A lot has changed. Life has been made easier with the advancement of information and communication technologies. According to professionals who attended the first of its kind ‘Bhutan International IT and Training Event’ Bhutan has seen tremendous development in the field of ICTs. However, some said Bhutan has not explored much when it comes to doing business.
The former Chairperson of the Druk Holdings and Investments, Om Pradhan, said ICT has brought in a lot of positive changes, especially in the way various firms performed.
“Now we can do a lot of banking on the internet, you can buy Druk Air tickets on the internet. Telecommunications have made tremendous progress; you can use your Bhutan number almost everywhere in the world, he said adding that it has not only made works easier and simpler but also customer friendly.
“We don’t have to carry a lot of currency when we go abroad now and people coming in Bhutan don’t have to carry too much currency when they come to Bhutan,” he added.
However, a lot needs to be done.
Bhutan has not yet explored ICT deep enough for business. Rajiv Vaishnav, the CEO and Co-founder of Edudigm Education in India said the advantage for developing nations is that ‘we can learn from the nations who are ahead of us’. He says one can eat an elephant but bite by bite.
“I think there is distinctness as far as Bhutan is concerned, there are some unique attributes to Bhutan and, therefore, in terms of a rat race that one might be tempted to follow one has to take a stock of how much one wants to embrace technology and how much we want to explore to this world.
“I think the cultural aspect, the value and the heritage aspect- all these things could be beautifully packaged and communicated through ICT to the rest of the world and Bhutan should do that,” said Rajiv Vaishnav, who is also
In order to facilitate, promote and develop ICT and training industry, Bhutan ICT & Training Association, BICTTA was formed in 2004.
The three-day conference saw professionals from Singapore, Malaysia, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Thailand as well.
Topics such as the role of ICT in Gross National Happiness, ICT in wellness & health care and social media: are we creating a happy society were discussed.
The conference concluded today.
