Status and scope of information and communication technology for livestock and poultry production in India - A review

Much has been said about the potential use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) by government agencies to boost relations with rural masses. Experience shows that the key challenge in building information society is securing institutional support at all levels. Government can stall or unleash new vision for development of ICTs. Though the ICT is diffusing in the rural area but until the costs of the "last mile", of basic IT devices, and of local language software are brought down, the goal of "wiring India" will remain unachieved. The marketing competition between private players in the field of ICT is making favorable ground for diffusion of ICT in rural India. But, Low-cost technological solutions alone are of course not solutions to the problems of development, but they are prerequisites for diffusion of IT in rural India. The initiatives for e literacy are laudable and have many implications for dissemination of ICT but the situation where we have yet to achieve 100% basic literacy and hence there is need to develop training programmes in rural areas to teach basic infrastructure maintenance skills required for ICT use. Despite of all constraints the ICT is spreading with its own pace and in future the process will speed up. It seems that in near future there will be sound platform for communication and service delivery in rural area through the ICT based devices and value added services. By that time the various sector associated with rural development; including livestock sector should come up with the need based, location specific and local language contents in the form of computer software's and other electronic material.