25th August 2022, Kathmandu
Nepal Telecommunications Authority is the regulatory body of the telecommunication sector, whose jurisdiction is to regulate and inspect telecommunications and related services.
For the last few years, different projects have found places in the authority’s budget and program, which are completely unrelated to this area.
A vivid example of this is a program included in the budget of the current fiscal year 2079/80. The Authority’s budget for the current financial year was recently approved by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology and approved by the Authority’s Board.
In the said budget and program, the authority has planned to build an online ticketing system for hospitals.
“Development of necessary software and technology to arrange the provision of tickets through the online means for hospitals,” is said in the authority’s program.
However, this program does not appear to be held by the authority itself. This program has been organized by the Ministry with a total budget of 5 million.
It is mentioned that this program proposed by the Ministry will be implemented through the Technology Research and Development Branch under ICT support.
It is expected that such systems placed in hospitals will make it easier for consumers to get services.
Earlier, the authority has invested heavily in programs outside its jurisdiction, such as building IT labs in public schools on the recommendation of the ministry.
In the program of the current year, there is also a program for using information technology in secondary-level public schools.
In addition to this, the authority has planned to arrange the necessary technology to provide quality telemedicine services to hospitals in remote areas in the current year.
A budget of two million rupees has been allocated for this program recommended by the Ministry.
