The Hindu Business Line : Computer Revolution in AP villages

Mr Brad Smith, Senior Vice-President and General Counsel, Microsoft Corporation, interacts with rural women after launching the first rural knowledge centre called `Project Jyoti' in Hyderabad on Friday. - H. Satish

Hyderabad , Sept. 30

A GROUP of illiterate women from the Addakal mandal in Mahboobnagar district gave a PowerPoint presentation to Mr Brad Smith, Senior Vice-President and General Counsel of Microsoft Corporation, explaining how information technology transformed their lives.

They were talking about the fruits of Rural Knowledge Centre (RKC) taken up under the Microsoft Unlimited Potential (UP) Programme, better known as Project Jyoti. Joining Microsoft in this effort are Nasscom (National Association of Software and Services Companies) and Icrisat (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics).

Demonstrating the computer skills she acquired under the programme, Ms Sushma Reddy, a member of the Adarsha Mahila Samakhya (a local confederation of women cooperative thrift bodies), said they could answer the questions raised by farmers on crops with the help of Icrisat scientists.

The Addakal Centre will be part of the Microsoft-Nasscom Foundation's Rural Knolwedge Network (RKN) programme that aims to establish a national grid of RKC in important locations in seven coastal States.

The RKC would act as a nodal point for computer literacy and a variety of IT-enabled services, including e-governance and e-seva services, to the villages around the centre.

"We give the farmers latest market prices and information on weather. For students, the centre would offer results of various competitive examinations," she said.

Impressed, Mr Smith said he would consider extending similar assistance to other villages.

Addressing the members of the confederation and media later, he said efforts such as these would go a long way in bridging the digital divide."It is not just enough to provide them with computers, providing them required skills is very important," he said.

Likening the model to a triangle, he said public sector organisations, NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and private sector held the three coordinates of it. He said the company would look at replicating the model in many villages.

The content would be translated into four languages (Hindi, Tamil, Gujarati and Malayalam).

The RKC is a step towards `Mission 2007 - Every village a knowledge centre', an alliance of more than 180 partners from Government, civil society and industry. The mission seeks to set up a knowledge centre in each of the six lakh villages in the country by 2007, marking the sixtieth anniversary of Independence.

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