Assessing the Impact of Education, Health and Road Network Infrastructure on Information and Communication Technology Penetration in Rural West Bengal

Abstract

This study examines the impact of infrastructure, more specifically education, health, and road network infrastructure, on information and communication technology (ICT) penetration in the districts of West Bengal. Besides, the study also investigates the spatial distribution of infrastructure and ICT in the districts of West Bengal. The whole research is based on primary and secondary data. Data have been collected from the District Census and District Statistical Handbooks. The principal component analysis and correlation coefficient techniques are used to assess the impact. The study reveals that the degree of correlation between infrastructure and ICT variables is medium to high, except in some cases. As the Infrastructure Index increases, the ICT index also tends to increase. It is found that a moderate positive relationship (r = 0.503) was found between the infrastructure index and the ICT index. Significant policy regarding basic infrastructure services is of utmost necessity for ICT diffusion within the study region.

Geographical variations in outreach of information and communication technology and rural development in West Bengal, India

“…So the study is argued that urbanization plays a pivotal role in high ICT diffusion (Wang et al, 2021). Government service delivery institutions (Education, Agriculture, and healthcare) are fewer in numbers and less proactive concerning the total population toward the border or periphery CD blocks of West Bengal due to a lack of basic infrastructure (Satpati & Sharma, 2022), low level of digital literacy (Neumeyer et al, 2021) and geographic inaccessibility (Sulaiman & Halamy, 2021). What can be done to speed up ICT adoption in geographical areas with constraints are as follows: the stakeholders (Cultivator, agriculture labor, student, teachers, healthcare professional) and government should bridge the ICT diffusion gap and inequality of ICT use within a specific time-bound bottom-up approach to speed up ICT adoption for sustainable rural development.…”