Congress party eyes Microsoft technologies to reach out to rural masses

Microsoft's display technologies may be used on any surface

PTI | June 17, 2010



Congress is keen to deploy Microsoft display technologies that enable projection into any surface including walls to interact with rural masses from its headquarters in Delhi, a top official of the software giant's Indian entity said today.

"...the Congress party is imagining how to use these kinds of displays with rural, semi-literate or illiterate environment", Microsoft Corporation (India) Chairman Ravi Venkatesan said at the sixth India innovation summit, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.

Explaining that the company's display technologies enable projection into any surface including walls, tabletops and windows, he said Microsoft had already come out with a proof-of-concept with regard to this technologies.

He said one of the "most interesting and practical conversation" he had around display technologies is with the Congress party.

"They (Congress party) are very interested in grass-roots engagements to get illiterate and semi-literate villagers to interact with party headquaters", he said.

"...big revolution that's imminent is around large screens", he said, noting its potential application in transforming distance education.

Venkatesan said with such a technology (which does not need servers but requires cameras), "any surface can be made into a display....you can project on to a wall...use the wall itself...table tops..", adding, he expects display technology to be "ubiquitous" in the next five years.

He also said any Indian firm aspiring to become a Microsoft or a Google need have tremendous patience to undergo a long cycle of innovation.

Venkatesan pointed out that Microsoft started making money on its gaming business after ten years, while Google also took many years before it made money by "marrying" the search engine with online advertising.

"Do we have the patience to this kind of long cycle of innovation ?. If not, we better develop them", he said, adding, the tendency in India largely is to make "quick-buck".

Venkatesan said may be there are very few companies in India that have the "appetite" to take such kinds of risk (long cycle of innovation), and "that's the problem".

 

Comments

 

Other News

Gandhian movement after Gandhi failed: Ram Guha

The Gandhian movement in India, after Gandhi’s death, failed, says Ramachandra Guha, and blames Vinoba Bhave for it. But the movement found new, fertile grounds around the world and succeeded in bringing about a change in South Africa, the US and elsewhere. It is high time it returned home. Of cour

When religion, politics and Bollywood come together

Tavleen Singh, noted journalist and political commentator, has turned to fiction, with her debut novel ‘The Actor’ (HaperCollins India). Set in the near future, it has a superstar, Amit Singh, turning to politics, when the political landscape is dominated by prime minister Guru Gaynendraj

Cabinet approves setting up of Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority

The union cabinet, chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), called Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority (ITLA), to strengthen research, planning, appraisal, monitoring and impact assessment within the broad domains of Transp

Why foundational literacy and numeracy is key to school education

Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) are often described as the building blocks of education. Yet, their significance goes well beyond a child’s ability to read a sentence, write a response or solve a basic mathematical problem. These foundational skills shape how children understand the world,

When police data becomes the algorithm

For decades, policing has followed a familiar sequence: a crime occurs, the police respond, an investigation produces records and those records become part of the institutional memory of the criminal justice system. Artificial intelligence is beginning to alter that sequence. Instead of merely recording

Before India voted, the framers worried about the referee

“We are making a Constitution forever and not only for today.” Shibban Lal Saksena said this in the Constituent Assembly on June 15, 1949. He was warning that a ruling party might one day choose a loyalist to run India’s elections. Seventy-seven years later, the Supreme Court is wrestli

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter