Nano laptop’ set to take computing to rural India

The concept of ‘nano laptop’ has been made possible by National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology. It is set to unveil on Feburary 3, a 'nano laptop', which will cost only Rs 500

DAY BEFORE yesterday, I was at Purulia in West Bengal and met Sakina Khatun, Ruksana Khatun and Tyab. These children were trying out their little fingers on a laptop. Though it was not theirs but belonged to the assistant labour commissioner of the district, who was happy to share his laptop with these kids. These children are part of child activist programme being run by district labour department, district administration and Zila Parishad, which is providing an opportunity to voices of children who were once child labour but are now back in school. But in the coming days things may change, may be they have a laptop of their own.

This has been made possible by National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology. It is set to unveil on Feburary 3, a ’nano laptop’, which will cost only Rs 500. A boon for many in India and will help in taking the power of computing to interiors of the country. This has been made possible due to efforts of students of Indian Institute of Technology, scientists in Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, IIT-Madras and Semiconductor Complex, a Public Sector Undertaking. Though it may take some time till the dreams of the little kids may get realised but nevertheless, it is a great hope in coming days.

The National Mission on Education through ICT has been envisaged as a centrally-sponsored Scheme to leverage the potential of ICT, in providing high quality personalised and interactive knowledge modules over the Internet/intranet for all the learners in Higher Education Institutions in anytime, anywhere mode. The mission plans to extend computer infrastructure and connectivity to over 18,000 colleges in the country and growing appropriate e-learning procedures, providing facility of performing experiments through virtual laboratories, online testing and certification, online availability of teachers to guide and mentor students.

Contributed by Anil Gulati

Japanese two wheelers taking india by storm

Tora means tiger in Japanese. In 1941, during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese pilots used it as a code word to indicate that complete surprise had been achieved. Now, almost half-a-century later, it might well be brought out of the closet and used again. Just that this time, Indian two-wheeler companies seem to be the dozy targets.

Put another way: The recent ouster of Bajaj Auto, the country’s second largest two-wheeler maker by sales, from the second spot by Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI), may just hint at a Japanese offensive. In November last year, for the first time, HMSI surpassed Bajaj Auto sales by volume in the domestic market. The Japanese two-wheeler firm repeated the same feat in the ensuing month as well. In December, HMSI sold 87,164 two-wheelers against Bajaj Auto’s 69,419 units. “The gap is narrowing and the competition level is much higher now,” points out HS Goindi, president (marketing), TVS Motor Company. “The Japanese have been at it for a long time and no one noticed. So, one fine morning, the crossover happened and people were caught napping.” Even TVS wasn’t spared. In December last year, the Chennai-based two-wheeler firm sold 72,355 units — a 13% slide over the corresponding period the previous year. Further, during the April-December period in 2008, all Indian two-wheeler companies, excluding Hero Honda Motors, posted negative growth figures over the corresponding period the previous year. In comparison, their Japanese counterparts, such as HMSI, Suzuki Motorcycle India and India Yamaha Motor, have all done relatively well and managed to garner decent growth figures. So, what worked for the Japanese? To be sure, one of the major contributors to growth for both HMSI and Suzuki continues to be the gearless scooter segment where HMSI is the market leader, with more than 50% marketshare. In December last year, scooters made up around 64% of HMSI’s total sales volume. Atul Gupta, VP, sales & marketing, Suzuki Motorcycle India, points out that this segment has been more or less insulated against the slowdown and has grown considerably year on year. “People usually purchase a scooter with cash. Hence, this segment escaped being butchered by the credit squeeze,” explains Gupta. But industry experts also point out that the future belongs to cutting edge technology. Case in point: India Yamaha Motor’s latest 150cc offerings, the FZ16 and the R15 are arguably the best in their segment as far as product quality and design are concerned. These are the bikes that have single-handedly brought the focus back on Yamaha after the Japanese firm’s incredible lean patch here. But they also come at a cost. The R15 sells for around Rs 1 lakh, almost double the price of an ordinary 150cc motorcycle. Says Sanjay Tripathi, division head (product planning), India Yamaha Motor: “It’s similar to cell phones. The technology that you see in high-end phones finally percolates down after some time. In the case of two-wheelers it’s the same story. Our 150cc bikes borrow technology that is born on the race track, and with time the cost will also come down.” So, does this suggest that Indian two-wheeler makers are low on technology? S Sridhar, CEO (two-wheelers), Bajaj Auto, strongly opposes the thought. “In Bajaj, technology is for daily life. We have a strong R&D focus. We are jointly developing bikes with KTM but even our own boys are good at innovation,” he declares.

Social issues do sell on TV !

Normally in media we say that it is crime, politics, sleaze, something sexy which sells. Social issues are normally for documentaries, or may be Doordarshan will air. But the TRPs of Balika Vadhu, a social serial has proved this argument wrong.

Social issues don’t sell on TV channels. This statement may not be true anymore. TRPs of Balika Vadhu, a social serial on Colors on the issue of child marriage recently had more TRPs then Kyunki and Myaaka serials. Interestingly, its TRP was more than the shows engaging celebrities running on the same channel or for that matter many reality shows on TV.Normally in media we say that it is crime, politics, sleaze, something sexy which sells. Social issues are normally for documentaries, or may be Doordarshan will air, as it has that social responsibility.But may be not true any more -- Balika Vadhu, a serial on air nowadays on Colors TV Channel.

It sensitively raises concern on a social issue ’child marriage’ which still happens in India and is a reality. As of now this is one of the most viewed serials in general entertainment category or GEC as they say.Television Rating Points (TRP’s) of the show validate this fact. It is a flagship series of Viacoms’ Colors TV Channel. This serial has helped Colors to sail past 200 GRP (gross rating points), within two months of its launch. Colors is the first to hit that mark among the newly launched Hindi entertainment channels, one of the hit serial on that channel is Balika Vadhu. The serial is laid out in traditional Rajasthani style, with a great title song and simple music (unlike the varied back ground music we find in normal serials on air) and rightly brings out impact on child marriage on child life.It ends with a message line, reminding us that child marriage impacts the very fabric of child life and needs to be stopped. The serial attracts attention and glues you to it. The viewership of it has grown exponentially and viewers has remained with it. Thanks to the way it is written, directed and the enacted along with its great title track.It is aired Monday to Thursday on Colors TV at 8 pm slot. It has helped break the myth that social issues don’t sell. Balika Vadhu is an arduous journey of child bride Anandi, who is married off to a young boy, Jagdish.

The girl losses her normal childhood and has to move away from her parents (protective environment), to be bound by customs. I am hopeful this serial will help in bringing issue of deep rooted tradition of child marriage to debate in our society which impact lives of girls and women across India not only in Rajasthan. Inspite of all the laws this still happens and needs to stopped.One more issue while debating on children issues that needs discussion is about children who work in these serials. I am sure National Children’s Commission is looking into it, and restrictions will be coming for reality shows but we need discussion also on children working in TV serials and films. To my knowledge they are not covered by child labour laws nor by any special child protection laws. Children who work in TV serials films do have to work very hard, which impacts them. They need adequate rest, sleep, time and break for education. They entertain us but it should not impact their normal growth, and protection which they should be getting as their right from the state, us and life.

Will smoking ban work in India?

India has banned smoking in workplaces from October 2 onwards. The aim is to discourage smokers, to make them reduce or quit smoking. Those flouting the ban will face a fine of Rs 200. The law is impressive, but would it work?.

OCTOBER 2 onwards, India has banned smoking in workplaces, public places, hotels and restaurants, offices, courts, banks, schools, colleges, libraries, cinemas, auditorium, restaurants, shopping malls, parks, monuments, railway stations, airports, bus stops, buses, taxis.

The new Smoking in Public Places Rules 2008, which was notified this month come into effect from October 2, birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The only places where one can smoke will be smoking lounges at airports, restaurants with over 30 seats, smoking rooms and of course or your own home. The fine for violating the ban is Rs 200.

Though an appeal was filed before the Supreme Court, it upheld the government ban on smoking in public places from October 2. The government of India had earlier tried to control tobacco use through Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply, and Distribution Bill, 2003. Key provisions of the law include prohibition on direct and indirect advertisements of tobacco products, prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to minors and prohibition of smoking in public places. But one can see many who smoke in public places. Also cigarette packets sold in India are required to carry pictorial warnings along with the text saying smoking is injurious to health and smoking causes cancer in both Hindi and English. But I still have not seen any pictorial warnings.

