Asian Development Bank TA6090: Private Sector Cooperation in SASEC Subregion Cross-border Private Sector Cooperation in ICT among SASEC Countries Final Report Randeep Sudan April 2004 From the Author: The views expressed in this paper are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Directors of the governments they represent. ADB makes no representation concerning and does not guarantee the source, originality, accuracy, completeness or reliability of any statement, information, data, finding, interpretation, advice, opinion or view presented. ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS 3E E-Government Executive Education AAHAM American Association of Healthcare Administrative Management AAI Airports Authority of India ADB Asian Development Bank ADR Alternative Dispute Resolution ADR/GDR American Depository Receipts/Global Depository Receipts AEPC Apparel Export Promotion Council AFACT Asia Pacific Council for Facilitation of Procedures and Practices for Administration, Commerce and Transport AHSL Apollo Health Street Limited AICTE All India Council for Technical Education AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome APEC Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation APFIRST Agency set-up by the Government of Andhra Pradesh for attracting foreign investments ARCI Advanced Radio Cells Inc. ASAP ASEAN Services Access Platform ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations ASOCIO Asian Oceanic Computing Industry Organisation ASYCUDA Automatic System for Customs Data AT&T American Telephone and Telegraph Company ATI Austin Technology Incubator AVU African Virtual University B2B Business to Business BASIS Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services BCC Bangladesh Computer Council BCCI Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry BCG Boston Consulting Group BCS Bangladesh Computer Samity BIPS Bhutan ICT Policy & Strategy BLCF Business Linkages Challenge Fund BPO Business Process Outsourcing BRM Business Reference Model BT British Telecom BTRC Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission BTTB Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board CA Certifying Authority CAN Computer Association of Nepal CCA Controller of Certifying Authorities CCAM Certified Clinic Account Manager CCNA Cisco Certified Network Associate CCNP Cisco Certified Network Professional CID Centre for International Development CIECC China International Electronic Commerce Centre CII Confederation of Indian Industry CMM Capability Maturity Model CMU Carnegie Mellon University CONCOR Container Corporation of India CPAM Certified Patients Account Manager CSPP Computer Systems Policy Project CT Computer Tomography DGCI & S Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics DGFT Directorate General of Foreign Trade DIT Division of Information Technology DRM Data and Information Reference Model ebXML Electronic Business using eXtensible Markup Language EC Electronic Commerce ECG Electro Cardiogram ECHO Echocardiogram EDI Electronic Data Interchange EDIFACT Electronic Data Interchange For Administration, Commerce and Transport EDPC Electronic Data Processing Centre EDS Electronic Data Systems Corporation eGIF e-Government Interoperability Framework EGM Export General Manifest EIF European Interoperability Framework ERNET Education and Research Network ESCAP Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific EU European Union FBCCI Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry FDI Foreign Direct Investment FGDC Federal Geographic Data Committee FICCI Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry FLAG Fibre-optic Link Around the Globe FNCCI Federation of Nepal Chambers of Commerce and Industry G2B Government to Business G2C Government to Citizens GBT Group on Basic Telecommunications GECIS GE Capital International Services GSM Global System for Mobile Communications GSP Generalized System of Preferences GTZ Gesellschaft fur Technishe Zusammenarbiet HDI Help Desk Institute HIPAA Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act HR Human Resources HS Harmonized Commodity Coding System HSBC Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation IBIS International Business Incubation Systems IBM International Business Machines ICT Information and Communications Technology IDA Interchange of Data between Administrations IDRBT Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology IIM Indian Institute of Management IIT Indian Institute of Technology iLIUP Infocomm Local Industry Upgrading Programme INSEAD Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires INTELSAT International Telecommunications Satellite IPAM Institute of Public Administration and Management IPO Initial Public Offering ISB Indian School of Business ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network ISP Internet Service Provider ISRO Indian Space Research Organisation IT Information Technology ITES Information Technology Enabled Services ITIH Information Technology Infrastructure for Health KDDI Kokusai Denshin Denwa International KTNET Korea Trade Networks LAN Local Area Network LOMA Life Office Management Association MAIT Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology MCCI Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry MNC Multi-National Company MSIT Master of Science in Information Technology NASD National Association of Securities Dealers NASSCOM National Association of Software and Service Companies NCC National Computer Centre NEC Nippon Electronic Corporation NECTEC National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre NIC National Informatics Centre NISG National Institute of Smart Government NITC Nepal Information Technology Centre NR Nepalese Rupee NSDI National Spatial Data Infrastructure NTT Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation NTU National Technological University PAA Pan Asian Alliance PC Personal Computer PKI Public Key Infrastructure PRM Performance Reference Model QAI Quality Assurance International R&D Research & Development RBI Reserve Bank of India RIIT Rigsam Institute of Information Technology SAARC South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation SABF South Asia Business Forum SAFE South Africa Far East SAFTA South Asian Free Trade Area SAGQ South Asian Growth Quadrangle SASEC South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation SEA-ME-WE South East Asia - Middle East - West Europe SEDF South Asian Enterprise Development Facility SIDBI Small Industries Development Bank of India SITA 'Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques' SMART Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive and Transparent SME Small and Medium Enterprise SRM Service Component Reference Model SSPA Service and Support Professionals Association STM Synchronous Transport Module SWTA Service – Wide Technical Architecture TCIL Telecommunications Consultants India Limited TCS Tata Consultancy Services TEDI Trade Electronic Data Interchange TIPWG Trade, Investment and Private Sector Cooperation Working Group TRAI Telecom Regulatory Authority of India TRIPs Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights TRM Technical Reference Model UK United Kingdom UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization US United States VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol VSAT Very Small Aperture Terminal VSNL Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited WHO World Health Organisation WIPO World Intellectual Property Organisation WITSA World Information Technology and Services Alliance WTO World Trade Organisation XML eXtensible Markup Language XSL eXtensible Stylesheet Language Cross Border Private Sector Cooperation in ICT in the SASEC Subregion TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page Executive Summary I. Backdrop 1. Introduction and background 1 2. Important Regional Initiatives on ICT 5 3. ICT in the SASEC countries 10 II. Issues and Recommendations 4. e-Government 22 5. Paperless Trading 29 6. IT Enabled Services 37 7. ICT Education 48 8. Telemedicine 58 9. Incubation Initiative 64 10. Fostering Business Linkages 69 11. Enlarging ICT supply 71 12. Next Steps 74 Appendices 1. Abstract of Recommendations 81 2. e-Readiness Frameworks 88 3. Comparative Data on Important Parameters Pertaining to ICT 92 4. Hill & Associates Assessment of Environment for ITES/BPO 94 in SASEC Countries 5. List of Contacts 97 References 121 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Background Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) have a vital role to play in development. Regional co-operation can amplify domestic development of ICTs and help in bridging the digital divide. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is keen to promote cross- border private sector co-operation in ICT between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal. The present study focuses on exploring ways to achieve this goal. The concept of sub-regional co-operation between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal first emerged in 1996 with the South Asian Growth Quadrangle (SAGQ). A report prepared by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on the opportunities for economic partnership in the SAGQ focused largely on the telecom sector with regard to ICT. Though the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) has a technical committee on Science and Technology, much focus has not been given to co-operation in the ICT sector. Industry initiatives under the South Asia Business Forum and by individual industry associations have been more active in identifying areas of mutual co- operation in the sub-region. Regional initiatives on ICT ICT has become an important area of focus for regional groupings. e-ASEAN