Other States - Puducherry   

As the bus moves on, rural-urban digital barrier falls wayside

— Photo: T. Singaravelou

Easy access: A view of the interior of Intel’s specially designed bus with net books and note books in Puducherry

PUDUCHERRY: Aiming to create awareness of the benefits of computer and Internet across the country, including rural areas, Intel launched “Net Yatra” in Puducherry on Monday.

Intel’s specially designed touring bus, which consists of net books and note books with Internet connectivity, would visit around five educational institutions in Puducherry.

Flagged off in October, the drive has covered eight cities, reaching out to around 40,000 persons till now. The bus has already visited a few cities in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. After stopping at Puducherry for two days, the bus would travel to areas in Tamil Nadu, Director of Sales and World Ahead Program-South Asia of Intel R. Ravichandran told in a press conference.

In Puducherry, students of Women’s Polytechnic College, Wiseman Higher Secondary School, Petit Seminaire Higher Secondary School, Achariya Siksha Mandir School, Veeramamunivar Government School and Calve College Government Higher Secondary School would get a chance to visit the bus and take part in a short seminar on how the Internet works and live demonstration of computer applications including booking tickets online through the Indian Railway Ticketing site, visiting Indian local language news sites and online education for school students and teachers.

Once into the bus, the students can also make use of the notebooks and net books with Internet connectivity, he said, adding, “The seminar will be on how the computer and Internet help in education and the required skills for obtaining employment. So far, we have visited 25 schools and 25 colleges.”

As part of the initiative, NIIT was offering a course called “Swift NetConnect” which consists of a 12-hour module covering fundamentals of PC and Internet usage for Rs.500, he mentioned.

Mr. Ravichandran said that in August, Intel had launched the connected Indians movement to take the importance of Internet to people for employment and educational purposes. Along with Intel, the government, industry associations and private enterprises have come together to connect a billion Indians. It was a collaborative movement to accelerate broadband, he added.

“Only 45 to 50 million Indians are using computers, which comprises only five per cent in the population. Of this, 40 million users are in urban areas. There are five million broadband connections in the country. We need to bridge this digital divide between rural and urban areas using technology,” he said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Forest Department starts topping trees
A challenging task for Puducherry police
As the bus moves on, rural-urban digital barrier falls wayside
Fun-filled gala on Children’s Day
AIADMK seeks Gurjar’s intervention
Power shutdown
“Staff should be part of all activities of the firm”

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu