[ubuntu-in] Two Interesting news about Indian Govt's Tech dreams

[Ramnarayan.K]

Two articles regarding some initiatives by the indian govt to promote
what?? (can't call this tech) are posted in their entirety below.

 1. Govt gives free phones to poor instead of grains

and Sachin Pilot says that " "It is a good start made by the BSNL to
make people below the poverty line feel like they too can be part of
the telecom revolution. My best wishes are with them, " said Sachin
Pilot."

wonder if recharging / topping up the mobiles are part of the system
or are these the new advanced biometric  phones that can deduce that
the person making the call is a BPL person.

BSNL and its contractors must be sensing making a killing here - the
Govt pays up for all their devices and services.

2. Govt to rent out computers in rural areas at Rs 15 a day
quote "The pilot program would cost the government about 45 lakh. “It
will also remove the problem of maintenance and repair which is a
common problem in many areas. Besides the person can rent it only for
the time power is available,” he added."

aha the catch it can be rented out only where there is power - which
would obviously mean never. Am also wondering what is this funda about
maintenance and repair will not be a problem. Are rented machines of a
special kind that need no ordinary things that other "bought" machines
do and whether the Govt has an unlimited supply ot people to attend to
repairs and maintenance and of parts and of time and all of what going
in to maintain rural infra.

**
The telecom revolution takes precedence over better nutrition and
health. There is a catch some where - maybe, the Govt thinks,  if
people simply die off then India will have less to worry about. So in
the mean time divert attention by all these stupid schemes which
benefit no one except the perpetrators of "India Shining" .

The poor sure feel part of the telecom revolution, they are the first
to feel the impact - first the Govt buys their grain and lets it rot,
then it "takes" their land , displaces them and converts it into
SEZ's, dam submergence areas, industrial areas. Then the factories
spew poison and kill of some more and then those who are left are
given mobile phones.

**
Both these articles are , yet again, indicative of the muddling in the
Government - the inability to set its priorities straight - One end is
keen, desperate for 10 % growth, uninhibited profits at all costs - no
cost is too high for them. They don't have a human side its all about
money and power. Not for them is ordinary food grain for them is a
diet of money and ego.

On the other side we have half statements about the aam aadmi. And
nothing they are doing proves on the ground that the poor , or
ordinary Indian have any real consideration in policy or
implementation.


ram
***

1. Govt gives free phones to poor instead of grains
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/govt-gifts-free-phones-to-poor-instead-of-grains/130680-37-64.html?from=tn
Swati Vashishtha
CNN-IBN

Jaipur: Over 1000 Below Poverty Line (BPL) card holders in Rajasthan,
got free cell phones, instead of the free food grains. It seemed the
UPA Government would rather let the food grains rot in open than
distribute them for free to the poor.

The Government felt it more important to distribute cell phones to the
poor in Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology
Sachin Pilot's constituency of Ajmer.

People of Phagi Village in Rajasthan haven't been fortunate enough to
get free food grains from the Government. But these Below Poverty Line
(BPL) card holders have been magnanimously issued BSNL mobile
connections. One among them is Gyarasi Devi who has no clue what to do
with this unwelcome gift.

"We could have done with some grains or a job. What will we do with
these mobiles, " said a BPL card holder Gyarasi Devi.

The BSNL has supplied 1000 BPL card holders with free connections as
part of their corporate social responsibility initiative. But many of
the recipients say its more a headache than a gift.

"Mobiles will actually add to our expenses. The food grains in the
godowns are rotting, why not Government can distribute food grains,
said BPL card holder, Govind.

However, Union IT Minister Sachin Pilot skipped the function at the
last minute. Also conspicuous in his absence was Rajasthan Civil
Supplies Minister Babulal Naagar. Babulal was recently caught in
controversy after it was shown that the FCI godowns were being used to
stack liqour, while food grain rotted outside. But Sachin Pilot has
defended the decision to supply mobile phones instead of food grains.

"It is a good start made by the BSNL to make people below the poverty
line feel like they too can be part of the telecom revolution. My best
wishes are with them, " said Sachin Pilot.

However the truth is many of the BPL families hardly get enough to
eat. However, the decision is like the French Queen Marie Antoinette's
proverbial words - let them eat cake, if they can't get bread.

**
2. Govt to rent out computers in rural areas at Rs 15 a day
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Govt-to-rent-out-computers-in-rural-areas-at-Rs-15-a-day/articleshow/6528675.cms

NEW DELHI: After the slow pick-up of the $220 One Laptop Per Child
Project, and an uncertainty over the $35 laptop called Sakshat, the
government is now experimenting with another model—to dole out
computers on rent to spread IT literacy in the country.

Under a pilot program to be launched by the ministry of IT &
communications, computers specially built for rural areas will be
deployed in five locations, and then rented out to citizens. “The cost
may vary from 15-20 per day. This model may remove the hindrance of
affordability in buying computers . We are talking to various
companies like Intel, HCL Infosystems and One Laptop Per Child
Project,” a senior official at ministry of IT & communications told
ET.

The pilot program would cost the government about 45 lakh. “It will
also remove the problem of maintenance and repair which is a common
problem in many areas. Besides the person can rent it only for the
time power is available,” he added.

In another IT experiment, the government last year had claimed to have
launched a $10 computer which actually turned out to be a $10 storage
device. This year the ministry of human resource & development
launched a $35 laptop called Sakshat. The MHRD plans to bring the cost
of this laptop down to $20 and then to $10 ultimately.

But many experts cast a sceptical eye to the Sakshat project. “Any
body in the industry having some knowledge of making laptops knows
that its impossible to manufacture a laptop for $10,” says Satish Jha,
OLPC India president, whose laptop costs about $220 to manufacture.
Add about 2,300 as duties and 1,700 as shipment cost, and the price
shoots up to nearly the price of a netbook available in the market.
But he defends his OLPC laptop saying that none of the netbooks would
ever have a shockproof body, solar charging capabilities, and a host
of 230 applications. He claims to have deployed about 2,000 OLPC
laptops in various parts of India.

He welcomes the government’s new move to rent computers, but admits
there is a huge power and maintenance problem which prevents PC buying
in rural areas. “It costs about 16,000 for power over five years, to
run a desktop PC. For adult education , renting computers for a few
hours may be a good idea,” he said.

HCL in 2006 had launched a Community PC with an innovative power
management system called RP2 that switches the computer to a power
battery. The battery can be charged by using bicycle peddle power. But
that computer too failed to see heightened demand in rural India.
Clearly, the government needs to create a utility-based demand before
it can work out these models for rural areas.
**