs 20/- per hour and
the number of customers per day is 20 who surf for at least 1
hour.
Thus, the daily revenues equal Rs 400/-.
Time for breakeven is approximately 3 years (given
cybercafés do not work for the whole year).
Thus, Internet centres are a viable area of business given
that plan to install STPI towers is implemented.
Sustainability As long as tourists and local residents subscribe to IT,
internet centres will be feasible.
Since, government interference is minimal, this is a
sustainable business proposition for an entrepreneur.
Entrepreneur’s Getting internet connection from STPI/BSNL
Role Setting up shop at a viable place
Managing the finances.
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12. 4.3 Computer Institutes and Tutoring
AREA DESCRIPTION
Scale and Computer course for students, locals and government
Scope officials
There are approximately 12,000 students, 5,000
government employees and other people who would
be interested in IT education and hence form the
target market.
Market Local Market:
The local market consist of approximately 30% of the
population who are in the age group of 15-35 years
(total population 1,20,000) that would, by choice or
professional compulsion, need computer education.
National Market:
There is no national market to cater to in this segment.
International Market:
There is no international market in this area.
Marketing A particular segment (age group of 15-35) has to be
Strategy targeted before the rest of the populace can get into IT
education.
Awareness drives, pamphlet/poster advertising, radio
advertising, short demonstration sessions in schools
can generate necessary awareness about the
institutes.
Leh is a small place. Word of mouth is the best mode
of advertising. Projecting successful candidates who
get proper jobs after completing their courses can
another source of marketing.
Course certification is very important and needs to be
addressed.
Economics
Cost Heading (per annum) Amount (in Rs)
Setting up cost 40,000
Rent for shop 25,000
Diesel Generator Set 15,000
Fuel Costs 12,000
Salaries (@Rs 4000/- for a 2 96,000
employees)
Total Rs 1,88,000
Cost heads of a computer institute
The exact revenue package for computer institutes could not
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13. be obtained. Owners of 3 of the most recognised institutes in
the region were interviewed. None had posted any profits for
the last 3-4 years (the oldest of them was established in the
year 2000). But the owners are optimistic of the situation and
expect growth in students in the future.
The sector will become financially viable in the near future.
Sustainability Of the 25 odd students who attended a focus group
meeting in Govt. Degree College, Leh, only one was
pursuing an IT course.
In the Boys Government High School, Leh only 46 out
of the 146 students have opted for a computer course.
This gives an indication of the lack of IT education
amongst the students.
New courses have been started in these institutes,
which have increased student enrolment by as much
as 20-30%. Further, 30% per decade is the rate of
increase in the population of Ladakh. There is
continuous addition of manpower to the populace.
These figures indicate a huge untapped market that
makes this segment sustainable.
Entrepreneur’s Getting office space and hardware facilities.
Role Getting faculty for IT
Getting the courses recognised.
Spreading awareness through means the mentioned
above.
4.4 Hardware Maintenance Contracts
AREA DESCRIPTION
Scale and Government offices, NGOs, schools and other
Scope establishments that have computer systems and need
hardware support.
There is a sizeable presence of the army and other
para-military forces that also require hardware
maintenance and support.
Market Local Market:
Various civilian and military offices as well as
individuals constitute the local market.
According to one survey, apart from the armed forces,
there are approximately 2,500 private computer
systems in Leh itself.
Ladakhis are branding conscious and there is a
tremendous market for upgrading computer systems.
National Market:
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14. There is no national market to cater to in this segment.
International Market:
There is no international market in this area.
Marketing Awareness drives, pamphlet/poster advertising, radio
Strategy advertising, short demonstration sessions can
generate necessary awareness about the institutes.
Leh is small place. Word of mouth is the best mode of
advertising.
Economics During the course of investigation, it was found that certain
individuals ran such services out of their houses. They
charge a service fee of Rs 400-500 per session, apart from
replacement costs for the component. Some of the work is
also done as part of the client-building exercise. If started in
conjunction with some other business, this sector requires
skilled manpower as the only initial investment.
Entrepreneur’s Using contacts and getting projects.
