S. Ravindran

National Information System for Science & Technology, DSIR, New Delhi-110016

"Internet" the network of networks was the central theme of the third meeting of the Information Today & Tomorrow organized under the aegis of NISSAT by the National Information Centre on Chemicals & Chemical Technology (NICHEM) from 7-10 January, 1997 at National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune. A round-up of the meeting appeared in Information Today & Tommorrow, Vol16, No. 1 Jan-March 1997.

The most unique feature of the Seminar was the Panel Discussion which focussed on how to "prepare for information tomorrow". The panelists included expert knowledge workers from different walks of life. Most notable was the spontaneous and often emotionally charged participation by the audience.

1. Smt. Rama Sivaraman Home-Maker & Social Worker

2. Shri R.C. Upadhyaya Senior Citizen

3. Shri V. Rao Economist

4. Shri M.K. Rastogi Disabled & Govt. Official

5. Dr. S.M. Karandikar Professional Doctor

6. Shri Prakash V. Gole Environmentalist/Bird Watcher

7. Smt. Lata Rele Working Woman

8. Master Sunil Nadkarni Junior College Student

9. Master Akshay High School Student

The Panelists deliberating on `Information Tomorrow' at the Third ITT Meet.
Seen at extreme left is Dr A Lahiri, who compered the deliberations. [Photograph]

Dr. A. Lahiri, Adviser NISSAT compered the deliberations. Introducing the topic and the objectives of the event, Dr. Lahiri explained that people from all walks of life require information but the specifics vary. It is time to take a stock of the situation and plan for an appropriate information demand-supply pattern that ensures evolution of a knowledge-based society.

The deliberations by the panelists provided a peep into the future, and portrayed the variety of information requirements of different segments of the society.

Smt. Sivaraman projected the information needs of home makers in performing their different roles. Women in general should have information about the basic education facilities available, legal provisions concerning their rights and privileges, health care and first-aid, various services and facilities available in the neighbourhood, Govt. institutions and informal sector operating in the area, part-time employment opportunities, etc. Women in the urban areas would also need information in home shopping, child rearing and self employment opportunities, loan facilities and entertainment avenues.

Shri Upadhyaya representing senior citizens emphasized that sooner or later all those present in the auditorium would reach the stage he was in. Everybody should recognize this inevitable fact of life and prepare themselves well in advance to face it. Old people have more time but less energy, but the life should be purposeful till the end comes. Nobody should be dischanted with life and reduce themselves to a level of a waiting passenger for a death train. The specific areas of information required by them include tourist attractions, travelling facilities available such as air and train concessions, information about the construction of houses, old age homes and facilities available in them, procedures for getting ration cards, why and how to make a will, social, cultural and religious programmes, various kinds of medical facilities, etc.

Shri M K Rastogi:"We have the dream and you have the vision,
we should not be called disabled but differently abled".  [Photograph]

Being and economist with the HDFC Ltd., Shri V Rao mentioned that the information about housing needs is generally not available though this sector receives the largest investment of an individual. It is generally difficult to get information about land availability, housing schemes, loan facilities, etc.

According to Shri Rastogi about 10% of the Indian population is disabled. It, however, does not mean that this section of population is good for nothing and a burden on the society. On the contrary, given an opportunity and proper training, this section, hitherto neglected, hold potential to be as much productive as so-called normal beings, and if not better, in certain specific jobs. He appealed to the information scientists that the vast disabled population be empowered to utilize infotech and to taste the fruits of IT. The information on basic education facilities, specialized skill development programmes, medical and para-medical facilities (eg. physiotherapy and speech therapy), various government welfare schemes, employment, habitation and rehabilitation programmes, etc. is required. The target population should include, besides the disabled themselves, the parents, parents associations, special educators and so on. He concluded his remarks by saying "We have the dream and you have the vision, we should not be called disabled but differently abled". The statement took the audience in an emotional frenzy interspersed with sobs from different quarters. One left wondering how the present day information scientists and information providers could deliver that is expected.

Dr. Karandikar described the information needs of people engaged in medical profession. He explained that medical professionals in hospitals and also in private practice are getting busier day by day under population pressure, leaving them very little spare time to collect information and update themselves. A system should be such built the deliver the information packages right to their workplace. He mentioned that primary health care workers also require a variety of information about the diseases and remedies, immunization programmes, drugs and their side effects, handling of medical emergencies, alternate systems of medicine and care of critical patient-groups like cancer patients. He suggested development of expert systems, and information based on prices of drugs, rights of patients, legal remedies, etc.

According to Shri Prakash Gole, a lot of environmental information is collected by various government departments on routine basis. What finally comes out of such initiatives is a matter of conjecture only. He suggested that the information flow from the source to the end-user should be streamlined. And the end-user community should not only comprise the functionaries in govnment but also those representing activists group, lobbyists, scientists and so on, and more importantly the people who are likely to be effected by the environmental change. According to Smt. Rele, population has become mobile, idea are flying fast and management ideas have gone deep into individual lives/societal management. Elaborating on the problems of working woman, she explained that they are expected to perform a wide variety of tasks within. She endorsed the views of Smt. Sivaraman about the information support services.

Sunil Nadkarni felt that apart from entertainment it was necessary to promote more of educational and social users of information technology. At his age everybody is concerned about the career. Today one is expected to very closely monitor the advertisements in newspapers to find out the announcements on university admissions and entrance tests, and review articles for career guidance. If done individually, the coverage would be superficial only. Once again, thousands of young persons, their parents and the like collecting the same bits of information amounts to gross wastage of time. He suggested that career development aspects, which were largely lacking in our information menu, are given due importance at the earliest.

According to Akshay, the youngest participant, every child be made familiar with computers and the Internet to ensure healthy absorption of information technology in India. Both Akshay and Sunil exhibited enormous confidence and optimism for the success of our country to meet the challenges in future.

The spontaneous reactions of the audience were indicative of the existing information gap in various fields of activities and the low levels of awareness about the available information sources. Prof. Mahajan, a retired senior citizen mentioned that as a retired person, he would need information about investment options, pilgrimage centres, gardening practices, ceremonies and festivals, etc. Being a grandfather, he would also need information of Indian names, stories and matrimonials to meet his parental responsibilities. The other areas on which the audience wanted information were:

• Indian Heritage and Culture

• Career Guidance

• Procedures and formalities for obtaining visa for various countries

• Training programmes for house-wives

• Consumer protection acts

• Medical facilities, etc.

It emerged that the public in general was not aware of the existing information sources on various aspects and there is an urgent need for improving information delivery systems. There is also a need for launching mass communication campaigns to educate the general public on various information sources and procedures for accessing them.