Information and Communications Technology Policy of MCIT

ICT POLICY FOR AFGHANISTAN
A digital agenda for development and social

change
2018-2022
Draft
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology

(MCIT)
Draft National ICT Policy- Afghanistan
Contents
1. Introduction 3
2. Vision 2022 4
3. The Policy Context 5
4. ICT Policy Goals and Targets 6
5. Strategic Focus Areas 9
5.1 ICT Infrastructure 10
5.2 Applications and Content 13
5.2.1 E-Government: ICT in Government 14
5.2.2 E-Education: ICT in Education 17
5.2.3 E-Health: ICT in Health 19
5.2.4 E-Business: ICT in Business and Trade 21
5.2.5 E-Agriculture: ICT in Agriculture and Rural Development 22
5.2.6 E-Environment and Natural Resources Management: 24
5.2.7 ICT in Disaster Management: 25
5.2.8 ICT in National Security 25
5.2.9 Development of Local Content 26
5.2.10 Digital Media 27
6. ICT Industry, Markets and Competition 29
7. ICT Knowledge, Skills and Education 31
8. Bridging Digital Divide 34
9. Laws and Regulations
10. Financing and Budgeting 36
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Abbreviations Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework

ANPDF Afghanistan National Data Center
ANDC
ATRA Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority
AfCERT Afghanistan Cyber Emergency Team
ANDMA Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority
E-GIF E-Government Interoperability Framework
ERP Enterprise Resource Planning
FDI Foreign Direct Investment
G2B Government to Business
G2C Government to Citizen
G2G Government to Government
GIS Geographical Information System
DCN District Communication Network
GMS Government Metadata Standards
ICT Information and Communication Technology
ISO International Standards Organization
ISSD Information Systems and Security Directorate
IVR Interactive Voice Response
IXP Internet Exchange Point
MAIL Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and Livestock
MDG Millennium Development Goals
M-Government Mobile Government
MRRD Ministry of Rehabilitation and Rural Development
M-Services Mobile Government Services
MCIT Ministry of Communication and IT
NICTAA National ICT Association of Afghanistan
NIXA National Internet Exchange Point of Afghanistan
PKI Public Key Infrastructure
E-Government Electronic Government
E-Education Electronic Education
E-Health Electronic Health
E-Business Electronic Business
E-Agriculture Electronic Agriculture
E-Environment Electronic Environment
E-Learning Electronic Learning
E-Services E-Government Services
VAS Value Added Service
3
VCN Village Communication Network

WHO World Health Organization
XML Extensible Mark Up Language
1. Introduction
During the last two decades Afghanistan has made considerable progress in the
field of information and communication technology (ICT). In 2002 the country had
telephone subscription population of some 50000 and in 2018 this is estimated to have
risen to about 23.65million. The country has evidently come a long way from having
just one phone for every 540 persons in 2002. From almost total absence of internet
in 2002 the country has now 62 national and international internet service providers
with an internet subscription population of nearly 5.23 million. The use of computers
in the departments and agencies of the Government of the Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan has been growing very rapidly in last years. Several strategic ICT
programmes including the E-Government programme is being pursued by the
Government to bring in transparency and efficiency in the working of the Government
and delivery of public services. Government of Afghanistan continues to be committed
to expanding and optimizing ICT within the country to improve public services delivery,
accelerate economic development and social change for the benefit of every Afghan.
This document describes the digital agenda of the Government during the next Five
years including its Vision, Goals and MCIT approaches that intends to achieve its long
term vision and strategic goals.
2. Vision
MCIT’s vision for Afghanistan is a digital connected Afghanistan
3. The Policy Context

The Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework is our plan to
achieve self-reliance and increase the welfare of our people. We will build a productive
and broad-based economy that creates jobs. We will establish the rule of law and put
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an end to corruption, criminality, and violence. Justice and the rule of

law require that we step up the fight against corruption, reform our courts, and make
sure that ordinary citizens can exert their constitutional rights with confidence. We will
change the structure of our economy from one of import and distribution to one where
a thriving private sector, from small farmers and urban businesses to large
manufacturers, can successfully export Afghan products to regional and global
markets. We will make strategic investments in infrastructure, human capital, quality
service delivery, and technology; backed by a robust and well-regulated financial
sector that can channel money to where it can best be spent. Growth will be inclusive
and balanced. As the economy grows, Afghanistan will be able to expand investments
in the health and education of our people. Achieving these goals requires a collective
effort to overcome fragmentation, increase accountability, and introduce proper
policies for sustainable growth.
The Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF) is a

five-year strategic plan for achieving self-reliance. The sustainable development that
will help Afghanistan meet its many challenges, bring an end to poverty, and ensure
security and stability for the country will take longer than a single generation to realize.
We must move our country beyond its history of war and poverty and begin the long
journey to prosperity.
The Framework presents a long-term development narrative for Afghanistan by

providing consistent high-level guidance to government and other stakeholders. It
articulates our immediate and long-term development priorities, highlights key
reforms, and outlines priority investments needed to achieve our development goals.
It sets the economic, political and security context for our approach to development,
which is built around agriculture, extractive industries and trade. This context leads to
a fiscal strategy that will guide budgetary allocations to support policy goals and
ensure the sustainable management of public investment.
The ANPDF further focuses over Infrastructure and Connectivity Program, in

order to accomplish increase in transit and connectivity, including telecommunications
and the investment emphasize is on cross-border water, energy, digital and transport
infrastructure, airports, telecoms, roads, rail, ﬁber-optic, logistics reform and etc.
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4. ICT Policy Goals and Targets

In line with its Vision 2022 MCIT will expand and enhance ICT usage in the
country, expand the telecommunication and IT infrastructure and services, ensure
universal ICT access to all citizens and in general expand the ICT sector. MCIT
recognises that ICTs, if optimally and strategically employed, can be very powerful
and effective tools for good governance, economic development and social change.
Therefore, the approach of the MCIT would be to optimally to adopt ICT as a tool for
effective and transparent governance and as an enabler in various economic and
social sectors in country. MCIT will also strategically promote private sector driven ICT
industry as an economic sector in its own right that significantly contributes to national
GDP and job creation.
The under mentioned ICT policy goals MCIT has set for itself are derived from
the national strategic governance and development goals and priorities as much as
the need for promoting ICT industry as an important sector of the economy and
encouraging ICT innovation and adoption in Afghanistan at large in order to realise the
Vision 2022 of Afghanistan as a progressive knowledge based society.
A. High Level ICT Policy Goals

A.1 MCIT will follow an integrated and holistic approach to ICT development
in the country which would aim at maximising penetration and diffusion of ICT
in Afghanistan; both within the Government and at all levels in the Afghan
society and IT Communities.
A.2 MCIT will develop and promote ICT as an enabler of increased efficiency
and productivity in all economic and social sectors and industry domains in the
country.
A.3 MCIT will optimize the use of ICT in all its departments, agencies and
ministries for management of Government operations and a tool for enhanced
efficiency, effectiveness and transparency in public governance, and service
delivery.
B. E-Governance- ICT in Government Policy Goals
B.1 All the Government ministries, departments and agencies both at the
central and provincial levels would be optimally computerised and their
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operations re-engineered, digitized and networked in line with the E-

Government and M-Government plan of the Government under Governance
and consultation of Ministry of Communication and IT.
B.2 All public services, other than the ones which cannot be delivered
through electronic means, would be delivered as E-Services or M-Services as
per the E-Government Plan and law of MCIT
B.3 Transparency in public sector recruitment, procurement and service
delivery would be enhanced though optimised use of ICTs. 90 per cent of all
public procurement and recruitment would be ICT based using appropriate E-
recruitment and E-procurement systems, through a centralized enterprise
resource planning (ERP) application developed by Asan Khedmat (MCIT)
B.4 Citizen participation in governance and democratic processes in the
country would be strengthen and enhanced through optimal ICT applications
of MCIT.
B.5. All citizens of the country would have convenient means to access the
E-Services of the Government either on individual access devices or through
E-Service centre(s) located within ANDC (Afghanistan National Data Center) in
MCIT within convenient distances (not to exceed 1 hour travel time) from the
location of the service recipient.
B.7 MCIT will simplify public service processes by re-engineering them and will
ensure increase in service delivery to all citizens of the country.
B.8 The use of ICTs in the justice sector would be promoted to enhance rule
of law and transparency in the legal processes. ICT based Systems and
applications would be developed and deployed across the country, as a part of
MCIT’s E-Government programme to bring in effectiveness, efficiency and
transparency in all the legal institutions and organs of the state And integrate
all Justice Sectors and Relevant Ministries.
C. ICT investment and Industry Development

