Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Chair of the DE Fund Executive Committee, General Prawit Wongsuwan, has set the direction of the country’s Digital Economy and Society Development Fund (DE Fund) for 2023, with the goal of enhancing Thai economic and social development capacity through digital technology.
The DE Fund Management Committee acknowledged the Fund’s performance, which can be carried out as planned because progress has been made and nearly 100 per cent of the money has been disbursed for projects funded from the Fiscal Year 2019 to date, particularly for projects funded in the Fiscal Year 2019.
The committee discussed and approved the Long-Term Action Plan (B.E. 2023-2027), which included the Fund’s Operational Plan and Budget for Fiscal Year 2023 as a guide for future operations.
They have also collaborated on the creation of a general funding policy framework. In the following seven areas for the Fiscal Year 2023:
- Education for the new generation in the digital age
- Digital Government and Infrastructure
- Proactive Agriculture with Digital Innovation
- Digital Technology in the Future
- Health Technology
- Security in the digital world
- Digital environment saves
Thailand Smart City is utilising innovative technologies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of city management and services in seven areas: intelligent environment, intelligent economy, intelligent transportation, intelligent energy, intelligent citizens, intelligent living, and intelligent public administration
The DE Fund is currently considering projects that request funding for Fiscal Year 2022 under the cap of 2,500 million baht. After the proposal was closed, over 600 projects were submitted.
The Fund has formed a working group of specialists from various sectors to select a digital development project that is compatible with the country’s development context and can provide visible results. The outcomes of the annual sponsored projects will be made public on the Digital Economy and Society Development Fund’s website in September.
The committee evaluated the DE Fund’s performance collaboratively and decided on the course of operations for 2023 by establishing guidelines for all stakeholders to work together to run the fund. Digital development initiatives must be able to operate within agreed-upon timeframes and scope while also producing measurable results.
Making such advancements a part of assisting the country’s progress in digital development. It is appropriate for the fund’s goal of accelerating and strengthening Thai social and economic development through digital technology.
Meanwhile, Thailand recently discussed the implementation and follow-up of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Extended Connectivity in Southeast Asia project, which aims to bridge the Southeast Asian connectivity gap.
The main goal of implementing the OECD Recommendation on Broadband Connectivity is to increase connectivity and improve the quality of broadband networks. This is expected to result in highly efficient regional international connectivity. It also adheres to the roadmap, communication policies, and regulations that have been established.
According to the goals of the National Digital Economy and Society Development Plan as well as the Office of the National Digital Economy and Society Commission, the country has contributed information related to Thailand’s digital technology infrastructure, such as the Pracharat Internet Project and the Public Internet to Community Project, which are important parts of promoting and supporting Thailand to have a telecommunications infrastructure covering the entire country.
According to the national data development and statistics policy of Thailand, the master plan of the nation’s statistical system plays an important part in the country’s development.
Organising and administering the nation’s statistical system will utilise the master plan and will boost the country’s development to address the obstacles to the growth of Thailand’s digital economy. Local statistical data should be integrated and transformed into big data to aid in planning management that can encompass all aspects of the economy, society, and environment in Thailand.
