The Hindu : Business : Cheaper PCs will boost IT penetration, says Maran

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Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005

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Cheaper PCs will boost IT penetration, says Maran

By Our Special Correspondent

The Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Dayanidhi Maran, presenting the Dewang Mehta award for innovation in IT to Sugata Mitra, Chief Scientist, NIIT, in New Delhi on Tuesday. — Photo: Ramesh Sharma

NEW DELHI, APRIL 12. The Union Government is considering various options to reduce PC (personal computer) prices to increase Internet usage.

The Department of Information Technology had set up a working group with members from the industry and the Government to examine various issues related to PC and Internet penetration as well as growth of the domestic software market and make suitable recommendations, said the Communications and Information Technology (IT) Minister, Dayanidhi Maran, here today.

Expressing concern over the "very low'' Internet penetration rate, Mr. Maran said "much more needs to be done in the area of broadband connectivity and Internet penetration.''

One of the reasons attributed to the low rate of PC penetration was the high price of computer hardware.

The Government was working closely with the industry to ensure that PC costs came down rapidly and Internet access devices were within the reach of the ordinary citizen, he said while speaking at a function to present the Dewang Mehta Award for Innovation in Information Technology.

The Minister presented the award to Sugata Mitra of Centre for Research in Cognitive Systems, NIIT, in recognition of his "discovery of the pedagogy, science and technology of minimally invasive education.''

Mr. Maran said the Government planned to provide reliable backbone connectivity for e-governance initiatives by establishing state wide area network (SWAN) up to the block level with a minimum bandwidth of 2 Mbps.

Hinting at the need to amend the Information Technology Act, Mr. Maran explained that this had to be done to keep up with the rapidly evolving ICT sector.

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