‘Nepal is not yet digitally enabled’
Stakeholders have said that even though many countries in the world have been able to use digital technology, Nepal has not yet been digitally enabled.
Speaking in the last session of the second day of Digital Nepal Conclave 2023, ‘Way Forward for Digitally Empowered Nepal’, they admitted that they have not yet been able to raise all the issues related to digital technology from the parliament to the villages.
In the program, Rashtriya Swatantra Party (RASWPA) MP Shishir Khanal said that even if he wanted to, not all topics related to digital technology could be raised in Parliament.
He said, “Despite wanting to, all topics related to digital technology have not been raised in the parliament. Even the political leadership does not have much understanding of digital technology. Weaknesses have also been seen in policy formulation and implementation.”
Similarly, young Congress MP Pradeep Paudel said that Nepal is lagging behind when it comes to self-support while technology is developing rapidly.
He said, ‘Nepal is lagging behind in terms of assimilation while technology is developing rapidly at the international level.’
He also accused the government of not prioritizing technology even though it has agreed to digitize it.
He said, ‘There is consensus on digitalization. But the government has not given as much priority to digital technology as it should.’
He said that even if the issue of digital is raised in the parliament, the government is apathetic to implement it. ‘In the next era, a country that is not connected to information technology will not be successful.’
Similarly, UML MP Surya Dhakal emphasized that society, politics and economy should be taken to the digital age. He said, ‘Nepalese society, politics and economy should be taken to the digital age while the world is making leaps and bounds in technology. This is a critical need today. ‘
Similarly, the Secretary of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology Krishna Bahadur Raut said that everyone’s cooperation is necessary for the implementation of the Digital Nepal Framework.
He said, ‘Now digital technology is only a matter of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. It is not that, it is not only of the Ministry of Communication, but of all agencies.’
He informed that preparations are being made to amend the laws in the information technology sector.
We are amending the laws in the information technology sector. We are preparing to take the cyber security policy to the cabinet. The draft of the Information Technology Bill is also in the final stage.
He also said that information technology related agencies will be restructured. ‘We are also restructuring the information technology related bodies. When the government does not make the software itself, the question of data security has been raised. We are working on interoperability of systems to bring uniformity in service.’
Similarly, Pramila Bajracharya, Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology emphasized that all sectors including agriculture, education, health, service delivery should be connected through the use of digital technology.
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