"Take ICT-based services to rural India"

CMN Bureau

BANGALORE: ICT-based services and manufacturing should be taken to rural India from the urban areas for the livelihood generation of 700 million villagers, Dr Ashok Jhunjhunwala, professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) said.

This urban to rural shifting of services and manufacturing, which doesn’t need heavy machinery and electricity, should be carried out in a similar fashion as the manner in which services were brought to India from the West.

Dr Jhunjhunwala envisaged setting up of 100 rural BPOs in the next five years, which would bring about a transformation in rural India.

Life in rural India has not changed significantly, Dr Jhunjhunwala lamented while addressing the Texas Instruments Development Conference here today over video conferencing.

However, thanks to a strong media and a strong democracy. Indian villagers are aware of the changes in urban India and they will not sit quiet, he stated, hinting at the compulsions politicians would face while seeking mandate in rural areas.

Dr Jhunjhunwala called for innovations in mobile phone technology to ensure rural populace could use their phones for all transactions. “Fingerprint sensor could be added to the mobile without much expense,” he said.

The IIT-M developed Rural Technology Business Incubator (RTBI) has a three-fold focus on developing rural India, viz., education, health and livelihood generation.

The RTBI-initiated Internet-based coaching increased the pass percentage of students. “We need to take healthcare to rural India,” he further added.