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IT training and education company NIIT has launched a new initiative called 'Playground Kiosks’ in the hermit kingdom of Bhutan.
The idea in a way fructified after discussions with the present King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck and senior government officials.
Accordingly, NIIT will be associated in driving the IT literacy programme. “We will set up 130 touchscreen, Playground kiosks in different parts of the neighbouring country in due course," said Mr Rajendra Pawar, Chairman of the company.
The kiosk (computer learning point) will have a satellite dish, a solar panel and will be run by NIIT. All that the Bhutanese student or citizen has to do is get into the kiosk, log on and he/she will get connected to the world, to surf, learn and entertain, he told Business Line in a chat recently in the coastal town of Tenali in Andhra Pradesh, where he received the prestigious Dr Y. Nayudamma memorial award for 2011.
The initiative is part of the Bhutanese Government’s vision to create an IT-enabled society that supports its sustainable economy. It is aimed at getting youth onto using computers, training teachers, civil servants etc. The young King, who studied in India had seen some of the work of NIIT.
“We had discussions, when the Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, had visited the country during the SAARC Summit also and the project was finalised. We are in the process of implementing," he said.
The project aims to reach out to at least one lakh students, train a few thousand IT professionals, schools and enterprises in a couple of years.
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