C.1 The Government will encourage ICT private sector to play a central role
in driving economic growth and innovation, while creating employment and
generating income through skill development and productivity improvement.
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C.2 Private sector(s) investment in the ICT sector would be

encouraged via different existing concepts like public private partnerships to
ensure a supportive ICT sector investment, resulting in the market prices of ICT
products and services to fall to a level equal to or lower than the average
markets prices prevailing in central and south Asian countries. Private sector
investment in the ICT sector, currently estimated at USD 2 billion is targeted to
rise to USD 8 billion by the year 2022.
C.3 The expansion of the domestic ICT industry would be encouraged and
promoted by MCIT, so that domestic products and services including
connectivity, E-services and public services would be at least 40 per cent of the
total ICT products and services marketed in the country.
D. ICT human resources development

D.1 ICT literacy within the Government would be expanded. 80 per cent of
all Government staff at various levels would be ICT literate.
D.2 ICT awareness and literacy within the general population of the country
would be promoted by MCIT. 70 per cent of population will be exposed to
different level of ICT awareness and / or literacy programmes.
D.3 ICT skills within the country would be increased via educational
institutions. All the universities and institutes of higher learning would be
encouraged to offer ICT graduate and post graduate courses as well as short
duration ICT courses as per the strategic ICT Skill development plan of MCIT..
D.4 ICT education will be mandatory in all schools of the country. ICT
education will be embedded within the school curriculum of all schools in the
country.
D.5 At least 70 per cent of all school, college and university teachers would
be trained in the use of ICT tools and systems in education based on the
contents of the curriculum.
D.6 All primary, secondary schools, colleges, institutes of higher learning

and Universities in the country will be equipped with ICT labs and equipment.
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There will be at least one computer and associated software for every
5 students enrolled, and connected to each other through a centralized hub
located in MCIT.
D.7 At least 30 per cent of all primary and secondary schools in the country
would be ‘smart’ schools” where education and learning would be based on
intensive use of ICTs.
D.8 Electronic Learning (E-Learning) would be promoted and integrated as
an important component of the Government policy to eradicate illiteracy and
provide universal education to all children and provide a platform for life-long
learning and skill development among adults.
D.9 Education management including its planning, monitoring and control at

the central and provincial levels would be undertaken using integrated national
education management information system.
D.10 MCIT will interconnect all Schools and Islamic Centres Through Optic
Fiber Cable Connection (Afghan Telecom) Backbone as well Microwaves to a
centralized location where e-Education applications are hosted (ANDC). And
accessible on demand in all area of country.
D.11 MCIT will strive to identify and predict areas of ICT that will be required in
the next 5-10 years for Afghanistan market and persuade educational institutes
to adapt their curricula towards those directions.
D.12 MCIT in consultation with private sector will identify the major gaps in
knowledge and skillset of current ICT workforce and develops short and long
term programs to increase the competency of ICT workforce.
D.13 MCIT increases the investment in ICTI to offer various degree and non-
degree programs in order to train highly calibrated scientists and engineers that
can fulfil the skills required in next 5-10 years.
E. ICT in Health (E-Health) Goals
E.1 E-health and the use of ICTs in the management of health services to
the citizens would be developed and promoted by MCIT. All the public and
private sector hospital and health centres would be encouraged to maximise
ICT use including development and deployment of hospital information
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systems, drug control, drug inspection system and patient record

management system.
E.2 Telemedicine in the country would be promoted as a part of the
Government’s policy to provide universal health care services to all citizens of
the country. All major hospitals in Kabul, Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad and other
urban centres would have at least one telemedicine delivery centre and every
district would have at least one telemedicine centre with appropriate skilled staff
and ICT infrastructure and connected to each other through MCIT Fiber-optic
ring.
E.3 Management of the public health centres and public hospitals and
monitoring of the public health would be undertaken with the development and
deployment of appropriate health information management system at the
national and provincial levels by MCIT.
F. Other Major Goals
F.1 All citizens of the country would have access to broadband
telecommunication and internet services.
F.2 Content on the web in Dari, Pashtu and other local languages would be
increased. This will include entertainment and learning content for various age
groups and social segments in the country. The content on the web would be
closely controlled and monitored to ensure that it is consistent with the culture
and tradition of the country.
F.3 Private sector and non-government organizations will be encouraged to
adopt ICTs in the management of their operations and in their interactions with
other stakeholders.
F.4 Infrastructure for E-business would be developed and deployed,
including public key infrastructure and associated institutions and systems so
as to promote on line business transactions, nationally and internationally.
F.6 Appropriate ICT laws and regulations would be developed and deployed
to monitor and regulate the ICT sector consistent with the need to respect the
human rights of Afghanistan citizens.
5. Strategic Focus Areas
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ICTs are very effective and powerful technologies which leave no

aspect of economic and social life untouched. Going by international experience, it
can be observed that there is a strong correlation between employment of ICT and
positive macro-economic growth. ICTs are highly evolving, innovative and dynamic
and impact practically all domains of human life, industries and sectors; both at micro
and macro levels. However, to harness ICT for maximum benefit these technologies
have to be closed adapted to local conditions and aligned with the local needs.
During the last years telecommunication and ICT infrastructure and services
have expanded considerably and ICT has made significant penetration in the
Government, business and in the Afghanistan society generally. Yet it can be
observed that we have a long way to go to realise full benefits of ICT in governance,
social and economic development, security and stability and poverty reduction. MCIT
has adopted a strategic approach to developing the ICT sector and to optimize ICT
application and to reach long term ICT goals; and thereby significantly contribute to
the achievement of national development goals.
The key ICT result areas for strategic focus of MCIT are depicted in the figure
below. Apart of the four pillars of the strategy and policy matrix there are three cross
cutting areas of strategic importance.
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6. ICT Infrastructure
On a broad basis the ICT infrastructure includes all hardware, networks,
communication equipment and software that enable telecommunication, information
and data management and enable individuals, organizations and businesses to
access information resources. However, the most fundamental is the
telecommunication and internet infrastructure. MCIT’s role in the enablement of the
telecommunication and ICT infrastructure and services is essential and fundamental.
The telecommunication infrastructure in Afghanistan has expanded sharply during last
years, guided by the Afghanistan Telecommunication and Regulatory Authority Policy
for telecommunication sector of Afghanistan. As the ICT technology is dynamic and
evolving with new technologies being developed and deployed with improved
availability of equipment, supplies and services of computers, telecommunications,
multimedia information providers, broadcasting (radio and television) and content it
raises many issues regarding interconnection policy and equipment standards for
interconnectivity. In addition, in the case of Afghanistan, the availability of ICT
infrastructure must be associated with the availability of other basic services like
electricity supply which would make the ICT infrastructure usable.
The telecommunication development and regulations will continue to be guided

by the Government’s Telecom and Internet Policy. The basic guiding principles of
MCIT’s strategy and policy in the development of the ICT infrastructure would be the
following:
Universal Access: Recognizing the right of every citizen of Afghanistan to affordable

telecommunication and internet services MCIT’s Policy is to enable the rapid growth
of affordable communications and internet access to all of its people so they may
experience the Digital Age, wherever they are and whoever they may be. Establish a
National Backbone Network around the country that connects major domestic
population centers and our international neighbors.
Market Driven Free Competition: In the development of the ICT infrastructure of the
country MCIT will continue to embrace a market regime based on aggressive market
liberalization, transparent and non-discriminatory regulation, fair competition and
private sector participation.
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Licensing and Spectrum Management: ATRA will continue to

manage the licensing and spectrum management for telecom, broadcasting and
internet services according to the Telecom and Internet Policy and The Telecom Law
in force. Recognizing that the information and communication technology sector is by
its nature highly dynamic and innovative with perpetual availability of new technologies
and converged services licensing and management policies and practices would be
modified and adjusted to facilitate the adoption of the new technologies for the benefit
of the consumers.
Internet Development and Expansion: Recognizing that availability of high speed

internet at affordable cost is critically important for expanding the demand for internet
services and for delivery of government services to the public the Government will set
up national IXPs (NIXA) and hierarchical IXPs in collaboration with other countries as
well as regional information and communications infrastructure.
Promoting Broadband It will be the strategy and policy of MCIT to encourage the
development of the broadband communication and internet in the country, both on the
supply and demand sides. On the supply side the network operators would be
encouraged to go broadband, adopt new technologies and offer VAS and converged
services. On the demand side MCIT will encourage expansion of demand for
broadband internet by adopting and expanding its usage within the government and
encouraging schools and other institutions in the country to go broadband.
Information Security: MCIT will accord highest importance to the protection of the
ICT infrastructure as well as information resources under its jurisdiction. Considering
the vulnerability of ICT infrastructure and assets to damage and attacks by criminals
and terrorists. MCIT in collaboration with network operators and other stake holders
will develop and implement strategies and systems to ensure highest level of security
to networks and telecommunication infrastructure in the country. Similarly, MCIT will
accord the highest level of importance to the protection of the information assets and
citizen data that would be routinely in the data bases of the Government at the
Afghanistan National Data Centre located in MCIT. Afghanistan Cyber Emergency
Team (Af-CERT) of the Government of Afghanistan in collaboration with the network
operators national and internationally and other stakeholders will develop and
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implement policies and procedures for quick restoration of ICT

backbone infrastructure and services should an attack occur with all Government
Entity and ensure highest level of Security applied in Country. While MCIT will develop
policies and procedures for protecting its information assets and resources it will also
develop standards and guidelines for protecting ICT infrastructure and information
resources existing outside the Government and also ensure highest level of cyber
awareness has been conducted.
Public Key Infrastructure: MCIT has developed and deployed Public Key
Infrastructure (PKI) including the hardware, software, policies and associated
institutional arrangements so that certification of digital signatures would be possible
and online transactions will be undertaken by individuals and businesses in
Afghanistan, with confidence and through e-transaction LAW by ISSD.
Accessibility Infrastructure: In accordance with its Universal Access policy MCIT

will provide broadband telecom and internet coverage to all parts of Afghanistan
including last mile connectivity infrastructure. However, MCIT recognises that
provision of ICT infrastructure alone may not assure accessibility to all citizens of
Afghanistan. Inability of the citizens to take advantage of the available communication
and internet facility may arise due to non-affordability or non-availability of individual
access devices. To mitigate against these possibilities MCIT will establish digital
communication and e-Service centres for remotely located communities and rural
population of Afghanistan.
5.1.1 Telecom Development and Regulations

Telecommunication infrastructure for voice and data services is central to the
development of the Information Society that we envision to usher in the next five to
eight years. One of the main goals would be to ensure that the telecom infrastructure
covers all parts of the country and that telecom services are available to all
communities and people of Afghanistan following the Universal Accessibility and
coverage principle. At the same time MCIT will take all actions as may be necessary
to ensure that each Afghan can take advantage of the telecom coverage that is
available in accordance with the Universal Service principle of the Government.
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MCIT through ATRA will employ the international best practices and
methodologies to evaluate, monitor and regulate the telecom and internet coverage
and service delivery in all parts of the country and identify market efficiency gaps that
exist in the telecom coverage and in collaboration with the Telecom Operators in the
country fill the gaps as may be identified from time to time.
MCIT will determine the true access gaps, that is areas where operations may be
commercially unprofitable and advise the Telecom operators to provide telecom and
internet services in these areas through support from the Telecom Development Fund
(TDF).
Through the Telecom and internet policy of ATRA competition in the telecom markets
of the country will be evaluated and monitored. Market share of telecom operators and
telecom traffic at the major gateways and exit points would be perpetually evaluated
to monitor the possible dominance of any operator in the market.
MCIT recognises that Quality of Service as a part of the broader question of consumer
rights and protection including privacy of consumer data and information from the
perspective of the consumers is an important issue and a matter of concern to them.
MCIT will adopt a reasonable approach towards quality service delivery based on the
baseline data currently available from primary and secondary data sources. Quality
of service regulations and consumer protection laws would be put in place to ensure
that the operators meet their Quality of Service obligations to their customers.
6.1 Applications and Content

If Afghanistan has to leapfrog into the Digital Age and if the goals of the Vision
2022 are to be realised in the next ten years the ICT penetration and diffusion in the
country has to be accelerated. The adoption of ICT by the Government and major
private sector organizations, during the last ten years, has been appreciable. This
penetration has been so far, however, restricted to only urban centres and to only
certain levels in organizations. Horizontal diffusion of ICT across the country to
provinces, districts and rural areas has to occur; so also vertical penetration of the ICT
has to occur in the organizations that have already made a beginning. The adoption
of ICT by individuals, businesses and organizations has shown significant growth in
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recent years. The main challenges to accelerated ICT penetration and

diffusion are the high cost of access devices, lack of accessibility, lack of skills and
know how. It will be the policy of MCIT to promote and accelerate the ICT application
within the Government and all sectors of the economy and all industry domains and
indeed all sections of the Afghanistan society. The following application areas would
be particularly focused on.
5.2.1 E-Government: ICT in Government

During last years MCIT has vigorously followed on the application of ICT for
improving its administration and delivery of public services. Towards this end MCIT
has undertaken a number of initiatives, projects and programmes. This has included
the design and development of the E-Government strategic master plan, E-
Government Systems Architecture, E-Government Interoperability framework (E-GIF),
Afghanistan National Data Center, National ID card project, E-Government Resources
Centre, training and skill development activities, centralized passport online systems
by Asan Khedmat, Digitizing and Computerizing Work Permit for local and foreign
employees, centralized asanERP and a large number of projects at the level of
individual departments and agencies of the Government aimed at digitizing the
operations and development of ICT infrastructure. The aim of MCIT is to develop and
deploy the E-Government in a phased manner corresponding to the development of
the readiness of the various agencies of the Government. MCIT is currently designing
and developing M-Government, as a component part of the its broader E-Government
agenda so that the wide penetration of the mobile phones in the country, currently
covering 80 per cent of the country’s population, can be taken advantage of as an
effective means of connecting with the citizens, delivering public services effectively
at lower cost, enhancing citizen participation and democracy and the overall efficiency
of the public administration. The following major policies will guide the Government to
accelerate its E-Government transformation.
 MCIT will be service oriented and citizen focused and will follow a bottom up
phased approach in developing and deploying E-Government in the country.
 MCIT recognises that maximum efficiency and governance effectiveness can
be achieved only if all the component agencies and departments of the
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Government operate as parts of a single connected Network and

coordinated Digital Government rather than as independent, disconnected
units. This MCIT approach will be the guiding philosophy of MCIT.
 The E-GIF standards and policies already developed by MCIT will guide the
implementation of the E-Government. MCIT recognises that for effective
development and roll out of E-Government it is essential that the individual
technical systems at various departments and agencies of the government
should interoperate with each other, exchange data with each other and
virtually operate as a single system. For this to happen uniform and compatible
policies and standards have to be used all across the government. These
policies, developed as a part of the E-GIF, will be implemented across the
Government by MCIT.
 The policies, guidelines and technical standards globally and locally developed
by MCIT, that form a part the Government’s E-GIF will be followed by all the
departments, agencies, ministries and government institutions at all levels in
the country as a mandatory requirement.
 Open and Free standards: As a policy MCIT would adopt open and free
technical standards rather than proprietary standards. However, in exceptional
circumstances if a proprietary standard is accepted as a technical standard by
MCIT there must be a strong justification for its acceptance.
 Internet and world wide web: MCIT recognizes the importance of internet and
the World Wide Web as the basic platforms on which the emerging knowledge
and information society of the world rests. Therefore, alignment of all
government of Afghanistan ICT systems with the internet and the World Wide
Web and adoption of all common specifications used on the internet and World
Wide Web would be a central policy of MCIT.
 Extensible Markup Language (XML): With the emergence of XML as the
preferred means of data exchange between data systems the world over, XML
would be used as the primary standard for data exchange between ICT systems
of the government.
 Content Management in Government: The Information content and documents
of the government of Afghanistan in English and official languages of the
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country: Pashtu and Dari, would be managed using the Government