Role Getting a skilled manpower for the work
Managing the expenses.
Spreading awareness through means mentioned
above.
5 Impediments
Human resources: Manpower is a major problem and definitely a deterrent in
spreading the use of IT in the region.
The total population of Ladakh is around 1,20,000. Hence, the manpower base of the
region is limited. The number of main workers is around 39,841. Of this, about 37%
are involved in agriculture and related processes. The growth in population is about
30.42%. Thus, there is a tremendous projected increase in the future. But the
population in the working age group (20-39) is around 30.6%. Currently, manpower
is involved in running telephone booths, internet centres and computer institutes.
The basic education level of Ladakh is low. The pass percentage at school level is as
low as 42%. IT knowledge among youths is also lagging. Ladakhis have Schedule
Tribe (ST) certification. This helps them getting easy access to education institutes
and governmental organisations. People are still not used to Information technology
and their contact with IT is limited to using internet.
Youth are enthusiastic about IT, but the major section of the society is still
comfortable with the present way of living and is not earnest in taking up IT
education. Government efforts in educating people in IT have just started and are not
sufficient.
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15. Material: It is biggest reason why Ladakh should get into the IT sector. The
essential disadvantages that Ladakh has in terms of its geographic conditions
become nullified.
The IT sector does not require any raw materials as such. It does not have the
transport problems faced by other mainstream industries. As such, the climate and
inaccessibility problems become non-issues when it comes to the IT sector.
Money: Money is not a problem. Venture capital can be raised through government
and private help.
Around 15% of the amount available in banks is taken as debt whereas in the rest of
India it is about 50%. Further, the Ladakhis who were interviewed themselves had
enough monetary resources to invest in new businesses.
The government and banks have public schemes and offer loans on easy terms.
Ladakhi, on account of its unique culture and location, receives NGO support and
funding from international agencies. This aid should kick start the development
process and thus help the region to be self sufficient in future.
Telecommunication Infrastructure: Infrastructure is not proper. Unless steps are
taken to maintain reliable communication channels and lower internet charges,
setting up an IT industry in the region will be difficult.
BSNL is the only service provider. Landline and internet communication have been
present in Ladakh for sometime now. Mobile telephony was introduced 2-3 years
ago. The service is bad and needs considerable revamp.
Power: Power has to be improved if IT is to thrive in the region. In its absence, all
other policy decisions would not produce the desired effect.
Power shortage is the common running issue in all the areas we have investigated.
Currently power is supplied for only 4 hrs per day on an average. DG sets are used
predominantly to cover the shortage of power.
6 Recommendations/ Further plan of action by LAHDC
6.1 Education
6.1.1Students
• Polytechnic and Engineering College
Setting up of a Polytechnic that provides courses in computer software and hardware
subjects, video editing, graphic designing etc. is essential. On the other hand, setting
up an engineering college in the region is not feasible because the number of
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16. students opting for engineering is less. Further, the amount of investment required in
faculty, classroom, laboratory and workshop will be huge and there would not be
commensurate revenues to support it. Rather, meritorious students should be
selected after Class XII and given scholarships for further studies. They should be
under obligation to finish their studies and come back to work for the region. This
model has been successfully employed by Bhutan and they are reaping its benefits.
• Computer Education
Compulsory computer education for students in all schools from 6th standard should
be made a norm. Degree of difficulty should be raised gradually so as to ensure
proper assimilation. Further, equal stress should be on the practical as it only will
ensure proper understanding.
• Private Participation in Education
Private institutes have enough manpower and skills available for computer
education. On the other hand, government schools have the infrastructure and
students for such courses. Proper coordination and synergy between these two can
do wonders in the field of IT education. Thus, there is need to bring in private
institutes to teach computer in schools until proper infrastructure is developed by the
government.
• IT Curriculum
The present curriculum is very basic in nature and has been written very badly.
There are grammatical mistakes which need to be rectified. It should be revised
taking into consideration the present industry demands. Industry participation should
be solicited. It should be revised every 2-3 years so as ensure that it remains
updated with the changes in the IT sector. Availability of course books is another big
concern for the students. Government should ensure availability of books before
each course year.
