Knowledge, and by implication informatics, is power. It is the most effective tool for democratization, social inclusion and economic progress. How does informatics foster all these vital elements? It is by lending support to the State in extending education, training and other developmental services to those people who have been left out of the security umbrella. Providing equality of opportunity is very vital since that alone will help them transcend the barriers of race, gender and economic status. Social backwardness is a complex phenomenon, causes of which are hard to seek. Poverty, of course, is the most important determinant. But economic poverty goes hand in hand with information poverty. Lack of access to information makes people incapable of adopting new technologies and renders them powerless in innovating solutions. Upward social mobility and resultant self-respect are so crucial in ensuring social justice. Informatics is the single most important tool to achieve it.
