The development of information and communication technology in Thailand in the next five years will help the country become "Smart Thailand" equipped with "Smart People" and a "Smart Government".
This is the goal of the country's second ICT master plan - for 2009 to 2013 - drafted by the National Electronic and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec). The first draft of the plan is complete and Nectec intends to submit it to the National Information Technology Committee for approval on Friday.
ICT Master Plan second phase development team head Chadamas Thuvasethakul said the plan aims to achieve its "Smart Thailand" goal by 2013.
The plan is being developed to achieve three objectives. One, encourage about 50 per cent of the population above 15 years to become more ICT literate and use computers in all spheres of life.
Two, improve the country's ICT readiness so it is better positioned on the world stage.
And three, increase the contribution of the ICT industry to the country's gross domestic product (GDP) to 20 per cent, from 13.2 per cent last year.
The plan, Chadamas said, comprises six national strategies. The first strategy - the Information Literacy strategy - will focus on human-resource development.
It aims that by 2013, every year more than 15 per cent of students will graduate from the science and technology stream, while 30 per cent of those in the ICT field will acquire international certification. The plan will also encourage more than 50 local software projects to participate in international forums each year.
The second strategy, the National ICT Governance strategy, will encourage the government to use ICT to aid governance. The plan will set up a new "Policy Coordinating Body" to drive the national ICT policy and oversee the development of ICT legislation.
The third strategy is to improve the country's ICT infrastructure, with a goal of providing Internet speeds of at least 4 megabits per second (Mbps) to every district in the country and of at least 10Mbps to all educational institutes.
Fourth, the e-Governance strategy will develop an e-Government Interoperability Framework. The open-standards technology will enable all government organisations to share and exchange information, thereby creating a one-stop service centre for citizens by 2010.
The fifth strategy is to turn the ICT industry into a major income generator for the country, with special focus on the software industry.
The plan will encourage Thailand's export of niche software, increasing its contribution to about 30 per cent of the total software revenue.
It also aims to increase the software industry's worth to Bt150 billion, of which about 50 per cent would come from local software development.
The plan aims to increase ICT spending in Thailand to over 2 per cent of the GDP and increase ICT research and development budgets in both government and private sectors to more than 3 per cent of the overall value of the ICT industry.
Lastly, the plan will focus on developing ICT for sustainable competitiveness. This strategy will increase Internet penetration in businesses to up to 50 per cent while pushing for a 25-per-cent increase in use of ICT by small and medium-sized enterprises.
Chadamas said that after obtaining approval from NITC, the team would conduct six public hearings before submitting the draft to the Cabinet.
At a glance
- The ICT Master Plan 2009 to 2013 intends to increase the country's ICT readiness and global competitiveness.
- It aims to develop human resources and aid governance through the use of technology.
- It will encourage Thailand's export of niche software, increasing its contribution to about 30 per cent of the total software revenue.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Asina Pornwasin
Quelle/Source: The Nation, 22.07.2008