of Afghanistan metadata standards (GMS) based on internationally accepted
Dublin Core Model (ISO 15836)
 Delivery Channels: It would be the policy of MCIT to support multiple channels
for service delivery. Although desktops and laptop computers using browser
technology would be main means of accessibility, the systems adopted by all
government departments and institutions should permit access and service
delivery thorough other means like the public kiosks, web TVs and mobile
devices; and should also interface and integrate well with the traditional means
of personalized service delivery.
 Universal Service: In line with the policy of MCIT to provide service universally
to cover all citizens of Afghanistan irrespective of their location, gender, age,
status and education, special attention would be given to the needs of citizens
with visual or other disabilities in the design and deployment of technical
systems, especially in the formulation of standards related to access,
presentation and customer interface.
 Information Security in Government: MCIT recognises that Information is an
important resource in the knowledge society that we envision for our country.
At the same time, we recognize that threats to its integrity and safety are
manifold. Therefore, the protection of data and information resources within the
government of Afghanistan; whether in its databases, documents, applications
or in transit over its networks; will be accorded the highest priority by all
agencies, organs and institutions of the Government through Cyber Security
Directorate of MCIT.
 E-Services and M-Services: Public Services to be delivered by the Government
through electronic means will be developed and implemented in a phased
manner in accordance with the E-Government Strategic Master Plan and M-
Government Strategic Master Plan of MCIT. These services will be designed
and developed in service oriented manner to maximise the citizen satisfaction
and minimise the development time and costs. E-Government and M-
Government G2G, G2B and G2C applications and services that enhance
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Government efficiency, transparency and delivery of public services

will be accorded the highest priority.
 E-Government Institutional Arrangement: E-Government Directorate and E-
Government Resources Centre within the Ministry of Communication and IT will
be the main organs of the Government responsible for the planning,
development and deployment of the E-Government programme of the
Government including auditing the quality of E-services, Implementation of the
E-GIF and provision of support to the agencies of the Government in the
implementation of its various E-Government initiatives.
 Information Systems Security: Cyber Security Directorate (Information Systems
and Security Directorate) of MCIT will be the main organ of Cyber Security for
the Government with standards and best practices including responses to the
Cyber Attacks and eService penetrations. ISSD is also responsible to provide
support to agenises of the Government in implementation of Secure platforms
and infrastructure to mitigate Cyber-attacks aimed to defeat Government data.
5.2.2 E-Education: ICT in Education

Government recognises that it faces some serious challenges in reaching its strategic
goals to expand educational opportunities to all its citizens, provide lifelong
educational opportunity to all and mitigate wide spread illiteracy in the country. The
MCIT also recognises that ICT application could be an effective tool for delivery of
education, improving the overall learning process and in better managing the
education sector of the country. MCIT is committed to expanding the use of ICT for
education and optimise its application in the education sector. The ICT in Education
strategy of MCIT would be multipronged consisting of the following component parts
 Expand ICT education & integrate ICT from primary school level,
 Expand ICT as an enabler for better learning and teaching processes,
 Expand ICT use for remote education,
 Expand ICT as a means for better education management
 Expand ICT as a tool for better scientific research and innovation.
The following ICT in education policies will be followed:
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 ICT education will be considered as mandatory in all primary

and secondary schools of the country. ICT education will be embedded within
the school curriculum in all schools in the country.
 Government Schools, Colleges and Universities will be provided adequate ICT
infrastructure, computing resources and broadband internet to ensure
availability of ICT to teachers, students and administrators.
 Private educational institutions will be required to computerise and provide for
ICT in their institutions as a mandatory precondition for institutional registration
and licensing.
 Private educational institutions at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels will
be encouraged through provision of fiscal and monetary incentives, in order to
adopt ICTs, establish adequate ICT infrastructure and systems in their
institutions.
 MCIT will, in a phased manner, transform all primary and secondary schools
into smart schools, where intensive use is made of ICT as an educational tool
both by the students and teachers.
 MCIT will launch an intensive programme of education for teachers on the use
of ICT in education. These educational courses for teachers will be provided in
the local languages of choice of teachers to ensure maximum level of required
ICT knowledge being transferred.
 Electronic Learning (E-Learning) would be promoted and integrated as an

important component of the Government policy to eradicate illiteracy and
provide universal education to all children and provide a platform for life-long
learning and skill development among adults. Considering the universal
availability of mobile phones in the country, m-learning content and courses
would be developed and offered as a part of the E-Learning programme of the
country.
 To encourage girl education in the country e-learning education centres
integrated with the local level community centres and mosques, will be
established in rural and remote areas, which would have the resources to hold
distance classes in a culturally acceptable manner.
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 Education management including its planning, monitoring and

control at the central and provincial levels would be undertaken using ICT
based integrated national education management information system
developed and introduced by MCIT.
 Educational Institutions of Higher learning, both in the private and public
domains, will offer degree courses at bachelors and masters levels in ICT
related subjects as a mandatory requirement. The institutions of higher learning
will be encouraged to offer research based ICT degrees at masters and
doctorate levels.
 Educational Institutions of Higher Learning in the country would be encouraged
to collaborate and cooperate with each other to share computing resources,
establish national online library and undertake joint educational and research
projects on ICT related subjects.
 Institutions of Higher Learning and Research will be encouraged to establish

campus wide electronic learning and research environment and collaborate
with each other and with other regional and international institutions of higher
education and research to develop and deploy integrated and interoperable ICT
infrastructure and systems to enable collaborative education and research.
 With the development of Innovations and Research Centre Labs within Kabul
University and ICTI, MCIT will provide a centralized ICT HUB for professors and
students to encourage with the development of new idea’s, algorithms,
researches and create Job opportunities.
5.2.3. E-Health: ICT in Health

Even though the last ten years has seen considerable improvement in the
public health, the overall situation remains grim, with low life expectancy, high child
and maternal mortality indicators. The availability of public health services in the
country, especially in the remote and rural areas of the country is poor due to a variety
of reasons, including lack of trained and professional health workers, doctors and
nurses, lack of health infrastructure, hospitals, modern medical equipment and lack of
sufficient financial resources to expand the public health infrastructure. Government
MCIT sees ICT as an effective tool to mitigate the constraints that we currently face in
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improving public health services. We recognise that ICT cannot

replace the services of a doctor or the caring provided by a trained nurse, but it can
leverage the meagre resources that we have to reach a larger population and bring in
efficiency in the public health domain.
Following would be the strategic focus of the Government MCIT in ICT In Health
area:
 Expand the use of ICT by health institutions in the country including hospitals
and clinics through provision of resources, technical and professional trainings
and establishment of the ICT infrastructure in these institutions.
 Promote use of ICT for monitoring and control of public health in the country
and establish systems to prevent spread of diseases and early warning systems
in case of impending epidemic.
 Develop health sector management system and unified standards for health
data exchange and sharing among national health institutions compatible with
WHO and other international health organization system’s standards and
guidelines by MCIT.
 Promote ICT and mobile technology based system for health sector monitoring,
patient data exchange, surveys and field data collection.
 Disseminate health information on prevention of diseases and health guidelines
for citizens and health workers in local languages using multiple delivery
channels, including mobile devices.
 Promote tele-medicine and e-health in the country through establishment of
required tele-medicine infrastructure and skills in the country.
The major e-health policy of the Government would be as following:
 MCIT will maximise and optimize the application of ICT in public hospitals and
clinics through establishment of ICT infrastructure, systems and enhancement
of staff’s skills.
 MCIT will endeavour to expand use of ICT in Ministry of Public Health, in its
institutions and in all other government agencies of connected with Public
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Health for the purpose of enhancing efficiency and effectiveness in