India is good in making laws, they look good when drafted and announced, but somehow implementation of these laws is a major challenge. It is not about one sector or area, it is across board.

India had banned children below 14 years of age from work, but go to any state, any city one can see children working in dhabas, restaurants, petrol pumps,brick kilns and as domestic labour etc. Hardly anyone gets punished! India has banned sex selection under Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostics Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) (PCPNDT) Act, but the reality is quite different.

Tobacco laws have been there in India, but still more than 250 million people in India use various tobacco products like gutka, cigarettes and bidis and millions of them die, many suffer with heart and lung diseases because of this habit. The data says one in two Indian men and one in seven women use tobacco in the country. Tobacco causes 40 per cent of all cancer disease in India.

So the fact is that law is good, but the issue is of implementation. I am not sure if we have the manpower to implement this law. Do we have necessary structures, people, mechanisms in place who can implement the laws or will it remain as yet another good policy level declaration, which is not implemented on ground.

Anil Gulati

Emotional experience of flood victims

Floods along the India-Nepal border have not yet receded. Lakhs of acres of crops and houses have been destroyed. Though relief is being provided to millions of victims, they are groping for emotional support too as they have lost ‘everything’..

Floods on both sides of the India-Nepal border have affected millions of people. Thousands have been displaced; many have lost their houses, crops and household goods; they are hardly left with anything. For many, floods have taken away their all. Some have even lost their loved ones. The lives of the affected lie devastated. Though relief efforts are underway, it will take some time for it to reach all and sundry. Many parts are still inundated and the inundation is continuing. Even those who have been saved are finding it tough to access potable water, food and shelter.

Floods have brought in contaminated water and with sanitation deteriorating, outbreak of water-borne diseases is feared. The people are a despaired lot. The normal coping strategies of the poor affected by the floods have been stretched to the limit. Once the present crisis is over, problems like water-logging, epidemics and water-borne diseases are likely to arise. Though rescue, relief and improvement of living conditions of the people who have been displaced are high on the list of priorities right now, we may need to look beyond.

Poor families struggle to obtain enough food even at the best of times. Now, with food stocks and crops all under water, food has become scarce. Already malnutrition among children and women in the flood-affected areas is high and can only get worse. Children are most vulnerable and susceptible to water-borne diseases; their health will be at risk in the days ahead and given poor nutrition, their health can only get worse. They will be the silent victims of floods and suffering even after the floods have receded. They are also more vulnerable to abuse.

The trauma inflicted by floods will linger on. Disaster impacts all those who have been subjected to it, either directly or indirectly. In addition to physical and social damage, gloomy thoughts, agony and hopelessness inflicted by the floods will pervade. In the case of children the agony may be even more, albeit different. They interpret their personal experiences in the context of the surroundings and environment they live in. Normally, elders tend to speak out and share their emotions but in the case of children, the normal protective ambience vanishes.

Given the associated chaos and trauma, the impact may be severe, most of which they can’t even share. Their home and / or school where they learn, play, share and receive psychological and social support often represents the protective ambience and this may ebb away. They tend to experience insecurity, anxiety, fear, anger, sadness, despair and fear of recurrence of flood. Emotional experience could be difficult to deal with for the elderly pregnant women and those who are sick.

No doubt, responding to immediate needs like food, water, shelter and support (for rebuilding their lives) should be high on the list of priorities but alongside, providing psycho-social support will be critical to help them overcome the trauma inflicted by the disaster.

Food safety a concern to prevent diseases

Food safety is a major concern. With increased debate on avian influenza this area gets more focus, for which serious steps are been taken by WHO in increasing awareness and educating people, including children on safe food handling.

RECENTLY MEDIA reports state on the need for creating awareness about food safety and services. There have been reports on making Goa a "safe food town”. Food safety is a major concern with increased debate on avian influenza this area gets more focus. Not only avian influenza even diarrhoeal diseases alone kills an estimated 1.8 million children annually, and most of these illnesses are attributed to contaminated food or water.

Proper food preparation can prevent most foodborne diseases. As per World Health Organisation (WHO) food safety is a public health priority, millions of people fall ill every year and many die as a result of eating unsafe food. Serious outbreaks of foodborne disease have been documented on every continent in the past decade, and in many countries rates of illnesses are increasing significantly. With increase in trade, imported products are getting common in countries and the fear of spread of contamination due to lack of food safety is crossing borders.

