Introduction:

In this 21st century no nation can dream of success without advancement of ICT. This is more so far Bangladesh with 140 million people in only 55 thousand square miles. 35 years have passed since we got independence through historic freedom fight. Unfortunately, the country has not progressed; exception of the common mass has remained unfulfilled. With the flow of time no hope of light is insight; a sense of despair and lack of mission is engulfing the whole nation. Repeated failures of larger and larger dimensions in our national activities and in the international arena are in one hand reducing self confidence of our people and the other giving poorer image of the country in the world. The whole nation is in a vicious circle of non-development. Under these circumstances there must be some initiatives of far reaching consequences to lead the country back to the road of progress. There are many examples in neighboring countries where the development of nation has been brought about the improvement of ICT with visionary initiative in the sector. In general the development of ICT in Bangladesh nowadays is less encouraging compared to the developed countries, or even compared to neighboring countries such as India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and others. For the last 10/15 years we have been dreaming to change the socio economy condition of the country through reaping the benefit in Information Technology. Different governments have attached significant improvement to IT calling it thrust sector and so on. Efforts have been made to formulate IT policies in order to expedite and accelerate its progress. Meetings, seminars, festivals, exhibitions on IT have become a part of our life. The government has set up an incubator to facilitate IT development activities and has given tax holiday to our entrepreneurs and trying continuously to compete with other countries to set a strong place on ICT.

Meaning of ICT:
Information and communications technology usually (ICT) is often used as an extended synonym for information technology (IT) but is usually a more general term that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals), intelligent building management systems and audio-visual systems in modern information technology. ICT consists of all technical means used to handle information and aid communication, including computer and network hardware, communication middleware as well as necessary software. In other words, ICT consists of IT as well as telephony, broadcast media, all types of audio and video processing and transmission and network based control and monitoring functions.

National ICT Policy:

The government is committed to make Bangladesh Digital by 2021. The present Government has considered ICT as driving tools for Socio-Economic Development. In the election manifesto of Awami League it has been stated : The potentials of ICT sector will be realized. Software industry and IT services will be developed by providing all possible assistance to talented young people and interested entrepreneurs. This measure will increase export and promote employment opportunities. Our vision is to make Bangladesh digital in 2021. IT education will be made compulsory at secondary level by 2013 and at primary level by 2021. The task force on ICT that was established during the Awami League rule but rendered ineffective by the BNP-Jamat Alliance will be reactivated. High-tech Park, software technology park, ICT incubator and computer villages will be set up at suitable locations in the country. Considering the expectation & commitment, the government has adopted the National ICT Policy on July, 2009, which can be considered as a Road Map of Vision 2021: Digital Bangladesh. The key features of the National ICT Policy are furnished here in after.

Structure:
The policy document is structured as a hierarchical pyramid with a single vision, 10 broad objectives, 56 strategic themes and 306 action items. A pyramidal framework is followed where the vision remains at the top as the ultimate goal and the other linked parameters are placed in the subsequent layers. The layers of the pyramid are defined as follows: The vision and objectives are aligned with the general national goals while the strategic themes are areas within the broad objectives that can readily benefit from the use of ICTs. The action items are generally meant to be implemented either in the short term (18 months or less), medium term (5 years or less) or long term (10 years or less). However, some action items have been recommended for continuation throughout multiple terms, where the scope of the activity gradually expands in the longer terms.

Vision:

Expand and diversify the use of ICTs to establish a transparent, responsive and accountable government; develop skilled human resources; enhance social equity; ensure cost-effective delivery of citizen-services through public-private partnerships; and support the national goal of becoming a middle-income country within 2021 and join the ranks of the developed countries of the world within thirty years.

Objectives:
Social Equity: Ensure social equity, gender parity, equal opportunity and equitable participation in nation-building through access to ICTs for all, including persons with disabilities and special needs Productivity: Achieve higher productivity across all economic sectors including agriculture and SMME (small, medium and micro enterprises) through the use of ICTs. Integrity: Achieve transparency, accountability, responsiveness and higher efficiency in the delivery of citizen-services. Education and Research: Expand the reach and quality of education to all parts of the country using ICTs, ensure computer literacy at all levels of education and public service and facilitate innovation, creation of intellectual property and adoption of ICTs through appropriate research and development. Employment Generation: Enlarge the pool of world-class ICT professionals to cater to the local and overseas employment opportunities. Strengthening Exports: Ensure a thriving software, ITES and IT manufacturing industry to meet domestic and global demands and thereby increase foreign exchange earnings, attract foreign direct investments and reduce dependence on imports. Healthcare: Ensure quality healthcare to all citizens by innovative application of ICTs.

