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

Abstract

AbstractThe article investigates the Geographical variations in the outreach of information and communication technology (ICT) diffusion and its effects on rural development across 341 Community Development (CD) blocks of West Bengal. The study is based on secondary data. Secondary data has been collected from Districts Statistical Handbook, Primary Census Abstract, District Census Handbook, and Socio‐Economic and Caste Census. The principal component analysis technique has been used for ICT diffusion index calculation. ArcMap 10.1 has been used for Mapmaking to understand the spatial intensity of the ICT index. The study finds that West Bengal falls within the least zone (0.07–0.18) of ICT diffusion in India due to multi‐dimensional socio‐economic factors. Only 35 CD blocks out of 341 are located in the high ICT diffusion zone (0.49–0.79) in West Bengal, which is 6.87 percent area to the total area. The study concluded that the higher the ICT diffusion higher is the rural development in West Bengal. The study recommends that the government invest more money in ICT in rural development.