WHO states that disease-causing organisms in food are transmitted far and wide by today’s interconnected global food-chains - escalating how often and where foodborne illnesses occur. Rapid urbanisation worldwide is adding a risks to it, as urban dwellers eat more food prepared outside the home that may not be handled or prepared safely - including fresh foods and fish, meat and poultry.

Key global food safety concerns include -- spread of microbiological hazards (including such bacteria as Salmonella or Escherichia coli-e. coli); chemical food contaminants, assessments of new food technologies (such as genetically modified food) and strong food safety systems in most countries to ensure a safe global food-chain.

WHO has developed a global food hygiene message with five key steps that promote health, and the five keys to safer food are

-Keep clean
-Separate raw and cooked food
-Cook thoroughly
-Keep food at safe temperatures
-Use safe water and raw materials

It also states that increasing awareness and educating people, including children on safe food handling behaviors will help in preventing food borne diseases today and in the future.

Water: plenty amidst scarcity at an Andhra village

The Hindu, M.J. PRABU, Aug 21, 2008

The monsoon came late over the semi-arid regions of central India this year. While several farming villages suffered from drought, Kothapally village in Ranga Reddy district of Andhra Pradesh had water in its wells for drinking and irrigation. The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, and a consortium of partners including international, national, governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) empowered the people of Kothapally to cope with drought for more than nine years through community watersheds.

Plenty of water
“Thanks to ICRISAT, water shortage in our village is a thing of the past,” says Mohammed Azam, farmer in Kothapally. “We have enough water, but the villages that did not pick up the innovations continue to suffer.” “The productivity in Kothapally has increased immensely due to the water saving systems and also because of ICRISAT’s improved crop varieties, integrated pest management, and the judicious application of fertilizers.”

“I was one of the first farmers to adopt these ideas and today I can send my five grandchildren to good schools in town,” says Azam.Big benefits - Mr. T. Janaiah, another Kothapally farmer, emphasizes: “I have benefited incredibly. Ten years ago our groundwater level was about 300 feet deep and today it is at about 60 feet thanks to the water saving facilities that we built together with our partners from ICRISAT. Even with a late monsoon we have sufficient drinking and irrigation water.”The community watershed at Kothapally has become a model replicated in many other countries such as China, Thailand, and Vietnam, and now in East and Central Africa.Improve production. According to Dr William Dar, Director General of ICRISAT, the use of community watersheds as an entry point for agricultural and rural development, has resulted in many interventions to improve agricultural productivity and livelihoods of poor farmers. Dr. S.P. Wani, principal scientist on watersheds, says, “Once we found solutions for immediate problems, the farmers became our ambassadors for implementing these interventions.”Check dams

The people of Kothapally have embraced many new technologies. The construction of check dams were based on the community needs and executed by the villagers themselves.
The introduction of improved varieties and hybrid crops, integrated pest management, the restoration of wastelands together with a continuously growing groundwater level, resulted in significantly higher yields and greater income for the poor. Women farmers play a key role in utilizing new technologies. Several women’s self-help groups were trained in vermicomposting.
They in turn trained others in neighbouring villages. Mrs. B Lakshmi, a woman farmer, received the Jamsetji Tata National Virtual Academy fellowship for Rural Prosperity in 2007 for training peers in vermicomposting.

Replication
According to Dr. Wani, the consortium’s success in Kothapally led to its replication in other Indian states. The state government took the lead in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, while in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand, the Sir Dorabjee Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust funded the spread of the program. In select watersheds in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, the Confederation of Indian Industry supported the projects. The idea also spread to other parts of Asia .
Potential solution

The Asian Development Bank supported watershed projects in these countries. A team of researchers from East and Central Africa (ECA) visited Kothapally and identified the watershed experience as a potential solution to many of the challenges their region faced. For further information and visit to Kothapally village readers can contact Dr. Suhas P. Wani, Principal Scientist and Regional Theme Co-ordinator, ICRISAT, Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh-502-324, email: s.wani@cgiar.org, phone: 040-3071-3466 and 3071-3071(extn) 2466.