Indrajit Basu

April 22, 2014

3D Printing: A Prototype for Upward Social Mobility

In India, a company called Protoprint aims to mobilize disadvantaged workers to gather and recycle waste plastic to produce filament yarn for 3D printers.

August 6, 2012

Social Media Elevates Community Policing

Local law enforcement agencies are using social networks to full effect in surprising ways.

July 9, 2012

State, Local Governments Poised to Loosen Purse Strings

Federal spending is set to decline significantly in 2013, but the IT industry sounds bullish on the state and local market.

June 13, 2012

The Netherlands Shows U.S. How Net Neutrality Is Done

The Dutch have forged ahead where most other nations still are struggling.

May 25, 2012

Why Can’t the U.S. Keep Pace With Europe on IT?

World Economic Forum economist says U.S. political and regulatory environment is a contributing factor holding the nation back from its full potential.

April 19, 2012

San Francisco Puts Idea Factory Online

Mayor Edwin M. Lee and San Francisco’s chief innovation officer are bullish on an emerging platform for problem-solving.

March 14, 2012

Matchmaking for Food Producers and Buyers

The USDA and Oregon Department of Agriculture helped build a community that's like online dating for the food business.

March 5, 2012

Kansas City, Mo., Brings City Hall to the Home

KCmomentum.com engages citizens who don’t have time to go to public meetings.

February 8, 2012

Police in Fort Lauderdale Turn Loose ‘The Peacemaker’

A Florida police department unleashes mobile video surveillance.

January 25, 2012

Getting the Most Out of Foursquare

Minneapolis officials want to align users’ check-in locations with the delivery of e-government information.

October 4, 2011

Community of the Week: Singapore

“Singapore’s achievements show that with bold policies and the right expertise, urbanization and population growth do not have to result in environmental degradation.”

September 26, 2011

Social Media Says No

It's not so good at building consensus that can replace one power structure with another.

September 14, 2011

Singapore: Asia’s Emerging Green Building Hub

The city’s green building effort launched in 2005 has set a target of greening 80 per cent of its building stock by 2030.

July 27, 2011

India Takes U.S. Help to Improve Cyber Security

India discovered that Chinese hackers had launched an aggressive offensive on computer systems owned by the Indian government and the Dalai Lama.

July 8, 2011

Net Neutrality: The Dutch Move Quickly

KPN, the largest and the most powerful Dutch incumbent slapped extra charges for using Skype and WhatsApp. The move backfired.

June 13, 2011

U.S. Lead Fading as Internet Economy Surges Ahead

The Internet in 15 years, has created as much value -- in terms of real GDP per capita -- as it took the industrial revolution of the 19th century to create in 50 years.

May 27, 2011

"Great Firewall of Europe" Under Consideration

The French administration, it appears, is unhappy about the independence of the Internet and says it must be "civilized."

May 12, 2011

Innovative ICT Use Drives Productivity Renaissance in U.S.

The report says the U.S. excels in 'useful connectivity' running neck-and-neck with top-ranked Sweden.

May 3, 2011

India Chills Online Speech

In a quiet move early last month, India passed a new set of rules called Information Technology Rules Act 2011, that curtail freedom of Internet speech.

April 21, 2011

UK Government Agency Trying to Open “Open Data”

It is primarily focused on local authorities and aims to show how information can be used by citizens to raise issues, campaign and otherwise influence things that affect communities.

April 11, 2011

UK's New ICT Strategy Disappoints Local Government CIOs

The central government has ignored the concerns of the local government and its involvement in the UK's overall ICT plan.

March 22, 2011

Defiant India Pushes Ahead with Nuke Power

"How does the country meet its enormous power needs when it is so short of natural resources?"

March 17, 2011

ITU Deploys Emergency Communication to Japan

ITU deployed 78 Thuraya satellite phones equipped with GPS to facilitate search and rescue efforts, 13 Iridium satellite phones and 37 Inmarsat Broadband Global Area Network terminals.

March 7, 2011

Bangladesh Combats “Triple Illiteracy” with Bicycle-Riding Infoladies

“The InfoLady acts as the human interface between a knowledge-base and the rural illiterate and print-disabled people."

February 23, 2011

National Information Utilities for the Indian Government?

Each NIU would be treated as an independent entity -- just like a separate back office company -- which will have its set of employees.

February 8, 2011

Infosys Takes a Detour to Tap U.S. Public-Sector Outsourcing

An Indian IT outsourcing service provider addresses government-sector IT contracts by buying local IT companies.

January 26, 2011

Virtual School Promotes Sustainability in Zimbabwe

“My vision was to create a society that consciously works for continued improvement of their environment and I am working towards that.”

January 20, 2011

Singapore's EGovernment Goes Mobile

While the U.S. and UK-are still taking baby steps in crafting mobile e-government strategies, Singapore is leaping ahead.

January 12, 2011

Software Aids Police in Nabbing Suspected Criminals

Predictive analytics applications can uncover unexpected patterns and trends and can even develop models to guide actions from billions of historical records.

December 23, 2010

Long Arm of the Law Gets Longer With Social Networking

"We started getting numerous photographs from users complaining about traffic violations and suddenly we were nabbing many more errant and unruly drivers far easily.”

December 20, 2010

Microblogging: The New Technology Tool for Chinese Authorities

The Information Office of the State Council, or China's Cabinet, acknowledged that in a wide variety of ways the Internet has become the voice of its people and resolved to protect the right to freedom of speech on the Internet.

December 6, 2010

Bangladesh’s Local Administrations Take Novel Route to Reach Out

What can fund-starved local administrations, in one of the poorest countries in the world, do when they have to reach out to citizens living in areas so remote that one has to travel five miles to get to the nearest phone?

November 22, 2010

Gov 2.0 Is Not Just Opening Up: It Also Means Reaching Out

While many use the terms open government and government 2.0 interchangeably, they are very different.

November 9, 2010

For Obama Outsourcing is not a Bogeyman Anymore

President Obama seems to be indicating a new view of India -- from a source of U.S. job losses, to a strong new partner in the global economy.

November 3, 2010

Tough Times Continue for Government and Outsourcing

"Local governments that went through 2009 without too much problem, have started facing a funds crunch now, and the reason behind this strange phenomenon is actually the U.S. government’s stimulus program.”

September 23, 2010

Europe’s “Facebook” for Government Procurement

"It disrupts how banks and credit card companies process payments between any kinds of business, and use[s] the Internet to do it.”

March 16, 2010

Internet Connected School Buses Work Wonders

By connecting school buses, particularly for rural children who commute long hours to school every day, it could mean significant additional time devoted to lessons.

February 10, 2010

Arlington County, VA Stands Out as One of America's Smartest Communities

Arlington stands out for keeping its identity intact despite being under the heavy influence of the federal government.

December 11, 2009

The Role of ICT Neglected in Copenhagen Climate Discussions

As leaders haggle over global warming in Copenhagen and struggle for the most desirable solution of initiating a 'green revolution' without compromising economic growth, one important omission in the key areas of the global negotiations has been the use of ICT as a tool in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

December 1, 2009

'Frame-up Virus' Could Haunt Government Departments

A recent investigation highlights how malware can plant illegal content, like child porn, on innocent people's computers without their knowledge.

November 5, 2009

Do We Need A Treaty to Control the 'Arms Race' in Cyberspace?

While China is always at the center of all cyber warfare debates, the fact is that governments around the world are engaged in similar pursuits of developing and refining cyberwar capabilities.

October 15, 2009

Giving Rural America a Competitive Edge

Broadband could give rural America the competitive advantage for corporate business.

August 13, 2009

Broadband Stimulus Grants: To Apply or Not to Apply

Some experts suggest that smaller applicants or communities sit out the initial round of the broadband stimulus grants.

June 30, 2009

Issy-les-Moulineaux Leads France in Broadband Technology

French city uses information and communication technology to shift from manufacturing to tech-based intelligent community.

June 17, 2009

Slow American Residential Broadband Speeds

U.S. Internet speed is still behind much of the world's.

June 17, 2009

The Push for a Real, No-Hype National Broadband Strategy

The Obama administration clearly sees a comprehensive U.S. National Broadband Strategy as a federal priority.

June 15, 2009

Australia's Economic Stimulus Creates National Broadband Infrastructure

Australia National Broadband Network reaches isolated rural areas.

April 10, 2009

Australia's National Broadband Initiative - Biggest Broadband Driven Stimulus Yet

The big news is Australia is the only government in the world now that, realizing the crucial role that broadband can play in reviving the economy, has a multi-billion dollar economic stimulus package centered on the creation of a super-fast broadband infrastructure.

April 7, 2009