ICT Plan Formulation & Policy The main objective behind any innovation in technology is to ensure that it provides

comfort, leisure, productivity and a better quality of life and built environment to its citizens. All over the world, countries are employing the power of ICT in various activities associated with running of the government machinery as well as utilizing in day-to-day life of its citizens. Governments are initiating various policy measures in the field of telecommunications, which would bring change in the production processes and the resulting information leads to the accumulation of knowledge with higher complexity. Governments everywhere are using the notion of rapid transformations from an industrial to information society for carrying out programmes, which enable them to remain competitive in the era of globalisation. Even the European Commission that has employed Manuel Castells view on the ongoing changes in the society stresses we are facing a new industrial revolution which has far reaching changes in technologies, jobs and skills and at the same time economy is globalizing and becoming increasingly based on knowledge and learning.[3] ICT is effectively another business thread across the university but in order to produce the ICT strategy major consultation is undertaken to ensure that the ICT needs of the individual business units are jointly understood, developed and included within the ICT strategy. The ICT strategy is developed from the overriding institutional vision, academic and business unit requirements and with the professional expertise and vision of the ICT or Information Services unit. ICT and other key functional strategies come out of the corporate strategy and have as their overriding purpose the delivery of corporate strategy, or if the functional strategies are developed in a parallel process which takes cognisance of the overarching strategy but has additional independent aspirations and purpose. The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is now considered a critical element in the effort to empower rural women because empowerment entails the ability and freedom to make choices in the social, political, and economic areas. In turn, choice-making is driven by both the quality and quantity of information delivered to women in rural households. Here the survey has been done by the challenge facing a developing country like Ghana is how effectively information could be made available to rural households to enhance choice-making.Given the budget restrictions facing developing countries, is it possible to disaggregate implementation of ICT policies so as to respond to the unique needs of rural women, or are countries perpetually tied to the implementation of one-size-fit-all ICT policies to empower rural women? [1] ICT projects, can promote economic and community development. They can cover and ensure the communitys sustainability goals that are specified clearly through measures including community involvement in deciding, planning and evaluating projects; and adopting a learning approach through cycles of evaluation based on action research. These features also include leveraging micro-business enterprise development of government-funded technical and human infrastructure provision, building on local industry strengths, learning from global experiences , whilst building on local assets; and finding innovative business models to capitalise on new opportunities for content applications. These characteristics are evident in successful international initiatives.[2] References [1] Problems of policy formulation and implementation: The case of ICT use in rural womens empowerment in Ghana by Olivia Adwoa Tiwaah Frimpong Kwapong,University of Ghana, Ghana International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology (IJEDICT), 2007, Vol. 3, Issue 2, pp. 68-88. [2] UNDP. 2000. Information and communications technologies for development. UNDP, New York. http://www.undp.org/info21/. [3] Bajwa S B GBER Vol. 3 No.2. pp 49 61 ICT policy in India in the era of liberalisation: its impact and consequences Gurshaminder Singh Bajwa, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi