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IntroductionIntroduction•Information literacy•Information literacy

•Poverty alleviationPoverty alleviation

•Health careHealth care

D a l m a n d iS h a k k a r m a n d i

Inputs

WeatherSoilChemicalsWater

Outputs

Market Prices

Trends and Futures

I n p u t s

W e a t h e rS o i lC h e m i c a l sW a t e r

O u t p u t s

M a r k e t P r i c e s

T r e n d s a n d F u t u r e s

Digital Mandi

Infothela

E-choupal

•Gyandoot•E-choupal•Telemedicine•Media Labs Asia projects such as Infothela, Digital Mandi

India’s social, economic, cultural situations are so diverse that one need to develop new products and services for these societies. There are two reasons for the development of knowledge society, -firstly the explosive growth in knowledge, especially in science and technology and secondly people, are moving out of primary occupations such as agriculture and industry into the services sector, where their survival and success depend on their ability to deal with information and knowledge. The emergence of new wireless and satellite-based solutions is positioning the developing countries to take advantage of the benefits to be derived from ICT application.

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The cost of 802.11b connectivity is much cheaper as compared to

other technologies.

Digital Gangetic Plane (DGP) started out with the goal of achieving low-cost portable /mobile voice and data services for the rural sector; a cost effective alternative to long distance leased lines. The DGP project, developed jointly by IIT Kanpur, India and Media Lab Asia for empowerment of rural masses, aims at using the low cost Wireless LAN (WLAN) also popularly known as WiFi. Digital Gangetic Plains improving rural connectivity by provisioning wireless internet along the Kanpur-Lucknow corridor

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Email, fax, Internet Entertainment (movies,

cartoons etc.) Education Agriculture-related

information Weather information Healthcare information HIV/AIDS awareness Checking of land records Horoscopes Darshans of holy places matrimonial

matchmaking Digital Mandi

Info-thela – The mobile way to learn, entertain and disseminate information

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Schematic diagram of Infothela

Battery powered, 135 AH Exide Battery powered, 135 AH Exide Charging of the battery overnight Charging of the battery overnight from electric power for 8 hrs.Pedal from electric power for 8 hrs.Pedal generator on the fieldgenerator on the fieldExpected power consumption Expected power consumption ≈≈ 100W100W802.11(b) p-t-p link802.11(b) p-t-p linkOverall weight of Infothela Overall weight of Infothela ≈≈ 200 200 Kg.Kg.

To serve the purpose of primary screening, To serve the purpose of primary screening, infothela has been designed to accommodate infothela has been designed to accommodate diagnostic equipment like blood pressure testing diagnostic equipment like blood pressure testing machine, blood sugar testing machine, and some machine, blood sugar testing machine, and some other primary health diagnostic and testing other primary health diagnostic and testing equipment. All diagnostic tests data will be equipment. All diagnostic tests data will be entered into the machine and programs will entered into the machine and programs will process the data and raise warnings when process the data and raise warnings when individual data or combinations of data are not individual data or combinations of data are not within limits or show other within limits or show other abnormalitiesabnormalities..

It is basically a pedal driven vehicle just like It is basically a pedal driven vehicle just like a common cycle rickshaw with a personal a common cycle rickshaw with a personal computer on board connected to internet computer on board connected to internet using wireless technology. It is designed using wireless technology. It is designed keeping in mind the village conditions in the keeping in mind the village conditions in the country where electric power is not country where electric power is not available all the time.available all the time.

Infothela’s services are meant for disease prevention, early diagnosis of diseases, vaccine delivery, sample collection and even expert advice from remotely located doctors.

Estimated Cost ≈ Rs. 50000 17” colour displayShock and vibration resistantDust resistantTheft resistantRain water resistant

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Digital Mandi – Innovative Way to give farmers the right price

DalmandiS h a k k a r m a n d i

Inputs

WeatherSoilChemicalsWater

Outputs

Market Prices

Trends and Futures

I n p u t s

W e a t h e rS o i lC h e m i c a l sW a t e r

O u t p u t s

M a r k e t P r i c e s

T r e n d s a n d F u t u r e s

The Digital Mandi Project is conceived as an electronic trading platform for agro-commodities of Northern India and meant to run as a core application on the mobile Infothela.