proper Management of the public health in country.
 A National Health Sector Information Management system will be developed
and implemented by MCIT for ensuring an effective planning, managing and
monitoring of public health and delivery of public health services across the
country.
 Health Data and Information Standards included in E-GIF those are developed
by MCIT will be the used as standard for health information management
adopted by all health institutions, both in public and private domain throughout
the country.
 Citizen’s or the patient’s personal data collected by the Government health
institutions will be maintained secure in government databases and will be
considered as highly confidential information of them, which shall not be
disclosed to any un-authorised entity, except to other health institutions for the
purpose of delivering health services or except through the applicable legal
processes and will be hosted inside ANDC.
 The government recognises that it has limited resources in terms of responding
to the needed public services. and therefore, the Government will leverage its
resources to provide better and faster medical services through e-health and
tele-medicine.
 Doctors, nurses and other health workers will be trained on effective usage of
ICT for delivering standard health services at various levels from health clinics
in districts and hospitals to referral hospitals in urban centres.
 M-Health: MCIT recognises the ubiquity of mobile phones in the country and
therefore, will develop and deploy mobile based applications for delivery of
basic public health services as well as use mobile based ICT system for
dissemination of health information, health warnings and encourage citizens to
seek health related services and information using mobile phones and other
devices.
 Telemedicine development and roll out: To leverage its health related
resources MCIT will develop the tele-medicine infrastructure both at the delivery
and receipt ends, in a phased manner from the pilot stage in some hospitals
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and some districts in the beginning to a nationwide rollout in ten years.

Tele-medicine infrastructure will be based on international standards and
practices and will be hosted inside ANDC. It would be designed to inter-operate
with such networks available in the neighbouring countries, so that telemedicine
services could also be sourced internationally, as the situation demands.
 Quality of Health Services: Government recognises the importance of delivery
of quality health services to every Afghan. Health services, which are timely,
affordable and delivered in the most efficient manner with minimal errors.
Delivery of high quality drugs and patient services is essential to improving the
health of every citizen. Towards this end MCIT will optimise use of IC
technologies like bad coding and Radio Frequency, identification (RFID) to
minimise errors and to maintain control on the delivery of hospital services and
medication processes, which includes prescribing, order communication,
product labelling, packaging, compounding, dispensing, distribution, and
administration.
5.2.4. E-Business: ICT in Business and Trade

The Afghanistan’s traditional products including carpets, rugs, leather
products, handicrafts, fresh fruits, flowers and dry fruits have large international
market. On account of lack of systematic market development, instability in the country
and simple lack of knowledge in the international market have limited the country’s
market share to a lower level. Application of ICT in international business development
could open out international market for Afghan products. Adoption of ICT in business
is also expected to bring in efficiency in operation of the Afghanistan business sector
thereby reducing costs and increasing profits. The expansion of mobiles in the
Afghanistan for communication and other value added services like mobile money
transfer and mobile wallet applications are significantly influencing the day-to-day lives
of individual Afghans, as much as facilitating financial transactions between business
partners thereby expanding overall business volumes.
The following strategies and policy on E-business will be followed:
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 MCIT will encourage private business organisations and

trading houses to adopt ICT within their organizations. This will be done through
provision of incentives and tax relief on ICT investments and ICT imports,
technical guidance and support.
 MCIT will create an enabling environment for business organizations to adopt
ICT and conduct online business with confidence. Towards this end MCIT’s
Cyber Security Directorate has established the Public Key Infrastructure and
digital signature certifying organization, so that online business transactions
could be undertaken with full confidence.
 MCIT in collaboration with the Private business associations will encourage
establishment of online business portals for various product groups of the
country, which would disseminate information about the Afghan products to
international markets and disseminate market information to local businesses;
provide a platform to local business to conduct online business with their
customers in the local and international markets.
 MCIT will develop and deploy ICT based applications that would make
interaction of the business organizations with MCIT easy and fast. This will
among others include, Business Registration, Online Custom Duty payment,
Online filing of Tax Returns and other similar applications.
 MCIT will promote and encourage mobile technology and other innovative ICT
applications that would facilitate business transactions and trade expansion in
a cashless environment. This would among others, include banking laws and
regulations that facilitates cashless business transactions, establishment of
mobile e-money operators and their agents in all parts of the country and
increase in cap on the payments made by businesses for Government services
and taxes using cashless instruments and methods.
5.2.5. E-Agriculture: ICT in Agriculture

More than seventy per cent of the population of Afghanistan is engaged in
Agriculture and the economy of the country is virtually based on Agriculture. Most of
the products that the country exports abroad are agro products. Hence, the
development of the agriculture sector is closely related to national economy and social
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wellbeing of the people of Afghanistan. The importance of the

Agriculture cannot be over-emphasized. Only about 10 per cent of the total land area
is now cultivated and most of the cultivated land is rain irrigated or irrigated by streams.
The policy of the Government is to expand farm production through expansion of the
area under cultivation and increase in land productivity. Rural income would expand if
agriculture production expands and if higher prices are obtained by farmers for their
production. The rural landscape will also change if the crop mix can change leading
to higher total income to farmers. And if the agro products could be processed and
valued added before reaching the local and international markets. These strategic
moves to develop the Agriculture sector and therefore, the rural economy can be
leveraged through the effective application of ICT.
The Government’s E-Agriculture Policies are:
 MCIT, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Live Stock (MAIL) will
adopt ICT in the planning, management and monitoring of the Agriculture sector
and in the delivery of Agriculture related services to farmers and other stake
holders connected to the sector.
 MCIT will develop its institutional capacity and ICT infrastructure and systems
to enable provision of timely advice and extension of services to farmers on
various aspects of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, agro processing
and other related subjects. Mobile phones and devices, TV and radio will be the
preferred channels of delivery of E-Agriculture services.
 MCIT will develop and deploy optimal ICT based agriculture project and
programme planning and M&E systems to systematically plan, monitor and
evaluate agriculture and rural development projects in the country.
 MCIT will develop and deploy dynamic Agriculture information databases and
ICT systems to disseminate up to date information on Agriculture markets,
prices, supply and demand using mobile devices, computers, TV and Radio as
delivery channels.
 MCIT will develop and deploy databases and ICT systems, which would enable
provision of weather, soil, and other Agriculture information of use and interest
to farmers on mobile phones, computers, TV or radio.
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 ICT based Early warning systems will be developed and

deployed on impending crop disease, climate change, floods and adverse
weather conditions.
 Government recognises that the rural development and agriculture are very
intimately intertwined. Therefore, MCIT’s concerned departments and other
agencies including MAIL and MRRD will collaborate in the development of E-
Agriculture services and coordinate these with other services that are delivered
through traditional channels.
 ICT awareness and basic know how the rural agriculture community would be
raised through mass media campaigns using mobile devices, TV and Radio.
 ICT based on demand and interactive E-Agriculture and rural development
services will be made available in local languages on mobiles and computers,
Radio and TV in user-friendly manner.
5.2.6. E-Environment and Natural Resources Management:

Management of the country’s environment and its natural resources is a
priority for the Government. During the recent decades of war and instability, the
environment has been badly damaged with deleterious consequences on climate,
natural water supply, soil condition, productivity and quality of peoples’ life.
Afghanistan is richly endowed with natural resources, including minerals and natural
gas deposits to the tune of several trillion United States dollars. These resources have
remained largely unused or have been exploited in a random manner by warring
factions to finance war or terror activities. Government is committed to managing its
environment systematically and to responsibly and sustainably use its national natural
resources for the benefit of the people. The focus of MCIT would be to apply ICT in
Environment and Natural Resources management to enhance planning, management
and monitoring capacity of the Ministry of Mines and Ministry of Environment; develop
environment and natural resources data bases and GIS information repositories, maps
and applications for use across the Government.
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Government ICT Policies in the management of the environment and

country’s natural resources are as following:
 MCIT will develop infrastructure, systems and skills within the Government for
optimal adoption of ICT for the purpose of efficiently managing its environment
and natural resources including land, water, forests and mineral deposits and
for their sustainable and responsible use for the benefit of the people of
Afghanistan.
 Local and traditional knowledge and practices in the management of the
environment and country’s natural resources would be captured and integrated
with the modern practices in these fields using the appropriate ICT tools and
techniques.
 Environment and natural resources’ databases and information repositories
and maps will be developed and made available across the government as a
common resource of the country by MCIT.
 MCIT will develop and deploy appropriate GIS and remote sensing applications
and systems to support the Environment and Natural Resources Management
system of Country within GIS Directorate of MCIT.
5.2.7. ICT in Disaster Management:

