All The Universe In A Grain Of Sand

Being the only one here to own a PC and Net connection, Santosh Mahadev Dhavan, a sugarcane and wheat farmer, has a celebrity status in village Jalochi. Some five km from Baramati, a sleepy tehsil 105 km from Pune and known for its MP, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, Santosh's status got a boost last week as he hosted two high-profile personalities—Intel chairman Craig Barrett and Baramati's Godfather Pawar—in his brick-and-stone house.

Santosh didn't know much about Barrett, except that Intel makes the PC he uses. But he was more excited about Pawar's visit. "I must have done something good in my life for Pawar saheb to come here." And about Barrett, he says: "He must be a big man, otherwise you wouldn't come to meet me here." Santosh purchased his PC at the behest of his niece, Arti, who learnt of computers in school. He doesn't regret the investment as it has helped him increase productivity from the 30 acres he owns.

Close to Santosh's house, in Baramati's Marathi medium school run by the Vidya Pratishthan Trust, nine-year-olds Himani and Abhijit have prepared for weeks for their meeting with Barrett. Like many others in the area, they rehearsed endlessly for a project they showcased to the man who built their computers. Using the Net, the students checked out the various ways food is adulterated and took local samples to study the extent of the problem. They found that most of the available food products were adulterated; now they want to post their results on a website.

Across the road, in Baramati's public hospital, 16-year-old Nilesh Maruti Thorat was satisfied with the technology that enabled his heart diagnosis to be completed in minutes. Earlier, he had to travel 60 km from his village, Yawat, and spend Rs 350-500 for an ECG. It was a task to get an expert opinion as there were no cardiologists in the area. Thanks to the Net, his digital cardiogram was sent to Bangalore's Narayana Hridayalaya, where cardiologists sent in their diagnosis to him in less than 10 minutes. The cost: a mere Rs 3.50. Naturally, he too was eager to meet Barrett, who made this possible.

In village Katewadi, farmers Narayanrao and Mahesh had just learnt of sugarcane prices going up by Rs 2, and that they can check the latest movements on the Net. They were also waiting for Barrett to inaugurate a community PC in their village. When Barrett arrived, they were surprised. "He is just like us, just a little fairer. But what he has done will change our lives forever."

These farmers and kids are the symbol of a quiet revolution that's spreading in Indian villages, where rural folk and farmers are using the PC and technology to improve their living standards. This is just the beginning. Within a month, Baramati will have the distinction of becoming India's first town or city to be Wi-Maxed; Wi-Max allows wireless access to the Net and Net-based services over a large area.

Barrett, whose chip company has been responsible for the crashing of PC prices, was there last week to witness this transformation.

Barrett's visit coincided with Intel choosing Baramati as one of the five model cities—the other two selected till now are Parintins (Brazil) and Zhanjiang (China)—under its programme that aims to use technology to propel development that can be replicated elsewhere. The aim is to extend wireless broadband PC access to the world's next billion users, training 10 million teachers on the use of technology, and reaching another one billion students. Barrett was here to convince people that if they created more Baramatis, India will be able to bring about rural transformation through the use of IT.

But why Baramati, when Indian IT's known faces are Bangalore and Hyderabad? Intel managers feel Baramati had the necessary ingredients for their World Ahead Programme, including accessibility, connectivity and education, through the use of IT, which was not there in other Indian locations. Says Barrett: "It is an example for the rest of the world about what can be done with technology. The results are there for all to see and replicate."

He's right about one thing: results. Santosh routinely uses his PC to check weather patterns and found there is more profit from grape cultivation. His house acts as a hub for his farmer friends checking out crop patterns. Aishwarya Nimbalkar, a class viii student, used the Net for a school project on extraction of ethanol from jowar and found that it was more profitable than sugarcane cultivation. Convinced about her research, she took it up with her father, a farmer who is exploring its possibilities.

Some other student projects form a part of the technology story and are fast becoming case studies and examples for the locals. These include prevention of food adulteration, Emu bird hatching, rainwater harvesting, and soil infiltration and treatment. Says a local schoolteacher: "The kids learn about the problems from real-life situations and use technology to find solutions. The farmers, in turn, are using these projects to find real-life solutions."

After his Baramati visit, Barrett felt the development in the area was beyond expectations. Says he: "I expected to see young kids with an inclination towards technology and was surprised to see their energy." He was also asked interesting questions by the students—Why did you start Intel? What did you do to reach this position? What took you to this post?

There're no doubts that Pawar has pushed Baramati's development work, including the setting up of the Vidya Pratishthan Trust, which runs several educational institutions including the Vidya Pratishthan Institute of Information Technology. But Intel has stepped in to provide technology support and consultancy to take it further.

For example, Intel is helping the district set up its Wi-Max network, provide technology support for tele-medicine and tele-diagnosis at the local hospitals, and in computerising the local milk cooperatives. It will donate community PCs for farmers and mobile computer labs for schools. At present, Baramati has five mobile labs which cover half the area's 98 schools. To improve rural education, Intel plans to provide 100 more mobile labs across the country.

"Education is vital to developing skilled workforce. Technology can expand what's possible and create opportunities. We want to demonstrate what's possible and support the Indian government in bringing technology to rural areas," says Barrett. It's now up to the government and local authorities to take this model forward. Even if the policymakers falter, the Santoshs, Narayanraos and Aishwaryas will ensure they stay abreast of technology to improve their lives.