Application of Internet in Rural India

Dipankaj G Medhi
India
Asian Institute of Technology
Thailand
Agenda
India: The BIG picture, the BIG problem
India: Problem Associated with ICT project
India: How to overcome these problems
A practical example
Video Clip: The real picture
Agenda
The Internet
Internet helps the developing country like
India to
stand up and and grow
Be confident enough to forget the two hundred
years of colonization and slavery
by
Gaining knowledge and information sharing
Competing with developed country
Bridging the distance with like minded

India
Big picture
Population --1,080,264,388 (around 70%
lives in rural area)
Area -- 3,287,590 sq km (more than
600,000+ villages)
Political subdivisions-- 28 states,7
union territories
Literacy--55.2 %
Per-capita income-- 0.4 $ per day
Big question
Can technology make any
difference to these people
Can they effort these
technologies
India:Software Market
Indian Software Exports
SERVICES US $ IN BILLION
IT SERVICES 23
SOFTWARE PRODUCTS 8
IT-ENABLED SERVICES 15
E-BUSINESS 4
TOTAL 50
ESTIMATED EXPORTS FOR 2008
India:Knowledge professional (IT)
India:Software Market
India: Some facts
Statistics that show:
12% of scientists in the USA,
36% of NASA scientists,
34% of Microsoft employees,
28% of IBM employees,
17% of INTEL scientists,
13% of XEROX employees,
35% of Silicon Valley start-uppers
are Indians.
BUT ???
India:Software Market
Why these intellectual resources have not driven
improvements in Indias public and private institutes
Software industry solves a small components of a
large problem
works are protected by confidentiality agreements
Opportunity costs of working for Indian versus
international clients is very high
Low computer usage, the inadequacies of regional
language software and
Other obstacles of developing infrastructure

A synergy between the Infotech and Telcom sectors can
create a profound social and economical revolution
India:Problem Associated with ICT project
The problem associated with ICT
Intermittent, inconsistent electrical power
Scarce and unreliable telephony system
Unreliable internet connectivity
Socio factor such as gender inequality, religious
communal difference
Self centered political leader, party and corruption



Bottleneck: how to overcome
Electricity
o Battery backup,
o UPS Circuit breaker
o and voltage stabilizer
o Good earthing
Telephone
o Connect directly with communication satellites using V-
SAT (e.g. Zee interactive leaning system)
o New kind of telecommunication infrastructure, such as
WLL (TeNet project, IIT- Madras)
Internet connectivity
o Provide offline content (warana project)
Socio factor
o Education

India:How to overcome problems
India:ICT Project Example
Name of the
Project
Purpose Future planes
Akshaya Making a district E-literate, limited
employment generation.
Delivery of multiple service at Akshaya
centers and expand it to other districts
Bhoomi Issue of Land title at 177 Bhoomi
kiosks and through privately owned
kiosks
Expand rural kiosk network
Drishtee Creating a network of privately owned
kiosks for e access to info, government
and service commercial
Expand Network to cover new kiosk
E-choupal The prime target is farmer. Farmers
get information about seeds price, etc
Scale to more users
N-Logue Multipurpose Internet kiosks based on
WILL
Expand for commercial utilization
Gyandoot

Connecting rural cyber caf catering
the everyday needs of the masses.
Extend for global Internet
Education
& training
Animal
Husbandry
Agriculture
Trade &
Commerce
IT-Based
Services
Entertainment
& information
Rural wheel of prosperity
One Example: n-Logue
BSNLs Contribution: on the average one fiber
connected rural exchange for every 150 sq km
a wireless system with 10 - 15 km range at
existing fiber connected exchange would cover
80 - 85% of villages in India
CorDECT Wireless in Local Loop Developed
by IITM and Midas Communications, Chennai
provides a telephone line and Internet
connection in 30 Km radius
Connectivity
To PSTN
To Internet

35/70 kbps voice and data
connectivity
range of 25 km
Can operate in 55 degree centigrade
One Example: n-Logue
Connectivity: CorDECT Wireless in Local Loop
Provides Training and Technical Support
Handles Licensing and Policy issues
Provides Internet Backbone Connectivity
Enables Kiosk Services through Alliance Partners
Creates Awareness
Application &
Solution
Providers
Internet Backbone
ACCESS
CENTRE
Local Service Partner
Markets Connections
Provides Onsite Support and Training
Manages Local Web & Email Services
Manages Local Content Pages
Scope:
3000 sq km
400-600 connections
(1 in each village)
Internet Kiosk Operator
School/PHC
Private Business
Government Office
Rural NGO
Provides Internet Access to Local Community
Provides Awareness and Training
Channels Information needs of Community through
LSP to Application & Content Providers
Financing
One Example: n-Logue
One Example: n-Logue
Services:
Communication
Education
Computer Education
Remote tutorial
Typing
Photography
Agriculture
Veterinary
Health Care

One Example: n-Logue
Services:
Communication
Education
Computer Education
Remote tutorial
Typing
Photography
Agriculture
Veterinary
Health Care

Email, Chatting, Video conferencing etc
One Example: n-Logue
Services:
Communication
Education
Computer Education
Remote tutorial
Typing
Photography
Agriculture
Veterinary
Health Care

Teaching computer, distance education, etc
One Example: n-Logue
Services:
Communication
Education
Computer Education
Remote tutorial
Typing
Photography
Agriculture
Veterinary
Health Care

DTP, MSWord etc
One Example: n-Logue
Services:
Communication
Education
Computer Education
Remote tutorial
Typing
Photography
Agriculture
Veterinary
Health Care

Use of the web cam for photography
One Example: n-Logue
Services:
Communication
Education
Computer Education
Remote tutorial
Typing
Photography
Agriculture
Veterinary
Health Care

Weather forecasting, Disease detection, soil
analysis etc
One Example: n-Logue
Services:
Communication
Education
Computer Education
Remote tutorial
Typing
Photography
Agriculture
Veterinary
Health Care

Consulting with doctors in city by sending
online images of the animal
One Example: n-Logue
Services:
Communication
Education
Computer Education
Remote tutorial
Typing
Photography
Agriculture
Veterinary
Health Care

Remote diagnostic tools, Consulting with
doctors in city
Video clips from the project Gyandoot
Deepak Sarma
Kiosk Manager
Video clips from the project Gyandoot
Irfan
Cyber caf owner
Video clips from the project Gyandoot
Ramji
Farmer
Conclusion
Application of Internet in rural area will helps in the development of
society
Wireless technology will provides a better connectivity
synergy between the IT and Telecommunication sectors can create a
profound social and economical revolution
Conclusion
References
Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Anuradha Ramachandran, Alankar
Bandyopadhyaya n-Logue: The Story of a Rural Service Provider in
India The Journal of Community Informatics (2004) Vol1, Issue 1, pp
30-38
Nirvikar Singh Information Technology and Rural Development in
India URL http://www.repositories.cdlib.org/sccie/04-06
Ashok Jhunjhunwala Challenges in Rural Connectivity for India
URL http://www.bytesforall.org/9th/html/challenges_ashok.htm
Website for different projects
Website for different images and clips
Thank You..