Afghanistan is prone to disasters. Afghanistan National Disaster
Management Authority (ANDMA) of the Government has developed the strategic
national plan for disaster management, which aims at the provision of early warning
to citizens and other government functionaries of the likely disasters, enhance the
disaster preparedness of the Government and provision of post disaster relief and
rehabilitation. ICTs have considerable applicability in these fields of activities of the
ANDMA and the ICT plays a crucial role in disaster management.
ICT policy of the MCIT in disaster management is as following:
 MCIT recognising the important role that ICT can play in the management of
disasters will provide the ICT infrastructure, equipment, communication,
devices and software applications as required to equip ANDMA and other
connected agencies of the Government at all levels to undertake their mandate
more effectively and efficiently.
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 MCIT will enhance ICT skills of staff in ANDMA and other

relevant agencies, and will provide appropriate ICT training to community
leaders across the country especially in disaster prone areas of the country.
 Periodic mock drills will be undertaken to ensure that the communication

networks and other ICT systems are at top working condition at all times.
5.2.8. ICT in National Security

The welfare and development of a nation goes hand in hand with the level of
security and stability that it enjoys. One of the important focus area of ANPDF is
national security, which in the context of Afghanistan is the most important strategic
key result area, as the country faces possible threats from individuals and
organizations within and outside the country. ICT role in supporting national security
is important and indeed indispensable.
MCIT’s ICT policy for national security is as following:
 MCIT will optimise the use of ICT in the tasks of national security. For this
purpose, the required ICT infrastructure, systems and applications will be
developed and deployed in appropriate agencies of the Government including
the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defence, National Police and others as may
be required.
 MCIT will provide ICT training as appropriate to all agencies staff connected to
national security, enhance and refresh these skills at periodic intervals.
 National security intelligence network will be supported with ICT systems and
the state of the art technologies in information gathering and analysis, to
maintain an edge over the adversaries and enemies of the nation.
 Cyber security infrastructure and systems will be strengthened and kept in
constant state of readiness to prevent damage to vital installations of the
country and ensure minimization of the possible damage should an attack occur
on MCIT systems.
 Security at the borders and all entry points will be strengthened with application
of ICT to thwart moves by undesirable elements with bad intentions to gain
entry into the country.
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 Database of elements considered as threats to national security

and peace will be developed and maintained and will be accessible to
authorised officers and security staff of the Government and MCIT.
5.2.9. Development of Local Content

Existence of the locally relevant content in local languages is crucially
important to promote use of internet and to accelerate the adoption of ICT in the day
to day life of society. Afghanistan ICT eco-system is characterised by lack of content
in Dari and Pashtu and other languages and content that is relevant to local conditions.
With the expansion of the internet it is easy for anyone to access content from distant
markets and communities. This accessibility for the growth of foreign knowledge has
its limitations as to its relevance to local conditions and may undermine the local
cultural heritage. The foreign knowledge acquired on the web should be strategically
matched by collection and dissemination of local knowledge and content that is
relevant to local conditions. ICT systems and internet should be a conveyor of locally
relevant messages and information, providing opportunities for local people to interact
and communicate with each other, expressing their knowledge, heritage and culture
in their own languages. MCIT has taken a lead to develop ICT terminology in Dari and
Pashtu through its localization project. Additionally, E-GIF mandates the development
of Government vocabulary in Dari and Pashtu. These and other initiatives of the
Government for expansion of local content and localization of content will need to be
accelerated in the next ten years.
Government’s ICT policy on promotion of local content will be:
 MCIT will encourage the use of local language applications and content in its
systems, websites and portals.
 Government will provide free access to its archives and information repositories
on national culture, tradition, art and religion to local content developers.
 MCIT will encourage the use of Dari and Pashtu by local content developers in
order to promote local culture, art and entertainment content to attract local
users and Afghan Diaspora.
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 Government will discourage content, which is considered

detrimental to the cultural values and religious sentiments of the people of
Afghanistan.
 MCIT will encourage the local communities to gather and develop local content
and upload the same on to local social networking sites.
 In collaboration with the universities, social and cultural associations and
organizations in Afghanistan. MCIT will encourage development of local
content for entertainment and education for wider dissemination on the web.
5.2.10 Digital Media

Media plays an important role in mass communication, entertainment,
education, public participation and strengthening democracy. The Government’s
overall policy has been to promote free democratic media within the guidelines given
by the Government and within the law of the land. With the application of new ICT, the
media’s reach and influence increases enormously. We have now a large digital media
sector in the country with web publishing, 55 TV stations both national and regional
and more than 170 radio stations. With the fibre optics and satellite, communication
expanding the media’s reach and influence is expected to increase. Considering the
important role that media broadcasting can play in the country for disseminating
information, education, entrainment and overall socio-economic development of the
country, MCIT is committed to develop the sector with modern IC technologies and to
provide a rational and effective framework to govern the establishment, ownership,
control, management and delivery of information, entertainment and educational
services to all Afghans through provision of efficient and reliable broadcasting.
During the last ten years, the mobile technology and internet diffusion in the
country has been fast. Now nearly 19 million people subscribe to mobile phone
services and nearly 2 million Afghans use internet. Parallel to the expansion of internet
and mobile connectivity the social media, primarily Facebook, Twitter and Youtube,
adoption and use is also increasing at an unprecedented pace. The social media
development in the country is a welcome development to enhance the democratic and
participatory processes in the country and bring in the youth and other social groups
into the national mainstream.
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The policy of MCIT for the digital media development is:
 MCIT will encourage the growth and development of broad-casting and media
industry that is efficient, competitive and responsive to the needs of the people
of Afghanistan.
 MCIT will create an enabling environment to increase investment into the
broadcasting, increase competition and adoption of modern technologies to
provide top rated services at affordable prices.
 MCIT will encourage the growth and development of digital social media in the
country. Though, at the present time the social media platforms are mostly
foreign based Government would encourage the local private companies, non-
governmental organizations, academia and social groups to launch local social
media vehicles and platforms to accelerate the growth of responsible social
media in the country.
6.0 ICT Industry, Markets and Competition

From a meagre start in 2002 the ICT industry in Afghanistan has shown
significant growth with 59 Information Technology (Hardware, Software, IT Service
Companies) , 62 Internet Service Providers and 06 Telecom Operators constituting
the ICT industry at present. The present ICT industry sector comprises telecom
operators, Internet service providers, IT consulting companies, software companies,
Hardware companies, networking companies, and some ICT trading firms. Even
though there has been growth in the ICT industry during the last ten years, the growth
is not commensurate with the potential opportunities that exist. If the ICT sector Vision
2022 is to be achieved and Afghanistan has to leapfrog to be a knowledge based
society, in the next ten years the ICT industry has to grow and develop at a much
faster rate than it has in the last ten years. ICT industry has to develop both as a
supplier of ICT products and services to local market supporting the ICT led
transformation of various social and economic sectors and as an industry sector in its
own right. On both counts, the ICT industry development is important. Nurturing the
young technical talent of the country is another area that would need serious
considerations. This will include amongnst others the technical and management
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support to young technologists in the country who may wish to start

their ICT based business ventures but may be handicapped on account of lack of
capital and business knowhow. Local ICT enterprises would need to be incubated to
maturity, provided with incentives and support to raise capital, manage business and
market their products and services.
The main challenges to the development and growth of the ICT industry are lack
of trained and professional manpower, high cost of support services, high cost of
inputs, lack of infrastructure and investment. The basic economic development
principle of the Government, as enshrined in the ANPDF, is development of private
sector led market economy with the Government to create an enabling environment
for industry to prosper. MCIT is pursuing the same strategy in the development of the
ICT industry. In pursuance of this strategy, MCIT has taken various initiatives,
including the Technology and E-Government Complex Project aimed at nurturing new
ICT industries to maturity within a developed controlled environment and Innovation
support programme (ISP), which is aimed at supporting mobile technology innovation
and diffusion.
The main tenets of the MCIT ICT Industry policy are:
 MCIT will promote ICT industry growth by encouraging private sector

investment into this industry through the provision of a mix of fiscal and
monetary incentives.
 MCIT will promote private sector and universities to form strong relations. It
starts by placing start up incubation and Innovation Support Program centres
in close proximity to major computer science faculties.
 MCIT will further promote the business-academia relationship by providing tax-
relieves to businesses who have strong innovation-oriented relationships with
universities.

 MCIT will encourage and promote development of local ICT industry and
Special programme assistance would be designed to promote local hardware
assembly units, business process outsourcing (BPO) companies and call
centres to feed local and export markets.
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 MCIT will encourage increased competition in the ICT markets

of the country leading to a decrease in the cost of ICT products and services
for the ultimate benefit of the consumers and expansion of the market for ICT
products and services in the country.
 MCIT will offer preferential treatment to local ICT firms in Government contracts
for ICT products and services.
 MCIT will develop and nurture a culture of ICT innovation and entrepreneurship
through grants, prices, technical support and guidance to the emerging ICT
entrepreneurs in the country.
 MCIT will enact appropriate laws to protect the Intellectual Property Rights
(IPR) of ICT innovators.
 MCIT will promote, encourage and support research and development activities
in the areas of ICT and strengthen the national capability to develop research
programs and locally relevant projects in the ICT field.
 MCIT in collaboration with NICTAA and all ICT Communities will identify such
ICT product and or service areas in which the country could have natural
advantage as possible ICT areas to be developed for export markets
7 ICT Knowledge, Skills and Education

MCIT recognises that lack of ICT awareness, knowledge and skills in the country
is a serious constraint to the development of the ICT sector, and to the adoption and
diffusion of ICT in the country. Lack of ICT awareness among the leaders and
managers in Government, private sector and other organizations makes it difficult for
these managers to take ICT related decisions optimally. Lack of ICT awareness
among the general population is an even more serious constraint as out of ignorance
and lack of knowledge large sections of the population think of ICT as tools for the
educated and sophisticated. ICT managers and technologists are also in short supply.
A recent study by the World Bank supported ICT Sector Project has indicated that the
demand for ICT professionals in the country is likely to triple from the current 88000 to
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over 350000 by 2015. The same study has estimated 25 million ICT
users in the country by 2015. Serious gaps have been identified between demand and
supply of ICT skills at various levels in the country.
MCIT, private sector and educational institutions in the country have undertaken
several initiatives to mitigate ICT skill shortage in the country. ICT academies have
been established, graduate level courses in ICT are now being offered in almost all
the universities in the country. Private institutes of technology have been established
that offer short specialized courses in ICT as well as diploma and bachelor degree
level education in ICT. It is however observed that at the present time there is no
established standardised process for evaluation or certification of the different courses
offered by various training centres. Access to Online and distance learning for ICT is
also still limited. The training facilities are mostly located at few urban centres. In the
government and private organizations, banks, trading firms and non-government
organizations ICT training activities are now being undertaken to create awareness,
impart basic ICT skills to users and to develop skills of technical ICT personnel.
Though these activities are encouraging, the Government has to take strategic long-
term action to accelerate the development of the ICT knowledge base and skills in the
country and has to follow policies for ICT skill development across the country.
The ICT skill shortage has to be seen in its broader context. Hard choice has to
be made between increased reliance on imported ICT human capital versus
developing a local cadre of ICT experts. However, the country will continue to import
specialised ICT skills in selected areas, the vast majority of ICT skills must be locally
developed. ICT education at the primary and secondary school levels will be
integrated into the normal education curriculum in parallel to the expansion of the ICT
education at University and Technical Vocational levels to mitigate the ICT skill
shortage in long run. In addition, there are opportunities for enhancing ICT skills
though online education, life-long learning and distance education.
MCIT’s policy for development of ICT Awareness, Knowledge and Skills will be as
following:
 Recognizing the: wide spread lack of ICT awareness knowledge and skills in
the country MCIT in association with civic society, business organizations and
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non-governmental organizations will launch mass media campaigns

to enhance ICT awareness among general population using all multimedia
channels including TV, Radio, print and digital media.
 MCIT will develop and launch programmes for ICT education and awareness
for Government, business and community leaders and managers. Government
managers will be required to attend short duration mandatory formal ICT
awareness courses.
 MCIT will expand the ICT education at the university level thorough expansion
of the volume of enrolment for ICT degree courses, expansion of the ICT
vocational training institutes and integration of ICT into the normal curriculum
of primary and secondary schools, colleges and universities.
 MCIT will encourage universities, institutes and training institutes in the country
to offer their courses in e-learning mode, using internet, computers and mobile
as delivery system, in parallel with courses offered traditionally so that students
and working individuals not capable of attending classes due to financial
problems and time constraints can attend these courses online, at their
convenience.
 MCIT will give special attention to providing new learning and ICT access
opportunities for women and youth, the disabled and disadvantaged,
particularly disenfranchised and illiterate people, in order to address social
inequities in the country.
 MCIT in association with ITRCA, NICTAA, NITPAA, InternetSociety
Afghanistan and all other ICT Communities and universities and ICT related
academic institutions; will develop standards for examination and evaluation of
the quality of ICT courses offered by the various ICT training institutions in the
country. All ICT training institutes in the country will be required to follow these
standards.
 MCIT in collaboration with the private sector will develop and put in place
appropriately designed service categories for different cadres of ICT personnel
and define minimum salary scales for each category in order to secure their
retention and better on the job performance.
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 MCIT in collaboration with the private sector, universities and

ICT training institutes will develop and implement internship schemes, so that
ICT students will earn while they learn.
 MCIT will encourage lifelong learning by providing ICT related training and skill
enhancement opportunities to its employees.
 MCIT will develop e-courses on various ICT related subjects integrated with
appropriate Learning Management System and encourage its employees to
complete the courses online at their convenience. Private sector organizations
will be encouraged to do likewise.
 MCIT will encourage the universities and ICT related institutions of higher
learning to collaborate on developing digital learning content in Dari and Pashtu
on ICT subjects and establish a national ICT e-library accessible to all students
and individuals those are interested in ICT.
8. Bridging Digital Gap

Digital Divide or Gap is commonly referred to as lack of infrastructure for
communication and accessibility to telecommunication and internet so that some
sections of the population are left out of the digital revolution that is globally sweeping
across. In the case of Afghanistan, the Digital Gap challenge has to be seen in a much
broader perspective. Digital Gap in Afghanistan is multidimensional. On one hand, we
have a large section of the population that is remotely located where the
telecommunication, internet and accessibility infrastructure is non-existent and is not
yet of a standard that would enable all services to be delivered. On the other hand we
have large sections of population, who are excluded from the digital mainstream, due
to other constraints like lack of knowledge on how to make effective use of ICT and
internet, cultural constraints that do not allow women and girls to use computers and
internet, financial constraints that prevent some sections with low income to spare
money for computers or internet time, lack of applications and contents in local
languages and of local relevance that discourages many not to go onto the ICT/
internet bandwagon, a large section of the population (more than half in rural areas)
are illiterate, defined as people who can neither read nor write any language- making
it difficult for them to participate in the ICT revolution and lastly we have a large
37
population of weakly abled or disabled people. The issues of digital

divide cut across all strategic ICT focus areas. These have been broadly considered
in this document under various strategic and policy areas mentioned above. However,
the challenges of digital divide are very significant to warrant policies that are
specifically targeted to mitigate them.
MCIT’s policies on eradication of Digital Divide are as follows:
 In accordance with its Universal Service Policy to reach Government services

