Cheap Computer For Illiterate Indians
India’s Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal unveiled a $35 computer prototype to the media last week. This news spread like wild fire and within minutes most of the media outlets in the world started reporting it. All these reports had a smiling photograph of the minister with the computer prototype in his hand. Mission accomplished!!
The Human Resource Ministry said “The aim is to reach such devices to the students of colleges and universities and to provide these institutions a host of choices of low-cost access devices around Rs 1,500 [$35] or less in near future”. As I was reading this quote a few questions came to my mind. Is there a demand for computer among college and university students in India? Even fifteen years ago most colleges and universities in India had computers. I am very sure that there is no such demand.
An average computer price wise is well with reach of most universities and colleges in India. Even if there is a demand among students for more computers most colleges can easily afford to buy new computers either by paying for it directly or by taking advantage of the many subsidies offered by the governments and nonprofit agencies. Use of mobile devices like the Blackberry and iPhone are rapidly growing in India. These devices can do pretty much everything the $35 computer can do. I do not understand the motives behind putting valuable resources behind developing a cheap computer for universities.
India’s Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has two departments that it manages namely the Department of School Education & Literacy and Department of Higher Education. I like the ministry’s strategy of using very advanced and high quality government owned educational institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) to do research and create products that will ultimately benefit the Indian public. But is making the computer cheaper and affordable one of the projects worth their time and effort?
I do not think so. The only people who can benefit from this project are the poor people of India. But there is a problem. Most of the poor people in India are also illiterate. They cannot read or write. In addition many of them do not have electricity. Such fundamental issues would be stumbling blocks to a government that is trying to sell them a $35 computer.
Don’t you think that the Indian government with the cooperation of the IIT can come up with a cheap water filtering and/or recycling system that can be installed in schools so that kids can drink clean water and maybe take a bucket of water back home after school? Can we design affordable solar powered fans and light bulbs that the schools can use instead of making the kids sit outside under trees during hot summer months because of power cuts? Is it too much to ask for inexpensive footwear that the kids can wear instead of walking barefoot all day in school?
If you give $35 to a family who has a kid in school the last thing they will buy with that money is a computer.
“Education… has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading” – George Macaulay Trevelyan
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Category: Culture & Religion
It is a good initiative, though I’m fed up of the Indian Govt. playing Robin Hood… the rich have basically NO benefits, they just pay tax so the poor can benefit.
Welcome Magali,
I understand the frustration. The Indian government like most governments in the world does a lot of wasteful spending. But the reality is that the tax base in India is very small (very few Indians pay tax) and the tax rates in India are lower compared to many developed country. I also think that our anger at the government inefficiency and the corruption should not be targeted at the poor who are also the victims of the same government inefficiency.
Yes I agree that the tax is not too much. But about the taxbase, my dad pays a lot of taxes, so it makes me angry.
But I guess you are right. Most poor are victims.
looks like India is going to bring in cheap n hardy versions of everything!
That’s right Nalini. Only time will tell if this computer will become a reality.
This is ministry’s equivalent of Tata’s Nano; hope the computer doesn’t catch fire…. He..he..he!
Should we wear protective gloves while typing?