ICT in capacity building : A study of tea garden community of assam in India

ICTs are playing a very important role, now-a-days, in development of rural areas. The application of ICT is improving the quality of life of the backward communities in India, more particularly by building their capacity. The tea industry in Barak Valley in Southern Assam of India provides employment to about 30% of the working population. In this regard a study was conducted in the three tea gardens of Barak Valley to identify the needs and role of ICTs in capacity building of the Tea Garden Community. In the study, the data was collected through the participants’ observation as well as interview schedule. The respondents were union leaders, executives and workers selected purposefully on first-met-first response basis. On the basis of findings, the paper analyses the relationship between ICT and development in the tea garden community. ICT offers communication facilities that support various activities in their livelihood. The main discussion of this paper is primarily to assist the tea garden community of the Barak Valley of Assam as well as to improve their productivity and the standard of living through the implementation of ICT.