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The emergence of intranet-based “Gyandoot” digital libraries (DLs) in the Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh has changed the lives of its underprivileged rural communities. “Gyandoot” is a unique form of G2C (Government to citizen) DL activity which is intended to address the hardship imposed by transaction costs associated with government services. It connects 21 cyber cafes called “Soochanalayas” which provide services to about 10 to 15 “gram panchayats”, each of which consists of a group of 20-30 villages with aggregate populations of between 20,000 and 30,000 people. The Soochanalayas are located at block head quarters, haat bazaars and bus depots and also on the roadside where people normally travel. These cyber cafes are operated by a local operator called a Soochak, who is a local volunteer not a government person

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MilestonesCommencement of initiative: 2000

• States covered: 9• Villages covered: 38,500• e-Choupal installations: 6500• Empowered e-farmers: 3.5 million

The e-Choupal delivers real-time information and customised knowledge to improve the farmer's decision-making ability, thereby better aligning farm output to market demands; securing better quality, productivity and improved price discovery. The e-Choupal initiative also creates a direct marketing channel, eliminating wasteful intermediation and multiple handling, thus reducing transaction costs. Over the next decade, the e-Choupal network will cover over 100,000 villages, representing 1/6th of rural India, and create more than 10 million e-farmers.

E-ChaupalE-Chaupal

Smart Cards identify farmers & provide customized information on the e-choupal website

The e-Choupals serve as both a social gathering place for exchange of information (choupal means gathering place in Hindi) and an e-commerce hub focusing on the needs of rural India. It’s an effort to re-engineer the procurement process for soy, tobacco, wheat, shrimp, and other cropping systems in rural India and create a highly profitable distribution and product design channel. The e-Choupal system has catalyzed rural transformation that is helping to alleviate rural isolation, create more transparency for farmers, and improve their productivity and incomes.

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Telemedicine in IndiaTelemedicine in India

Health Scenario: 620 million live in rural India

Bed-Population ratio 1:1333 (1991) Vs. ideal of 1:500. only 9% of 1 billion people are only 9% of 1 billion people are covered health schemes.covered health schemes.With software, With software, hardware, brain ware and a large number of hardware, brain ware and a large number of doctors. licensed to practice abroad, India doctors. licensed to practice abroad, India could offer global Teleconsultationcould offer global Teleconsultation

Telemedicine is a method, by which patients can be examined, investigated, monitored and treated, with the patient and the doctor located in different places. Tele is a Greek word meaning “distance “and Mederi is a Latin word meaning, “to heal”. Time magazine called Telemedicine “healing by wire”. Though initially considered “futuristic” and “experimental” Telemedicine is today a reality and has come to stay. In Telemedicine one transfers the expertise, not the patient.

The Indian Space Research Organization, ISRO, in pursuing its objective of taking the benefit of space technology to the population in rural and remote areas, took the initiative of establishing a space-based telemedicine network.

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Tele ophthalmology systemEquipment PCs/ Laptops Broadband Internet connection Specialized image capture equipment:

digital cameras on slit-lamps, Ophthalmoscopes, Fundus cameras Image display equipment

Applications Information systems Continuing education Online patient record E-mail consultations Digital library services

Tele-ophthalmology- the application of telemedicine principles to provide eye care services at a distance

Data receiving and display

Interconnection broad bandwidth

Transmission

Data capture

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Integrated Telemedicine:Integrated Telemedicine:The physician can quickly navigate

through the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) of the patient. All documents and images are stored in an encrypted form. The system also equips the physicians with a rich toolset to examine different data. It supports tools to pan, zoom, rotate, mark regions of interest and to annotate the data. Extensive Image Processing features are also provided. Through user-friendly interface, the physician can also quickly add notes on the patient's progress and write reports.

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The Simputer or “Poor man's computer" The Simputer or “Poor man's computer" IISc, Bangalore and the Encore Software developed

this idea into practice. This project grew out of the dire need for an affordable access device for the rural population including Women. It is a low cost portable alternative to the popular personal computer, by which the benefits of ICT can reach the common man. Tin built Smart card feature enables the Simputer to be shared by a community. It is a low cost portable alternative to PCs, by which the benefits of IT can reach the common man. It has a special role in the developing world because it ensures that illiteracy is no longer a barrier to handling a computer.

Simputer

The key to bridging the digital divide is to have shared devices that permit truly simple and natural user interfaces based on sight, touch and audio. The Simputer meets these demands through a browser. Information Markup Language (IML) has been created to provide a uniform experience to users and to allow rapid development of solutions on any platform. The Simputer also has the attractive feature of text-to-speech conversion, so that illiterates could feel secure about their payments. The Smart Card feature that the Simputer provides enables the Simputer to be shared by a community

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Institutional repositories to promote education and researchInstitutional repositories to promote education and research Institutions with functional Institutions with functional

Open Access Institutional Open Access Institutional Repositories (IR) have a Repositories (IR) have a role in enhancing e-role in enhancing e-Learning environments. Learning environments. Apart from supporting Apart from supporting open access and open access and preserving the intellectual preserving the intellectual assets of an institution, assets of an institution, IRs facilitate the IRs facilitate the members’ efforts to members’ efforts to develop their own work develop their own work further, that is, to organize further, that is, to organize their resources, link their their resources, link their writing to others and work writing to others and work with co-authors, goals with co-authors, goals akin to e-Portfolios. When akin to e-Portfolios. When such webfolios are such webfolios are integrated with IRs, they integrated with IRs, they can act as LOR, can act as LOR, supporting the use and supporting the use and exploitation of exploitation of interoperable collections interoperable collections and objects of and objects of geographic, cultural, geographic, cultural, scholarly or scientific scholarly or scientific nature from libraries, nature from libraries, archives and museums. archives and museums. In turn, they facilitate In turn, they facilitate exposure, discovery, and exposure, discovery, and retrieval of these retrieval of these resources. resources. CERLIM: Libraries without walls 7CERLIM: Libraries without walls 7

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A proposed model for a central reservoir of Electronic theses and Dissertations(ETDs)

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Public Libraries as intermediary centre

CommunicationComprehension,Consensus and Coalition

CommunicationComprehension,Consensus and Coalition

Greater Control & Capacity to Act

EMPOWERMENT

Access to online resources

Expert Databases

Library Extension program

Multimedia Collection

May I help you?

Tele-working facilities

Tele-working facilities

HIV/AIDS information

ICT driven Public Libraries/ Village Knowledge centers Village Knowledge centers

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RecommendationsRecommendationsConsolidation and expansion of Rural public libraries network

It is of vital importance that network of public libraries is to be developed in It is of vital importance that network of public libraries is to be developed in such a way to reach to the remotest corner of the country. The public such a way to reach to the remotest corner of the country. The public libraries happen to cover the widest population possible; their role in libraries happen to cover the widest population possible; their role in spreading literacy and education has long been acknowledged and is spreading literacy and education has long been acknowledged and is considered to be indispensable.considered to be indispensable.

60000 public libraries (approximately 70% may be rural) are mere reading 60000 public libraries (approximately 70% may be rural) are mere reading rooms without much books or good infrastructure or trained staff. India has rooms without much books or good infrastructure or trained staff. India has around 5,93,000 inhabited villages and there may be just one public library around 5,93,000 inhabited villages and there may be just one public library for 8-10 of them. With over 1.3 billion people, India needs more than for 8-10 of them. With over 1.3 billion people, India needs more than 4,30,000 public library units, as per IFLA standards of "one public library 4,30,000 public library units, as per IFLA standards of "one public library for every 3000 people". for every 3000 people".

Preventive health care Information and AIDS challenge

India is one of the most populated countries in the world, with over one India is one of the most populated countries in the world, with over one billion inhabitants. Of this number, it's estimated that around 5 million billion inhabitants. Of this number, it's estimated that around 5 million people are currently living with HIV. In a country where poverty, illiteracy people are currently living with HIV. In a country where poverty, illiteracy and poor health are rife, the spread of HIV presents a daunting challenge.and poor health are rife, the spread of HIV presents a daunting challenge.

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In order to provide accessibility to masses in all parts of the country and to derive the benefits from converged applications like tele-education, telemedicine and world wide web access, government should set up Multifunctional Converged Applications Community Centres (MCACs) at Panchayat level. The MCACs should facilitate the Telecommunication services such as Local/ STD/ISD PCO, Fax, computing services like E-mail and Internet access, information on local data bases and awareness about HIV/AIDS and other governments programmes etc. It will facilitate exchange of Social & Cultural heritage across the country, technology guidance to use the facilities like Telemedicine, Tele-education and E-governance.

Recommendations:

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Namaste!

Thank You!