Bihar pitches for BPL women literacy

After a number of states came up with free laptop scheme for school girls, the Bihar Government will now distribute tablets to women who live below poverty line. This move aims to enhance literacy in the state, especially of women.

Although the plan is yet to be taken to the Cabinet Ministry for its approval, Shahid Ali Khan, Minister of Information Technology, Bihar, confirmed that this will be a Rs 7,000 crore plan which will involve distribution of tablets to 3 crore women to help them come at par with their male counterparts. Speaking on the issue to P.K. Sinha, CEO, Astric Computer, said "This is a very good and welcoming scheme on the part of the state government. However, we will be not be directly involved in the distribution process. A nodal agency will be designated to undergo this task. They will procure tablets from us in bulk and distribute them at an event organized by them."

Sinha is also the Director for Astric Center of Excellence which has recently been awarded by the National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD), Noida, under Ministry of MSME, Government of India, to conduct Computer hardware and Networking training program for Employability Enhancement of Bihar.

Prior to the distribution of free tablets, the women will undergo a two months training program. Post the training, they will have to sit for a test. Once they qualify the test, only then they will be eligible for receipt of free tablets. "This is an incentive and quality based scheme. It shows that the government is concerned with setting standards and performance before distributing the tablets. This is a welcome change. I hope its gets implemented soon," adds Sinha.

"It is a well known fact that there is still a vast difference between the literacy rate of men and women in India. Particularly in our state, women are lagging behind. This scheme will help women to get similar opportunities like that of men," said Arun Rungta, CEO, Digital Equipment.

Most channel partners feel the scheme is different from others where laptops and gadgets were distributed without any eligibility criteria. They feel the move is not to gain vote bank but to set a basic qualification and test to receive this state sponsored donation.