Oh, definitely. It's a fantastic idea. Internet is the best medium to show what's out there. Once people realize how much better/easier life can be, the rest will fall into place automatically.
Cheaper (Rs 10,000) computers are supposed to be coming in soon in India and that should lead to a quantum leap in PC penetration.
I am a little skeptical about this too. Although it is a step in the right direction, it is probably pushing things too fast. In the long run, we want a much stronger infrastructure, not a large group of techno-savvy individuals.
This article might be pertinent too. It talks about how even though we perceive India as moving rapidly on the technology front, it isn't really so when we look at percentages.
Making people computer-literate might give us a new dimension via which we might be able to bypass traditional growth mechanisms.
It certainly would be awesome, if it does provide that extra dimension. However, I would really like to know what the foresight of this scheme is - what this project hopes to achieve, say, 10 years from now.
I don't know what the project hopes to achieve.. It might just be a social experiment for all we know :) I think, in the best case scenario, it could lead to this: There is a man (Ya, Anima.. or a woman:) in the village, who can:
..tell them weather forecasts to help them with their irrigation. Tell them what experts are asking them to sow this particular season, in this locality, and in what quantity.
..tell them about daily price differentials in different markets, helping them sell their produce in more profitable ones.
..help book railway tickets on-line, pay electricity bills (if they have the connections :)
Of course, I am just listing all the benefits of being connected. But isn't that what bridging the digital divide is all about..?
Although very idealistic, sounds reasonable. Hopefully, the newfound connectivity will push the fundamental changes required in those cases too, like: ...Channelize water resources uniformly throughout the arable portion of the country
...Give farmers the option of marketing their own produce (there are some rules prevalent in Tamil Nadu that does not allow them to do that)
...Of course, as you mentioned, provide electricity (Swades style!!).
One of my concerns with this random deployment of connectivity is: from an experimental point of view, it sounds fascinating. But, I believe that, there should be some discipline and direction i order to achieve progress (socially or economically).
6 Comments:
Oh, definitely. It's a fantastic idea. Internet is the best medium to show what's out there. Once people realize how much better/easier life can be, the rest will fall into place automatically.
Cheaper (Rs 10,000) computers are supposed to be coming in soon in India and that should lead to a quantum leap in PC penetration.
I am a little skeptical about this too. Although it is a step in the right direction, it is probably pushing things too fast. In the long run, we want a much stronger infrastructure, not a large group of techno-savvy individuals.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-986578,curpg-1.cms
This article might be pertinent too. It talks about how even though we perceive India as moving rapidly on the technology front, it isn't really so when we look at percentages.
Making people computer-literate might give us a new dimension via which we might be able to bypass traditional growth mechanisms.
It certainly would be awesome, if it does provide that extra dimension. However, I would really like to know what the foresight of this scheme is - what this project hopes to achieve, say, 10 years from now.
I don't know what the project hopes to achieve.. It might just be a social experiment for all we know :)
I think, in the best case scenario, it could lead to this: There is a man (Ya, Anima.. or a woman:) in the village, who can:
..tell them weather forecasts to help them with their irrigation. Tell them what experts are asking them to sow this particular season, in this locality, and in what quantity.
..tell them about daily price differentials in different markets, helping them sell their produce in more profitable ones.
..help book railway tickets on-line, pay electricity bills (if they have the connections :)
Of course, I am just listing all the benefits of being connected. But isn't that what bridging the digital divide is all about..?
Although very idealistic, sounds reasonable. Hopefully, the newfound connectivity will push the fundamental changes required in those cases too, like:
...Channelize water resources uniformly throughout the arable portion of the country
...Give farmers the option of marketing their own produce (there are some rules prevalent in Tamil Nadu that does not allow them to do that)
...Of course, as you mentioned, provide electricity (Swades style!!).
One of my concerns with this random deployment of connectivity is: from an experimental point of view, it sounds fascinating. But, I believe that, there should be some discipline and direction i order to achieve progress (socially or economically).
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