India fell 26 notches in the U.N. 2008 E-Government Readiness Index to 113th, compared to No. 87 in 2005, while the Philippines registered a rank of 66 in 2008, down from 41 in 2005.
Singapore and Thailand each fell 16 spots from their 2005 ranking, occupying No. 23 and No. 62, respectively, in the latest index.
Senior officials from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal have agreed to collaborate on a subregional information communication technology (ICT) project to improve connectivity among the four countries.
Read more: Four South Asian countries to cooperate for ICT connectivity
Governments across the region seem poised to remain big IT spenders. They're determined to put on a friendlier face by expanding their technology investments to offer new and more efficient services to their citizens, but never at the expense of security.
It is one of the rare issues uniting politicians, the private sector and organisations with a cause. All are unanimous in their agreement that corruption exacerbates poverty, stifles investment and prevents many economies from reaching their potential, and that unfortunately it is a problem rooted more deeply in Asia than other parts of the world. Despite the graft-busting efforts of their governments, nations such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam continue to appear in the lower tiers of Transparency International’s corruption perceptions index. Cleaning up the continent seems destined to remain an uphill trek.
Government spending on ICT in the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Japan, is expected to grow at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.7 percent to reach US$31.7 billion by 2010, from US$22.7 billion this year.
Read more: E-govt plans drive Asia's public sector IT spending