Introduction of IT Policy

IT policy is the policy that is formed to develop the economic condition, political norms and values, economic source, increases mental power and to changes the lifestyle of people removing the poverty through the use of ICT. IT policy is very much important for the developing countries like Nepal because it develops the economic condition, political norms and values, economical source and increases the mental power. It changes the lifestyle of people and helps to eradicate the poverty and it is the best way to avoid the global degradation.

Why we need IT Policy?

Information and Communication Technologies are increasingly at the core of strategies aimed at securing the goals of sustainable development and stimulating economic growth in countries around the world. Among others, these technologies are shaping the way social interaction takes place and public services are delivered in some fundamental ways. It is precisely along these lines that the Government of Nepal has placed a great deal of importance on transformative potential of ICTs and positioning these technologies within the larger context of its far reaching developmental aspirations premised around poverty reduction as an overarching goal.

Vision of IT Policy of Nepal 2072

"To transform Nepal into an information and knowledge-based society and economy."

Mission of IT Policy of Nepal 2072

To create conditions for the intensified development and growth of ICT sector as a key driver for Nepal's sustainable development and poverty reduction strategies.

Objectives of IT Policy of Nepal 2072

1. To empower and facilitate Nepal's participation in the Global Knowledge Society.

2. To transform Government service delivery regime by promoting transparency, efficiency, inclusiveness and participation through effective utilization of information and communication technologies.

3. To promote ICT to further productivity among the sectors that is key drivers of the national economy.

4. To foster efficient, inter-operable, secure, reliable and sustainable national ICT infrastructure in alignment with grass-root needs, and compliant with regional and international standards.

5. To promote research and innovation on the role of ICT on the resilience of low-income communities amid potential environmental, economic and social shocks.

6. To further streamline clear strategies and obligations for licensed ICT service providers with respect to universal access/service goals and Quality of Service (QoS) and ensure cost-effective connectivity to ICT services such as Internet, E-Commerce and E-Government services. 

7.To promote cost-effective and qualitative last-mile access technologies for providing secure access to Internet including commercial and public information services, E- government applications by communities (including the disadvantaged and physically challenged especially in rural and undeserved areas.

8. To create easily accessible, affordable and innovative public access points under comprehensive Community/ Village network initiative. 

9. To create a favorable environment for cooperation and partnership in ICT among public and private sectors, civil society, and between all stakeholders at local, national, regional and international levels.

10. To increase the institutional capacity along infrastructure and human resource dimension in public and private educational institutions including schools, colleges/ universities that offer ICT courses and use ICTS for pedagogical purposes.

11. To create a conducive environment for increasing annual enrollments and output of students in key professional skills areas such as telecommunications/electronic engineering, computer science/IT, etc. and promote market driven skills development initiatives in ICT.

12. To deploy ICTS at all levels of Nepali educational system in order to improve educational outcomes while expanding access to education and training facilities.

13. To support local and indigenous content development as well as applications target the capturing, archiving and dissemination of local and indigenous knowledge, content and information resources as well as the promotion of diverse linguistic and cultural heritage of Nepal.

14. To facilitate the participation of youths and women in ICTs particularly in media and content development initiatives;

15. To address gender-based inequalities and promote gender-sensitive measures to encourage the active participation of women in national and community-based ICT initiative.

16. To promote the use of free and open source software as well as open standard in software development for government agencies.

17. To create an innovative, market responsive, highly competitive and well regulated ICT industry.

18. To promote joint venture initiatives for local entrepreneurs with international private investors in the provision of public ICT goods and services in order to catalyze the growth of the sector.

19. To help develop ICT business incubators and promote start-up projects in close coordination with the private sector through the creation of a supportive eco-system.

20. To create a favorable business environment and promote Nepal as an attractive destination for ICT-related investments, especially in the area of IT-ITES/BPO, within the region and on the international market.

21. To restructure the ICT market and technological base with a view to making the ICT sector a significant contributor to the social and economic development of the country.

22. To create conditions for intensified roll-out of national telecommunications infrastructure backbone as a way to expand broadband based ICT services across the country.

23. To ensure an integrated, coordinated and synergistic approach towards the development and deployment of ICTs including other supporting physical infrastructure such as electricity and transport infrastructure.

