Information and communications technology (ICT) deployments in developing countries like India face many challenges. These challenges turn the focus away from the promise of technology, towards the deeper issues of social context, adaptation, inclusivity, ethics, security, and assessment. The speakers on the panel elaborate these issues.

Ashwin Mahesh, founder and CEO of Mapunity, a social technology firm, points to the many players involved in addressing social problems and the value of open technologies in enabling many to participate. Participation of this scale also requires that the public be educated and informed about the challenges. Srinivas Padmanabhuni, VP, ACM India and AVP, Infosys Labs, raises the issues of inclusivity, ethics and security. Those who are physically handicapped, or otherwise on the wrong side of the digital divide have to be included; software that is used for public purposes should be certified for being accurate; and public systems have to balance security against openness. Chetan Patil, Founder & CEO, Rakya Technologies, provides an example of building systems in an inclusive manner, including users and developers in the local region to build appropriate systems. Pramod Varma, Chief Architect, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), talks about the Aadhaar Unique Identity system that addresses the concern of inclusivity while at the same time providing a paperless, cardless unique number for the entire population of India. The design of the Aadhaar system is that of a platform that allows many other system builders to create solutions and products using the unique number. It is flexible enough to allow many types of models to co-exist with the system, with a core focus of establishing a unique identity for people. Amit Prakash, of IIIT Bangalore, formerly Advisor—Social Sector Consulting, Deloitte India, talks about the fundamental problems of assessment of ICT projects. Whose perspective should be assumed for assessment? How should projects be assessed? Which indicators should be tracked? Given the role of ICT for development it is important to identify those groups within marginal populations who can benefit most from ICT use.