Technology has played a major part in the past in enlarging the rich-poor divide. It is time to think what role can science, national and local governments, bilateral and mulitlateral donors, UN agencies, private business and industry and corporate sector play in bridging the digital divide and thereby accelerate the pace of progress in taking the benefits of ICT to the poor. The dialogue will have its concluding day session in aPondicherry village where the MS Swaminathan Foundation has proven how low-cost and user-controlled, driven and managed system of ICT can empower the poor with opportunities for the expression of their innate human capacity. The dialogue is expected to draw up an `Agenda 2007', the 60th year of independence, to mobilise ICT for ending chronic hunger and promoting a community food and water security system. Dr M Anandakrishnan, advisor to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister on IT, said Tamil Nadu had a two-track IT policy and it was trying to reach the people through benign intervention.

He said the first track is for the development of an IT industry and business. The efforts of the government since 1993 has shown tremendous progress, especially during the last five years. Number of IT companies have gone up to 616 from 10 in 1993 and exports to over Rs 2,000 crore from Rs 2 crore during the period. In Tamil Nadu, there are over 30,000 IT professionals. These achievements were made with the infrastructural and policy support provided by the government for a price. The government is engaged in expanding the facilities by laying optical fibre cables, building earth stations, etc. In this sector growth is self generative. The entrepreneurs, business and industry will produce resources for development.

But in the social agenda track, government intervention is being made, as growth here is not self generative, by extending IT to education, healthcare, providing government services to the people, and by providing for empowerment of people through knowledge resources. Dr Bruce Alberts, president, US Natioanl Academy of Sciences, in the inaugural address said many of the works being done by the public sector in India was being done by the corporate sector in developed countries. He said there two kind of sciences, one dedicated to pure research and the other that goes beyond research and discovery for human benefit. It integrates knowledge and action. He said science ought to have new values of honesty, generosity and respect for evidence and openness to all ideas and opinions irrespective of their source. Dr Alberts said this new science should have a bottom-up approach and not top-bottom approach as had been the practice.

The dialogue in different sessions will discuss issues like poverty and enlarging opportunities for the expression of human capability, ICT and knowledge and skill empowerment of the poor and review of different experiences and role of information and knowledge empowerment in enlarging livelihood choices and in improving human well-being. The session on ICT and sustainable food and water security on Saturday will be chaired by the Union minister of state for planning, statistics and programme implementation, administration reforms & public grievances and disinvestment. There will also be a public forum on Saturday evening on ICT and poverty eradication.