24. To minimize duplication and costs through infrastructure sharing among public and private sector investment projects and to create an efficient and cost-effective Government-wide communications network infrastructure linking national, provincial and district administration.

25. To facilitate regional economic integration by utilizing regional and international telecommunications infrastructure projects and Asian Information Superhighway infrastructure initiatives.

26. To safeguard public sector information and investment against negative impacts of deploying and using ICTS.

27. To promote a stable, fair and competitive investment climate to facilitate the development of e-Trade and E-Commerce activities in the country.

28. To develop a highly competitive ICT industry capable of serving as the engine for driving Nepal's active participation in global trade. 

29. To facilitate the adoption of E-Commerce especially by SMEs in agriculture, tourism, and manufacturing as well as non-traditional exports to ensure productivity and growth; 

30. To increase the competitiveness of farmers in production, processing and marketing of agricultural products and services through the effective and outcome oriented utilization of ICTS.

31. To promote the development of ICT entrepreneurs at SME level as part of the rural agro-business industry development and strengthen the development, application of ICTs in agriculture.

32. To improve communication systems across the country especially in areas of touristic interest to support tourism development in the country.

33. To use ICTs in the documentation, promotion and effective marketing of the full potentials of Nepal's world class and niche tourist destinations to the local, regional and international market. 

34. To ensure that all ICT related activities have very minimal negative environmental impact during construction, operation and disposal/de-commissioning:

35. To conserve natural resources and safeguard Nepal's heritage using ICT tools. 

36. To support the development of mid-to-long term basic planning that provides policy direction and tasks for E-government.

37. To support formulation of development strategy for ICT converged services to support and plan for mid-to-long term resolution for overcoming the digital divide.

38. To ensure all installed ICT infrastructure and capacity is utilized effectively a contributes to resilience and redundancy.

Strategies of IT Policy of Nepal 2072

1. Human Resource Development

2. ICT in education, research & development

3. Access, media and Content

4. ICT Industry

5. ICT for Government service innovation and good governance 6. SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) and e-Commerce

7. Telecommunications infrastructure

8. ICT in agriculture 9.ICT in Health

10. ICT in Tourism

11. Telecommunication/ICTS in mitigating the impact of climate change

12. ICT in environment and natural Resources

13. Telecommunication/ICTS for natural disaster preparedness, mitigation and relief

14. Human exposure to Electromagnetic fields and safe disposal of electronic waste

15. Conformance, Interoperability and Standards in telecommunications/ICT

16. Cloud Computing

17. Access to telecommunications/ICTS in rural and remote areas

18. Access to Telecommunications/ICT services for persons with disabilities and specific needs

19. ICTs for Youth, women and girls

20. Building confidence and Security in the use of ICTS

Implementation and Strategy Framework of IT Policy of Nepal 2072

A National Information and Communication Technology Policy Implementation Steering Committee will be formed at the Ministry of Information Technology and Communication with the following structure:

Hon. Minister, Ministry of Information and Communication Technology - Chairperson, Member

National Planning Commission - Member

Secretary, Ministry of Education - Member

Secretary, Ministry of Health - Member

Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture - Member

Secretary, Ministry of Finance - Member

Secretary, Ministry of Local Development - Member

Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communication - Member

Chairman, Nepal Telecommunications Authority - Member

Representative Private Sector / Domain Expert 2 Members  Joint-Secretary (Policy and Programme), Ministry of Information and Communication - Member and Secretary

Electronic Transaction Act 2063

ETA (Electronic Transaction and Digital Signature Act - Ordinance) is also known as cyber law of Nepal. It was formulated in 30th Bhadra 2061 BS (15th September 2004 AD) but the Government of Nepal (House of Representative) approved the Electronic Transaction Act - 2063 only in 4th December 2006 AD. The electronic transaction is transactions of electronic records data by using any types of electronic means. It contains electric records and valid digital medium and the exchange of all types of records which are in the form of electronic. An act that related with electronic transaction is call electronic transaction act.

Objectives of the Electronic Transaction Act 2063

1. To make legal provision for authentication and regulation of electronic data.

2. To make a reliable date generation, communication, and transmission.

3. To make a secured and authentic means of electronic communication.

4. To regulate all the relating matters of electronic transactions.