INTEL promises help in UP's computer revolution

Lucknow, July 7: Intel Corporation, the world's largest chip maker and a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products, has shown interest to set up production unit for low-cost battery operated 'Rural Personal Computer' in Uttar Pradesh.

This battery operated PC would be useful in the common service centres which have been proposed to be established in over 16,000 villages of the state as part of the Core Infrastructure Projects development scheme of the government.

These centres would enrich the delivery system in rural areas covering 80 areas of 15 departments which included agriculture, marketing, micro credit finance, disaster information, life death certificates, family welfare, e-diagnostics, education, land records and other service sector areas.

The INTEL had agreed to provide battery opearted rural PCs for these centres and would set up a prduction unit for the same if demand arose, UP Information Technology minister Rajendra Singh Rana told UNI here. He personally spoke to INTEL officials in this regard during his recent visit to INTEL, Banglore premises.

Founded in 1968 to build semiconductor memory products, Intel introduced the world's first microprocessor in 1971. Today, Intel has the distinction of revolutionise the computerisation all over the world through its solutions.

INTEL also plans to introduce the course of chip designing in the top technical colleges of UP. ''The top chip maker in the world is willing to impart its expertise in preparing the curriculum of the technical and engineering colleges of the state in this regard and also free training for students and teachers at Banglore,''Mr Rana said.

The Minister said INTEL's South Asia MD R K Amar Babu was also in favour of setting up chip designing centre identifying huge presence of related institutions in NOIDA, UP. INTEL has also agreed to in principle to establish a high-level hardware checking laboratory in the state.

UP Development Systems Corporation (UPDESCO) would soon organise a workshop with the help of INTEL in the state, Mr Rana said.

The IT Minister said with the help of the Central Government, as many as 16,300 villages would have Citizen Service Centres (CSCs) during the next three years. These Centres would select the enterpreuners at their level to establish Common Service Centres.

The back-end computerisation scheme to provide services through the common service delivery centres in rural areas would be able to provide employment to at least 80,000 educated youths of the villages, Mr Rana said.

These centres would be operational free of cost for five years by utilising the State Wide Area Network (SWAN) which is being established by NIC at the cost of Rs 168.72 crore and funded by the Centre.

INTEL was also joining hands with the software giant Microsoft to provide PCs at attractive prices in order to increase Penetration and Cyber Connectivity in the state.

UNI