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| Sunday, 17 November 2002 |
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Roadmap to take ICT to villages Sri Lanka's ICT roadmap, e-Sri Lanka, will be launched by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on November 20 at a function to be held in Colombo. It will coincide with the 40th anniversary of IBM Sri Lanka. An initiative of Milinda Moragoda, Minister of Economic Reform, Science and Technology, it is a five-pronged strategy to develop Sri Lanka's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector with the objective of taking ICT to every village, citizen and business with e-government as its mainstay. The action plan encompasses the creation and development of global markets for employment generation, deployment of e-government concepts with emphasis on productivity and competitiveness and enabling the socio-cultural integration of a united nation. Developing Sri Lanka's economy, reducing poverty and improving the quality of life and opportunities for the people are also envisaged. e-Sri Lanka will look at the most critical and quickest measures to set the ICT roadmap on its way by setting up the implementation framework, critical staffing, implementing telecommunication reforms and enabling e-laws. It will commission the necessary studies, technical assistance and capacity-building measures which are critical to realise its objectives for the country. The Government is planning a strategic partnership with private sector associations and NGOs to create the infrastructure, establish government services and brand Sri Lanka as a high-tech nation. A branch of IBM Corporation in New York, IBM Sri Lanka celebrates 40 years of operations in Sri Lanka this week. The company commenced business in 1962 and its first customer was the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation, then known as the Insurance Corporation of Ceylon. Winning the highest number of patents for nine years and producing many nobel laureates, IBM has been an information technology leader for almost a century. The latest technology advance, e-business on demand, was recently announced in New York by IBM President and Chief Executive Officer Samuel J. Palmisano. The local company recently donated 20 young explorer units under its kidSmart programme, which aims to enhance children's numerical and verbal skills via a child-friendly personal computer. The company has also offered laptop computers and training to injured soldiers to obtain Sri Lanka Computer Drivers Licence under a program initiated by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. |
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