IBM's Smarter Planet Framework to Aid Nepal's Vision For the Future

ARMONK, N.Y. and KATHMANDU, Nepal, July 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IBM
(NYSE: IBM) and the High Level Commission for Information Technology (HLCIT),
Government of Nepal today announced a long-term cooperation and collaboration
in developing policy, frameworks, research and solutions to support Nepal's
vision of being a smart country. IBM will create an innovation policy to help
the Government of Nepal achieve its development goals specific to e-government
transformation and IT sector development, as well as key infrastructure and IT
skills capacity building.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO )

HLCIT will establish an Innovation & Smarter Planet Task Force, to be chaired
by the Vice Chairman, HLCIT and with representation from key stakeholders. IBM
will assume a key role in the task force and will extend the company's domain
expertise in helping run National Innovation Initiatives and Smarter Planet
policy reviews.

"We are confident that this collaboration will pave way for the Government of
Nepal to reorient their structures, information technology and policies around
the citizens they serve. At IBM, our resolve is to extend our expertise in
helping HLCIT build a framework interconnecting dynamically with citizens,
communities and businesses in real time to spur growth, innovation and
progress," said Sanjiv Pande, Vice President, Emerging Markets, IBM
India/South Asia.

The strategic collaboration will also see strong focus on IT skills
development for innovation and Smarter Planet solutions implementation. IBM
will extend the company's Shared University Research (SUR) grants and
University Relations (UR) grants, as well as funding for students and
postdoctoral research fellows. As part of the collaboration, IBM and HLCIT
will establish an Open Innovation Resource Center in Nepal.

Honorable Manohar K Bhattarai, Vice Chairman, HLCIT, Government of Nepal said,
"Technology provides a cost effective way of making local systems and
infrastructure smarter, improving the quality of life for citizens. Through
our collaboration with IBM, we will put in place the core infrastructure
required to move the large majority of processes in Nepal into the digital
society. This project is significant because of its scope and what it will
deliver to the people here, simplifying their dealings with government
agencies and increasing overall efficiency."

IBM will extend assistance to HLCIT in human performance improvement so as to
ensure HLCIT staff and system users have adequate skills, motivation, and
knowledge to employ Innovation and Smarter Planet solutions to achieve optimal
performance for the organization, and for the government. HLCIT will provide
access to subject matter experts within IBM to provide advice, guidance and
thought-leadership on leading edge global innovation trends in various
industries.

For more information about IBM, please visit: http://www.ibm.com Contacts:
Vineeta Durani Prashanth Balarama
IBM Media Relations (Worldwide) IBM Media Relations (South Asia)
917-472-3694 91-984-504-5121
vineeta.durani@us.ibm.com pbalaram@in.ibm.com

SOURCE IBM

Vineeta Durani, IBM Media Relations (Worldwide), +1-917-472-3694,
vineeta.durani@us.ibm.com, or Prashanth Balarama, IBM Media Relations (South
Asia), +91-984-504-5121, pbalaram@in.ibm.com