Universal Access:

Ensure connectivity to all as a public service obligation (PSO). Environment, Climate and Disaster Management: Enhance creation and adoption of environment-friendly green technologies, ensure safe disposal of toxic wastes, minimize disaster response times and enable effective climate-change management programmes through use of ICTs as Bangladesh is facing the dual scourge of environmental pollution due to rising industrial and consumer wastes and also global-warminginduced climate-change due to excessive carbon emissions of the industrialized countries Supports to ICTs: Develop appropriate infrastructure including power, and regulatory framework for effective adoption and use of ICTs throughout the country

Current Status of ICT in Bangladesh:

ICT is the most popular term in Bangladesh today. Almost every middle class family owns a computer. Opening up a cyber cafe, a computer showroom, or a club; publishing a digital magazine; providing Internet service; designing and hosting a website; or participating in computer fairs or web programming contests have all become part of the information technology (IT) culture in Bangladesh. Every daily newspaper and magazine publishes a special weekly supplement containing recent news and discoveries relating to ICT. Numerous IT fairs and workshops are held throughout the year in cities, districts, and even villages. Noticeably, the young generation of Bangladesh is taking the lead in these IT efforts. The Computer The computer was first introduced in Bangladesh in 1964 with the installation of an IBM 1620 computer at the Atomic Energy Commission. Numerous computers were installed in financial institutions simultaneously. In the late 1980s, the printing and publishing industry began using computers and thus played a pioneering role in popularizing the use of personal computers (PCs). PCs gained in popularity in the early 1990s following an adjustment of taxes on PCs and accessories. Since then, on average, approximately 100,000 PCs are purchased annually. The growth rate of PC sales has averaged approximately 32.4% annually. The Internet IT activities started in Bangladesh in 1993 with the introduction of e-mail service using dial-up connections offered by three Internet Service Provider (ISP) companies. On June 4, 1996, Bangladesh tested the Internet (VSAT-based) for the first time. Its high cost, however, limited access to the Internet to business users. The Bangladesh government's decision to deregulate

VSAT reduced this cost and opened the door for general users to access the Internet at a cheap rate. Currently, anyone can browse for one hour by paying US$0.50. Broadband Internet is also available for US$16 per month. By November 2002, almost sixty-five ISPs were operative in Bangladesh using approximately 1,400 telephone lines. There are almost 200,000 Internet users in Bangladesh, and ten PCs per 100 residents. Telecommunication Infrastructure The Bangladesh Telegraph & Telephone Board (BTTB) exercises monopoly control in developing the telecommunication infrastructure of the country. At present, there are 715,000 fixed-line telephone subscribers, 1,381 card phone centers, 630 public call offices, 3,936 international circuits, and 21,930 nation-wide dialing circuits in Bangladesh.BTTB has started to build a national structure for high speed Digital Data Network to connect the sixty-four district headquarters. In an effort to reduce the "knowledge gap" between people living in urban and rural areas, the company plans to expand Internet facilities to the Upazilla (sub-district) level by 2006. In addition, BTTB has initiated two new projects--one to install 1,000,000 mobile telephones with Internet access, the other to install 500,000 fixed telephones throughout the country. Bangladesh has already joined the fourteen nation SEA-ME-WE4 submarine cable consortium to install submarine optical fiber cable that will provide national broadband connectivity with Information Super Highway access, thus enabling all ISPs, both public and private, to have direct access globally. The last several years have witnessed a tremendous growth in the use of mobile phones in Bangladesh. This is one sector that has expanded very rapidly across a broad spectrum of society; in particular, the business community has been able to satisfy its demand for telephones previously unmet by the BTTB. Indeed, the number of mobile subscribers has almost reached 1,000,000. Despite this development, numerous limitations in telecommunication infrastructure have hindered IT growth in Bangladesh. The tele-density of Bangladesh stands at only 0.50, quite low in comparison to other under-developed countries. IT Companies and E-commerce Currently in Bangladesh, there are more than 1,000 hardware showrooms and nearly 8,000 IT institutions. More than one hundred companies are involved in software development. Sixteen percent of these firms export their product; ten percent are completely export-oriented. Forty percent sell their software in local markets and forty-eight percent sell their product in both domestic and foreign markets. Bangladeshi businessmen have already introduced e-commerce, in a limited manner, in Business to Consumer format. Wireless Application Protocol service is also available in Bangladesh allowing for use of the Internet through mobile phones. This has introduced e-commerce to a wide area in Bangladesh. Recently, a U.S.-based Bangladeshi telecommunications engineer introduced a new technology of broadband wireless network suited to the needs of business users in Dhaka, Chittagong, and Sylhet. Thus far, there is no law to protect the interest of cyber

