The Role of ICT in Poverty Alleviation: A Case Study of Multidimensional Poverty Index in Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

The study investigated the effect of ICT on the indicators of Multidimensional Poverty Index by taking the case of two districts in Uttar Pradesh. It aims to look at the penetration of technology in urban and rural areas particularly looking at the availability, accessibility of the ICT resources in the districts. The study was conducted in the two districts of Uttar Pradesh which are Lucknow and Pilibhit; data was collected during the month of February-March 2018 using surveys and semistructured interviews. The study established that the State is struggling for basic infrastructure and needs policy intervention for the effective operation of the existing policies. There is a dire need to upgrade the existing infrastructure and utilize the potential of ICTs in sectors like Education, Health, etc. The research concluded that the availability, accessibility of ICT resources would strengthen the delivery of Government schemes. The Multidimensional Poverty Index indicated that one of the districts is MPI Poor while the other one is not MPI poor. The indicators reflected the deprivation at household level and also identified the policies working effectively in rural and urban areas.