Question: What was the theme of World Development Report released -2016 released on 14 January 2016?
(a) Risk Management
(b) Climate change
(c) Digital Dividend
(d) Transition Economies
Ans (c)
Related facts:
- On January 14, 2016 World Bank had released the World Bank World Development Report -2016.
- The theme of this year report is “Digital Dividend”.
- The report is helpful in understanding impact of the internet, mobile phones, and related technologies on economic development across the world.
- According to the report, more than 40 percent of the world’s population has access to Internet.
- In the past decade, the number of Internet users has increased more than threefold it has been increased from 1 million in 2005 to 3.2 billion at the end of 2015.
- China has the largest number of internet users, followed by the United States, with India, Japan, and Brazil filling out the top five.
- On an average 8 in 10 people in the world have mobile phone and the number is increasing.
- The lowest mobile penetration is in Sub-Saharan Africa (73 percent), against 98 percent in high-income countries.
- According to the report internet adoption lags behind considerably, only 31 percent of the population in developing countries had access in 2014, against 80 percent in high-income countries.
- According to the report on the Internet in one day 207 million e- mail are sent.
- A day’s total Web traffic is of 2.3 billion GB.
- Nearly 9 of 10 businesses in high-income OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries had a broadband internet connection in 2010–14, compared with 7 for middle-income countries and 4 for low-income countries.
- Out of world’s 3.2 billion Internet users, 1.1 million people use high-speed Internet.
- The benefits of digital technologies filter throughout the economy, For businesses, the internet promotes inclusion of firms in the world economy by expanding trade, raises the productivity of capital, and intensifies competition in the marketplace, which in turn induces innovation.
- The report suggested that Digital development strategies need to be broader than ICT strategies. It cautioned that when the analog complements are absent, the development impact will be disappointing.
- Three main mechanisms to transmit the digital dividend are described as inclusion, efficiency and innovation.
- Connectivity for all has been described as the important goal and challenge. This can be dealt with a strong analog foundation.
Reference:
http://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2016
http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/Publications/WDR/WDR%202016/WDR16_Berlin_Mishra.pdf
http://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/Publications/WDR/WDR%202016/WDR2016_Concept_Note.pdf