ABSTRACT
The World Development Report 2000/01: Attacking Poverty identifies three priority areas for poverty reduction: opportunity, empowerment, and security. Opportunity makes markets work for the poor and expands poor people’s assets. Empowerment makes state institutions work better for poor people and removes social barriers. Security helps poor people manage risk (World Bank 2001). In light of current experiences in rural India and elsewhere in the developing world, it is apparent that ICT - defined as the set of activities that facilitates the capturing, storage, processing, transmission and display of information by electronic means (World Bank 2002a) - can be utilized to support poverty reduction strategies. The use of ICT applications can enhance poor people’s opportunities by improving their access to markets, health, and education. Furthermore, ICT can empower the poor by expanding the use of government services, and reduce risks by widening access to microfinance.