consumers, though IT professionals and private entrepreneurs are demanding a law that treats different types of software and programs as intellectual property and provides proper legal actions in case of violation. Expansion of e-commerce in Bangladesh is dependent on the adoption and enforcement of these laws. IT Education Bangladesh currently has thirty-one public and private universities as well as four engineering institutes that offer four-year bachelor's degrees in computer science. One hundred thirty-four students are studying computer science in public universities, eighty-four at private universities. There are also some local and foreign IT institutions that offer different types of certificate and diploma courses. National and multinational firms engaged in IT business manage most of those institutions. The government of Bangladesh has already introduced computer-related courses in secondary school and the higher secondary level so that students can become adept at using computers and IT. This effort to boost the IT revolution has had a positive impact on IT culture in Bangladesh. Printing, Publications and Multi-media Sector Bangladeshi programmers have produced various types of entertainment and educational CDs. Information stored in these CDs range from the history of the country, its independence and war of liberation, to fairy-tales for kids. A number of digital magazines are published every month in Bangladesh in CD-ROM format. On-line versions of most major newspapers and magazines are also now available.More than forty-five IT magazines and periodicals already exist. Most of these are published both in paper and CD-ROM format; some also publish a web version. There are also some private web portals on Bangladesh, notably, www.bangladeshinfo.com, www.bangladesh.net, www.e-bangla.net, www.bangladesh.cc, www.connect.to/bangladesh, www.techbangla.org, www.webbangladesh.com, and www.virtualbangladesh.com. Government Agencies Bangladesh has one official government homepage (www.bangladeshgov.org) and some official websites for government agencies, such as the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (www.cagbd.org), Ministry of Finance (www.gobfinance.org), Bangladesh Bank (www.bangladesh-bank.org), National Board of Revenue (www.nbr-bd.org), and the Ministry of Science and Information & Communication Technology (www.most-bd.org) that offer statistical information to the user. The country's parliament--the Jatiya Sangsad--also has a web entity. Thus far, five ministries and thirty-seven government agencies have their own websites.This is less than ten percent, and no website provides the facility to access or search in-depth information about a specific topic.

Political Parties

Most political parties in Bangladesh have their own websites. They contain information about their history, philosophy, policy, leadership, political messages, membership in parliament, interviews, and press releases concerning issues and campaigns. These websites provide an option to send feedback and played an important role in the last general election held in October 2001.

Conclusion:
While the developed countries of the world have exploited the potential of science and technology in national development, developing countries have fallen behind. Resource constraint, inadequate ICT capacity, and lack of appreciation of the power of ICT may be cited as the reasons. The revolutionary development in the field of ICT has opened up new opportunities for developing countries to move forward in the path of progress by rationally exploiting its potential. In view of that, Bangladesh has been aspiring to achieve economic development through the application of Science as well as Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The government of Bangladesh has taken steps in this connection. The Government focuses on the reduction of poverty by applying ICT, increase in efficiency, productivity, transparency, access to information by the citizens. Citizens at large will be empowered with necessary information for efficiency performing their tasks. Like most of the developing countries around the world the Government of Bangladesh has also attached significant importance on making Bangladesh Digital with the effective use of ICT as a useful tool for development.