E-development services thematic group

E-DEVELOPMENT SERVICES THEMATIC GROUP

In collaboration with ITSLC Quickstart

presents a brown bag semianr on

Towards Doubling the Rural GDP in India

using Information and Communications Technology

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

Chair:

Robert Schware, Lead Informatics Specialist, CITPO& Co-Chair, e-Development Thematic Group

Robert Schware is Lead Informatics Specialist in the World Bank’s Global ICT Department. He was the Task Manager of the Bank Group's Information and Communications Sector Strategy Paper. He has twenty years of experience in Bank operations working on telecommunication reform and information technology-related projects in East and South Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Before joining the World Bank, Dr. Schware consulted for UNIDO, the UN Software Technology Institute in Macau, UNRISD, and USAID. He conducted some of the first field work in the use and effectiveness of microelectronic technology applications in rural development projects in the Middle East and Africa. He has authored and co-authored several books and papers on information technology including, an Internet Toolkit Manual for Policy Makers in Africa, Information Technology and National Trade Facilitation Guide to Best Practice, and Rural Applications of ICT in India. He lives in the People’s Republic of Takoma Park, Maryland with his wife, author of Family Travels in India, and three children.

Speaker:

Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Professor, IIT Chennai India

Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala is Professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, India and was department Chair till recently. He received his B.Tech degree from IIT, Kanpur, and his MS and Ph.D degrees from the University of Maine. From 1979 to 1981, he was with Washington State University as Assistant Professor. Since 1981, he has been teaching at IIT, Madras.

Dr.Jhunjhunwala leads the Telecommunications and Computer Networks group (TeNeT) at IIT Madras. This group is closely working with industry in the development of a number of Telecommunications and Computer Network Systems. TeNeT group has incubated a number of technology companies which work in partnership with TeNeT group to develop world class Telecom Access products. The group has also incubated a company which aims to install and operate telephone and Internet in every village in India.
Dr. Ashok Jhunjhunwala has been awarded Padma Shri in the year 2002. He has been awarded Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in 1998, Dr.Vikram Sarabhai Research Award for the year 1997. Millennium Medal at Indian Science Congress in the year 2000 and H. K. Firodia for “Excellence in Science & Technology” for the year 2002. He is a Fellow of INAE, INSA and NAS and a member of Prime Minister Scientific Advisory Committee.
Dr. Jhunjhunwala is also a Board member of several Telecom and IT companies in India, including BSNL, VSNL, Polaris, Sasken, Tejas and HTL NRDC, and IDRBT. For more details, please refer to the URL: www.tenet.res.in