Information and Communication Technology · Classes 11-12 · Chapter 1 · 1.5 and 1.6
Impact of ICT on Social Life and Economic Development.
Applying for admission from your room, sending money from a phone, pulling up a land record online. The same technology also brings addiction and cyber crime. This last topic looks at how ICT is changing society and the economy, for better and for worse.
1. The fourth industrial revolution
The change that fast progress in ICT has brought to society is called the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR), or Industry 4.0. Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, made the idea popular in 2016. We have now entered this fourth revolution.
2. The good effects on society
ICT has had a good effect on education, medicine, banks, insurance and finance, offices and courts, factories, farming, communication, and art, culture and entertainment. Take them one by one.
In education, admission, fee payment, results, registration and exam forms all go online. A student can earn a degree from a foreign institution while staying at home.
In banking, ICT runs clearing house or inter-bank transactions, remittance, smart cards and ATMs, mobile and online banking, loan approval, interest calculation and share trading.
In offices and courts, professionalism, transparency and accountability rise. A litigant can file a case and present evidence online.
In industry, ICT helps search the world market, collect raw materials, design products, run production and quality control. Robots work in risky places, and demand, stock and waste are easier to manage.
In farming, a farmer can get information on land type, soil quality, weather, seeds, sowing time, fertility, pest attacks and disease control.
3. The bad effects on society
The bad effects of ICT are three: addiction, crime and health problems.
Addiction. Hooked on social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and on online games, students lose focus on study and cannot tell right from wrong. The addiction is like drug addiction.
The bad pull of foreign culture brings violent behaviour and bad changes in conduct and dress, and obscene pictures or videos spread.
Crime. Hackers steal or leak private data, launch cyber attacks and spread negative propaganda.
Health problems. Eye strain, headache, hand pain, neck and back trouble, and nerve and brain illness.
Good or bad?
4. ICT and the economy
ICT helps economic growth in six ways: creating jobs, drawing investment, raising productivity, improving communication, protecting the environment and spreading business and trade.
Production cost is lower in developing countries, so building up ICT there can bring a good deal of economic growth.
5. E-services in Bangladesh
Five e-services run in Bangladesh: e-banking, e-commerce, e-agriculture, e-governance and e-porcha.
E-governance means applying digital methods in government work and processes. Citizens get government services easily, quickly and cheaply, 24 hours a day, and the government becomes more accountable.
E-porcha is the system for getting land information and copies of land records online. Earlier they had to be collected from the land registry office.
With e-banking, banks serve customers 24 hours a day online and at ATM booths. Sending remittance from abroad has become easier and faster.
What each e-service does
6. National initiatives of Bangladesh
In the world economy Bangladesh is a “Rising Star”, and on the development index it is one of the “Next Eleven” countries.
The fourth revolution did not come from one technology. It is built from AI, robotics, IoT, virtual reality, 3D printing, genetic engineering, quantum computing and more, working together.
Made in Bangladesh. The country's first computer factory is at the Chandra Hi-tech and Micro-tech Industries Park in Gazipur. Its laptops are now exported to Africa.
The National Data Centre under the Bangladesh Computer Council is four-tier. Its web hosting capacity now stands at 750 terabytes.
IT parks: Kaliakoir Hi-tech Park (Gazipur), Jessore Software Technology Park, Sylhet Electronic City, Barendra Silicon City (Rajshahi), the IT Training and Incubation Center (Natore) and the CUET IT Business Incubator (Chattogram).
Startup Bangladesh Limited is a venture capital company wholly owned by the government. The Cabinet has given its in-principle approval.
For a cashless Bangladesh, Bangladesh Bank has started a QR-code universal payment system. A QR code is just a printed image, so the merchant pays nothing. The aim is a Smart Bangladesh by 2041.
The BanglaGovNet and Info Sarkar-2 projects connect government offices down to the upazila. Video conferencing, digital labs, AICC and telemedicine centres have also been set up.
Which initiative is which
7. Check yourself
Three questions in the exam's style. Start with the first.
Question 1
In which industrial revolution was electric power used widely?
In the second, weigh each option on its own.
Question 2
What is the application of electronic systems in government activities and processing called?
The last one leans on the book's facts.
Question 3
Who made the idea of the 4th Industrial Revolution popular?
The whole topic on six cards.
Six cards
Source: Information and Communication Technology, Classes 11-12 (NCTB), Chapter 1 “Information and Communication Technology: World and Bangladesh Perspective”, section 1.5 and 1.6.