• Encourage Entry of Private Institutes
Private participation in the sector is must to kick start the process. Encourage private
institutes like NIIT, Aptech to set up their training center in the region. However,
proper rules should be framed in order to tackle problems like charging of exorbitant
fees, faculty neglecting classes in favor of private institute, driving illegal mileage out
of the official role etc.
• Course Certifications
Another pressing issue is that of course certification. Most of the courses in Leh are
not certified and hence do not help students get jobs on the basis of it. A DOEACC
certification centre should be opened in Leh.
• IGNOU as the Nodal Agency
IGNOU has a ready and tested framework for computer courses. This can be used in
public schools where there is lack of faculty and proper framework. In fact, IGNOU
can work in an advisory mode.
6.1.2 Faculty
• Certification courses for the teachers, if possible in Leh itself.
• Sufficient time be given to teachers to understand the certification courses.
Gradual increase in degree of difficulty of the course.
• Certification be made compulsory for faculties of computer courses
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17. • Specialised teacher for computer education courses.
• Source faculty and lab assistants from the plains for the next 3-4 years. This will
give the local faculties time to understand the subject and get a better hold on it.
• Teachers need to be tested for their skill and knowledge every 3 years. This will
ensure they have updated knowledge of their subjects and are fit for teaching. In
fact, their salary should be divided into two components: the fixed component and
variable component. The variable component should be linked to their
performance in the assessment tests.
6.2 Infrastructure
• An STPI unit in Leh should be set up as it can solve a lot of telecommunication
issues. Government should take the lead in solving some of the financial issues
that have cropped up of late.
• Optical fibre connectivity needs to be installed for telephone lines.
• Once optical fibre cables are laid:
o Separate dedicated lines for internet traffic.
o Separate communication lines for Armed forces.
• The Hill Council should ensure joint ventures between outside contractors and
those from Ladakh so as to ensure that Ladakhi first gains experience.
• District planning should be done in consultation with BSNL.
6.3 Power
• Hydroelectric power plant in Saspole should come on line in 5years. This should
solve part of the energy crisis.
• Stress on application of solar power plants/mini solar power plants.
• Provide generators to public schools for their IT lab until the hydroelectric plant in
Saspole becomes operational.
6.4 Awareness & Miscellaneous
• An internet server should be set up in Leh itself so as reduce internet charges.
• Create job opportunities for computer educated professionals so that there is an
incentive to learn IT. Gradually, it should be compulsory for government officials
in clerical jobs and above, to have computer knowledge.
• Venture capital funding for start ups and individuals working in the sector. Current
bank policies are acting as a deterrent to disbursement of loans to local
entrepreneurs. Policy changes need to be made after consultations with local
mercantile groups and bank officials.
• Spread awareness through local media like AIR, Doordarshan, Ladags Melong
about the opportunities and avenues available in the IT sector.
• Setting of ITI in Leh giving vocational courses in electronic engineering, system
maintenance and support as required by the telecommunication industry.
• Internet facility be made available in schools and colleges.
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18. • Computer journals and magazines like Digit, Chip be made available in
schools/colleges.
• Residential schools be established at each block headquarters. These could
double up as CIC centers. IT faculty could double up as CIC manager and
provide basic training and education. The CIC should act as information kiosks
and dispense updated information about markets, pricing, financing bodies for the
following areas:
Sectors Sectors
Agricultural Products Fruit Processing
Wool Processing Herbs and Medicinal Plants
Solar and Renewable Energies Cold Regions Technology
Development
Travel and Tourism Government Declarations
Exam and Job Results General Knowledge
Educational and Vocational Interface with Government
Courses
The idea is to increase manpower and resource utilisation and generate
substantial revenues for sustaining such centres.
7 Conclusion
In conclusion, there are certain observations that have been made with regards to
the IT sector in Ladakh. These are:
• The IT sector cannot operate as a stand-alone sector in the region. It has to push
other fledgling industries like agriculture and tourism, help them to grow and in
turn has to grow along with them.
