ilot calls for mass adoption of information, communication technologies at the AMD event

Pilot calls for mass
adoption of information, communication technologies at the Advanced
Micro Devices event on ethics, governance and technology-key
drivers for societal change.

“The benefits of various
technologies must percolate down to people living in 6.5 lakh
villages to improve quality and speed of public services delivered
across the country, minister of state for communications and
information technology,” said Sachin Pilot, Union Minister of State
for Communications and IT. “With new technologies emerging and
communication access increasing dramatically, the expectations and
aspirations of people have changed in recent years,” he said while
addressing an international conference by Advanced Micro Devices
(AMD) India in partnership with The Associated Chambers of Commerce
and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

Pilot called for mass
adoption of information and communication technologies for
e-governance and m-governance. He said the new telecom policy, due to
be announced in coming months, will unleash a new wave of mobile
broadband with 3G and 4G technologies to transform millions of lives.
He added that the government, industry and civil society must work
towards equitable distribution of wealth so that India can evolve as
a progressive and prosperous nation. “Given the linguistic
diversity of India, technology tools, applications and content should
be developed in regional languages.”

Acknowledging this Ravi
Swaminathan, MD, advanced micro devices India, said technology is now
playing the role of an enabler for governance and regulating ethical
issues. “Computing has moved beyond increasing clock speeds to
enhance experiences and become a catalyst for improving efficiencies,
timeliness and responsiveness in service delivery,” he added.

Meanwhile, Anil Agarwal,
past president, ASSOCHAM said, “Information and communication
technologies can usher in good governance, inclusive growth and
societal change. Their growing impact is also altering ethical
standards and behavior.”

Jean Pierre Lehman,
professor of international political economy at IMD Switzerland, said
markets and demographics are changing around the world and people
move in different paradigms with dramatic shift in technologies. In
such scenarios, ethics and governance acquire significant relevance.

Others distinguished
guests at the event included, JS Verma, former chief justice of
India; Amitabh Rajan, additional secretary at the Department of
Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances; Nigel Dessau, senior VP
and chief marketing officer, AMD and DS Rawat, secretary general,
ASSOCHAM.