to every citizen of Afghanistan. MCIT will ensure that all citizens of Afghanistan
participate in the digital revolution irrespective of their location, social status,
gender, income, education and cultural background.
 Government recognises that due to traditional and cultural issues women have
not had opportunities to fully participate in the social, economic and political life
of the country. Women have also had limited opportunities for education,
especially in fields considered as too technical and traditionally radical. MCIT
will increase the enrolment of the women in ICT courses of Universities and
colleges and increase their employment in the ICT technical and management
areas, in the public service.
 MCIT will encourage the private sector and non-governmental organizations to
increase employment of women in the ICT area both at technical and
management levels.
 MCIT recognises that provision of telecommunication and ICT infrastructure
alone is not enough for rural population to take advantage of the ICT potential
for development of rural areas. MCIT will take a holistic approach to ICT as a
tool for delivery of public services and development of rural areas. ICT
infrastructure and services for rural areas will be designed and developed in
parallel to other non ICT inputs those may be required to make ICT as
productive and usable in such rural communities.
 MCIT in collaboration with civic society will encourage rural and disadvantaged
communities to adopt ICT in areas where its impact for the betterment of the
lives of these communities would be maximum.
38
 MCIT will ensure that the ICT based public services are
provided in the local languages, user interfaces with Government technical
systems are friendly and are closely aligned with the user needs.
 MCIT will develop and deploy ICT service delivery systems keeping in mind the
needs of special population groups like youth, old persons, physically and
visually disadvantaged persons.
 In parallel to its policy to eradicate wide illiteracy in the country MCIT will
develop systems for delivery of ICT based public service systems, which
provide for voice based services like IVR based services on mobile phones and
would allow for assistance to users by Government staff, in areas and
communities where it is required.
9.0 Laws and Regulations

The Telecom and Internet Policy 2003 and the supporting Telecom Law has
been the main instruments for regulating the ICT sector. As the ICT penetration and
adoption is picking up both within the Government and within the society, at large new
sets of laws have been drafted coming under what is termed as the ICT law. The ICT
Law of Afghanistan is now in at the final stage of enactment. The draft ICT law is
aimed at facilitating E-Afghanistan programme of MCIT. The aim of the Law is to
facilitate and regulate electronic communications and transactions; to provide for
protection of consumers and personal data in the electronic environment, to set out
the framework for domain name registration and regulation, the framework for content
regulation, to prevent abuse of information systems and encourage the use of e-
government services. Laws and regulations in the use ICT in the Government and
society must support ICT infrastructure covering the Telecom and internet laws and
regulations. In this regard, MCIT’s policy would be as following:
 MCIT will design and implement e-government and e-administration regulations

in the form of laws, government decrees, ministerial or municipal decrees in
order to establish necessary legal environment for adoption of technology in the
Government and delivery and use of E-Services.
39
 Appropriate Monitoring and Evaluation system will be

developed and implemented in the various agencies of MCIT to continually
monitor and regulate the development of the E-Government and attainment of
E-Government policy goals of MCIT.
 MCIT recognises that adoption of ICT by businesses is crucial for raising

Afghanistan’s productivity potential and future growth prospects. The adoption
of ICT and development of e-commerce will stimulate micro level efficiency and
thereby the economy of the country as a whole is expected to get a boost.
Appropriate regulatory system will be developed and implemented across the
Government MCIT to monitor E-business and commerce in the country.
 The MCIT will develop and implement apropriate regulations, in order to monitor
the use of ICT in education, health, agriculture and other major ICT applications’
areas.
 Appropriate mechanism and laws will be developed and implemented to

monitor, evaluate and regulate the uptake and penetration of ICT in the society
at the level of households in the rural and urban areas as well as overall social
and economic impact of ICT.
9. Financing and Budgeting

The implementation of the above mentioned ICT sector policy will require
investment that can run into billions of Afghan currency. ICT sector has been an
important contributor and the largest recipient of the foreign direct investment (FDI). It
is estimated that the ICT sector has so far attracted FDI to the tune of close to US
dollar 2 billion. As the ICT sector grows, the tax receipts from the sector would
correspondingly grow. MCIT’s strategy for financing the ICT sector development would
involve expansion of the ICT sector and therefore tax receipts from the sector,
expansion of the FDI, better financial management and optimization, monitoring and
financial controls, enhancement of private public partnership and fund raising from
international philanthropic and aid organizations and expansion of support from
international development organizations.
MCIT’s Policy on ICT financing and budgeting would be as following:
40
 MCIT will adopt the principle of minimization of the cost of

ownership in evaluating all its ICT investment projects.
 MCIT will adopt a holistic and enterprise wide ICT investment planning and
control process thereby avoid duplication and wasted investments.
 MCIT will create a conducive investment environment in order to attract foreign
direct investment into the ICT sector.
 MCIT will encourage Afghan diaspora to invest in the ICT and ICT related
sectors of the economy.
 MCIT will encourage private public partnership in expanding investments into
the ICT sector. Many of the strategic projects would be left for the private sector
to undertake under supervision of or in partnership with the Government. In
principle, the growth of the ICT in the country would be private sector led within
the overall policies and guidelines of MCIT.
 MCIT will seek expanded donor support and attract major international ICT
companies to promote ICT infrastructure, ICT services and seek financial
assistance of international development and philanthropic organizations for
projects that would have considerable social and economic impact.
41

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ICT POLICY FOR AFGHANISTAN

A digital agenda for development and social

Ministry of Communications and Information Technology

Abbreviations Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework

VCN Village Communication Network

3. The Policy Context

an end to corruption, criminality, and violence. Justice and the rule of

The Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF) is a

The Framework presents a long-term development narrative for Afghanistan by

The ANPDF further focuses over Infrastructure and Connectivity Program, in

4. ICT Policy Goals and Targets

A. High Level ICT Policy Goals

operations re-engineered, digitized and networked in line with the E-

C. ICT investment and Industry Development

C.2 Private sector(s) investment in the ICT sector would be

D. ICT human resources development

D.6 All primary, secondary schools, colleges, institutes of higher learning

D.9 Education management including its planning, monitoring and control at

systems, drug control, drug inspection system and patient record

5. Strategic Focus Areas

ICTs are very effective and powerful technologies which leave no

The telecommunication development and regulations will continue to be guided

Universal Access: Recognizing the right of every citizen of Afghanistan to affordable

Licensing and Spectrum Management: ATRA will continue to

Internet Development and Expansion: Recognizing that availability of high speed

implement policies and procedures for quick restoration of ICT

Accessibility Infrastructure: In accordance with its Universal Access policy MCIT

5.1.1 Telecom Development and Regulations

6.1 Applications and Content

recent years. The main challenges to accelerated ICT penetration and

5.2.1 E-Government: ICT in Government

Government operate as parts of a single connected Network and

country: Pashtu and Dari, would be managed using the Government

Government efficiency, transparency and delivery of public services

5.2.2 E-Education: ICT in Education

The following ICT in education policies will be followed:

 ICT education will be considered as mandatory in all primary

 Electronic Learning (E-Learning) would be promoted and integrated as an

 Education management including its planning, monitoring and

 Institutions of Higher Learning and Research will be encouraged to establish

5.2.3. E-Health: ICT in Health

improving public health services. We recognise that ICT cannot

The major e-health policy of the Government would be as following:

Health for the purpose of enhancing efficiency and effectiveness in

and some districts in the beginning to a nationwide rollout in ten years.

5.2.4. E-Business: ICT in Business and Trade

The following strategies and policy on E-business will be followed:

 MCIT will encourage private business organisations and

5.2.5. E-Agriculture: ICT in Agriculture

wellbeing of the people of Afghanistan. The importance of the

The Government’s E-Agriculture Policies are:

 ICT based Early warning systems will be developed and

5.2.6. E-Environment and Natural Resources Management:

Government ICT Policies in the management of the environment and

5.2.7. ICT in Disaster Management:

ICT policy of the MCIT in disaster management is as following:

 MCIT will enhance ICT skills of staff in ANDMA and other

 Periodic mock drills will be undertaken to ensure that the communication

5.2.8. ICT in National Security