Apart from social awareness and political will, one of the main reasons for this failure is lack of a system which would act as a corridor to common people for quickly assessing the knowledge base. The mindset of politicians seems to be changing now, though very slowly. Even in states like West Bengal, where many opposed computerisation once fearing job cuts, IT is now catching the imagination of political bosses.

"In spite of India being rich in technical resources, the vast Indian masses continue to be poor because they don't have the reach to it. It is, therefore, a challenge to all of us-the socially conscious -to establish this reach. If we look for possible avenues, we can eventually find that IT has the strength to provide the solution," a senior West Bengal minister admits. A good sign indeed.

To use IT for rural transformation, an effective IT network needs to be developed. Government-owned Power Grid Corp of India is already helping to develop an optical-fibre backbone through high-tension transmission towers in collaboration with state electricity boards (SEBs) and is looking for private sector partners for such networking.

In the eastern region, such a network will be in place by 2004 in which Damodar Valley Corp. will also participate. This network would be used for data transfer, including online data transfer for managing electricity grids.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd is also expanding its telephone network gradually to rural areas. But it is yet to reach the interiors. Although there was a wishful thinking in the New Telecom Policy about connecting every village of India to telephone network by 2002, it still appears to be a distant dream, mainly due to high initial investment cost of laying lines.

Therefore, BSNL is now thinking of using the wireless in local loop (WLL) technology to meet its commitment. However, such a network will only cater to information transfer through voice-mode, and in future can be extended for data transfer through global connectivity.

It is still believed in certain quarters that such investments do not fetch good returns. "This is a myth rather than reality," believes former vice- chancellor of Jadavpur University and former power minister of West Bengal Sankar Sen. "The IT need wasn't identified because access is not there. Once connectivity is developed, demand for various information and communication will keep on pouring. And contrary to popular belief, rural folk are also ready to pay for the service if it is reliable and involves no harassment," he added.

As such most of the common services are already going the IT way through electronic transfer of information. Traditional postal systems are going to be obliterated. Banking transactions will soon be fully dependent on IT.

Railway reservation pioneered the use of IT in common transport, which would definitely extend to other transport sectors, including goods transport.

Library and documentation services are now on the web. All these will be as useful to the rural population as to the urban.

It is natural that a number of IT services will find overwhelming acceptance in rural areas. These include distance health care services, distance education including health education, information on agro and agro-based commodity market, price bulletin, employment exchange facility, legal aid, distant management, governance through panchayats, rural resource monitoring and so on.

We often speak of the right to information as a fundamental right. This can be achieved only when each gram panchayat is provided an Internet connection, from which the rural population can get important information regarding cultivation, healthcare, education etc.

The use of telemedicine for the poor admitted to the rural health centres can also be of great help, For example, various radiographic images of the rural patients can be transmitted to urban hospitals for diagnosis of the disease by experts who may not be available in the villages.

Rural governance, too, should put greater emphasis on use of computer networks. This can go a long way in helping the panchayat administration to monitor and plan more effectively. For smooth governance, information from one village may be transferred to another village.

The application of IT in national resource monitoring should also be given maximum priority. The use of geo-information systems for resource monitoring, planning, etc should be a priority. For example, even rudimentary information regarding underground water tables in rural India is not available anywhere. Even if it exists, it must be gathering dust on some official's table.

Information regarding natural resources is extremely useful for planning purposes. These include agricultural resources, like rice, wheat, vegetables, hydrological resources like water bodies, mineral resources like ore mines, coal etc, forest resources and geological resources. Remote sensing techniques utilise satellite, and aerial image data to estimate these resources.

Therefore, IT's potential in rural development cannot be ignored. It should be made sure that its fruits are shared by both urban and rural communities.