• E-governance has been seen as a prospect that could generate sustainable
entrepreneurial activities. On the contrary, the analysis found that, though e-
governance is required, it does not seem to have the scope for sustainable
business opportunities. Every state has a crack software development team at
the NIC’s state director’s office. They develop all the software applications which
are then given to district NIC offices. At the district office, the only work left is that
of installation and data entry. Currently, computerisation of the payroll system has
already been completed and work on general provident fund is in progress.
Nevertheless, the importance of e-governance and computerisation of the
database needs not less stress. It is important for increasing awareness and
usage of IT in the region. Increased IT usage in turn can generate employment
opportunities. This responsibility is primarily that of government and has to be
done through NIC. Computerisation of government processes is still at a nascent
stage and workload is sufficiently shouldered by NIC. But in future, this may
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19. increase and then a certain part of software development and maintenance can
be outsourced to local software firms.
• The focus areas that were stressed in the report need not be developed in
isolation. In fact, the basic bottlenecks in each of the areas are the same, i.e.,
education and infrastructure. These areas are thus interlinked and development
of one of more areas will in turn increase the demand for some other sectors.
Thus, the basic requirement is to ensure policy changes in infrastructure and
education. Work in infrastructure has already started in telecom and power and
should take another 5 years or so to get finished. IT education and awareness, on
the other hand, would require some more time to come up to a level
commensurate to the requirements of the industry.
When this happens, it will increase the demand for internet centres, computer
institutes and hardware businesses. These areas would become economically
attractive and more people and money would enter these areas. This in turn
would increase IT usage and there would be a natural progression to BPO and
low end IT jobs, in the short term, and eventually high end jobs. The action plan is
shown as below.
The analysis of Information & Communication Technology sector in Ladakh based on
the interviews, field visits and focus group meetings brought to the fore the
importance of education and infrastructure and its current ailing state in the region.
The recommendations suggested would bear fruits only if the implementation is done
properly. Without this, the action plan would not produce the desired results.
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20. Abbreviations
AMC Annual Maintenance Contracts
BPO Business Process Outsourcing
BSNL Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited
CIC Community Information Center
CII Confederation of Indian Industry
DG Diesel Generators
DOEACC Department of Electronics Accreditation of Computer
Courses
EU European Union
FICCI Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry
ICT Information and Communication Technology
INR Indian Rupee
IT Information Technology
LAHDC Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council
LAN Local Area Network
MNC Multi-national Companies
NASSCOM National Association of Software Services and Companies
NGO Non Governmental Organisation
NIC National Information Center
OFC Optical Fibre Cables
PCM Pulse Code Modulation
SPJIMR SP Jain Instt. Of Management and Research, Mumbai
STPI Software Technology Park of India
TDM Telecom District Manager
TISS Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
WAN Wide Area Network
WLL Wireless Local Loop
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21. References
1. www.nasscom.org
2. Marketing Management – Philip Kotler
3. www.infosys.com
4. Ladakh Melong, Issues from 1994 to 2004
5. Vision 2020- 1st Draft Document
6. Individuals
a. Mr. Rigzin Spalbar, CEC, Leh
b. Mr. Jigmet Takpa, Convenor, Vision 2020
c. Mr. Sonam Wangchuk, Founder, SECMOL
d. Mr. Gautam Lal, Telecom District Manager, BSNL, Ladakh
e. Mr. Sonam Dorjee Namgail, Acting principal, Government Boys Higher
secondary School
f. Dr.V. K. Gupta, Principal, Degree College Ladakh
g. Mr. Bashir Ahmad Dar, Economics lecturer, Degree College Ladakh
h. Mr. Tariq Hussain Mir, English Professor, Degree College Ladakh
i. Mr. Abdul Rashid Dar, Math Professor, Degree College Ladakh
j. Mr. Habib Shahnawaz, Education professor, Degree College Ladakh
k. Mr. Sandeep Khanna, Student, Government Boys Higher secondary
School, Ladakh
l. Ms. Pooja Grover, Student, Government Boys Higher secondary School,
Ladakh
m. Mr. Dehlex, President, Internet Association, Ladakh
n. Mr. Raina, Chief Education Office
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