Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

In what is being regarded as a major milestone in <keyword id="6360789" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Modi-Government">Modi government</keyword>’s <keyword id="2412682" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Digital-India-mission">Digital India mission</keyword>, bank accounts of 10 crore people have been linked with their <keyword id="144117" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="AADHAAR">Aadhaar</keyword> card numbers. The move would allow these individuals to digitally receive government welfare subsidies and other payments in a hassle-free manner directly into their bank accounts. 
 
If the person moves to another part of India, they can access these subsidies as the facility is portable across any bank in the country. Till date, 333 banks are live on this platform. 
 
In order to link Aadhaar number to the bank account, one needs to provide a copy of their Aadhaar letter or their e-Aadhaar to the bank branch in which he/she holds the account. Once the account is seeded, it can be used by central government departments to transfer subsidies directly into this bank account. 
 
And just by dialling *99*99# on their mobile phones, residents can check status of the Aadhaar-Bank account linkage. To avail this facility, which is provided by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), you need to pay Rs 1.50 per enquiry. 
 
The Aadhaar identity platform is the largest biometric database in the world and serves users ranging from LPG consumers, MNREGA workers, PDS, remittance and scholarship beneficiaries, etc. – all using their Aadhaar number to avail benefits. 
 
Till December 9, 2014, nearly eight crore transactions have been carried out through the Aadhaar Payment Bridge for various welfare programs of the BJP government, which amounted to Rs 5,151.51crore. 
 
On Dec 12, 2014, issuance of Aadhaars crossed the Rs 72 crore-mark across the country. 
 The <keyword id="86474" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Unique-Identification-Authority-of-India">Unique Identification Authority of India</keyword> (<keyword id="6355252" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UIDAI">UIDAI</keyword>), which has received national and international acclaim for the Aadhaar project, has also been declared as the best agency for “security in e-governance,” as per a press release available on Press Information Bureau. 
(Image: The Economic Times)

A Step Toward Digital India: 10 Crore Aadhaars Linked To Bank Accounts

Tomorrow is the D-day for India to become Digital, literally. But did you arrive late in the <keyword id="2926641" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="DigitalIndia">#DigitalIndia</keyword> marathon? We give you all the details to join the race at its full speed. 
 
 
1. A mission without a vision is as meaningless as a pen without ink. 
 
 
 
2. Nine pillars of strength. 
 
 
3. Simple and short. Nothing speaks more about the mission than these few small words. 
 
 
 
4. What does it mean for the citizens? So will it be another of those innumerable schemes which are launched every year by each government? Find it out yourself by going through these brilliant initiatives. More are yet to come in the future, promised <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>. 
 
The main initiative would be Digital Locker. Here is an info-graphic that tells you all about it. 
 
 
 
 
 
The other attraction is the initiative that makes it easier and quicker to get scholarships. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. <keyword id="1929810" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Digital-India">Digital India</keyword> campaign or rather the paperless India campaign has already got a face today. It is beautiful ofcourse, but what strikes the most is the design which speaks out loud about the motive. Here comes the logo! 
 
 
So get your gears ready; less than a day left for the big makeover. 
 
(image credits: Twitter (@PIB_India), indiatoday)

All you need to know about the Digital India campaign

New Delhi, Dec 17 () The government on Tuesday promised broadband access in all villages by 2022, as it launched the ambitious National Broadband Mission entailing stakeholder investment of Rs 7 lakh crore in the coming years.
 The mission will facilitate universal and equitable access to broadband services across the country, especially in rural and remote areas. It also involves laying of incremental 30 lakh route km of Optical Fiber Cable and increase in tower density from 0.42 to 1 tower per thousand of population by 2024.
 The mission unveiled by Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will also aim at significantly improving quality of services for mobile and internet.
 "By 2022, we will take broadband to all the villages of India...The number of towers in the country which is about 5.65 lakh will be increased to 10 lakh," Prasad said.
 The mission also envisages increasing fiberisation of towers to 70 per cent from 30 per cent at present, he added.
 The mission will enable strengthening of technological infrastructure for education, health, entrepreneurship and development, he said.
 "We will also take the speeds up to 50 Mbps is a phased manner," Prasad promised.
 He urged the states to extend full support to the mission, to take benefits of technology (fuelled by high speed connectivity) to people.
 The mission will envisage stakeholder investment of USD 100 billion (Rs 7 lakh crore) including Rs 70,000 crore from Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) in coming years.
 Overall, the broadband mission aims to fast-track growth of digital communications infrastructure, bridge the digital divide, facilitate digital empowerment and inclusion, and provide affordable and universal access of broadband for all. It will lay emphasis on universality, affordability and quality of services.
 The centre will work with states and UTs for having consistent policies pertaining to expansion of digital infrastructure including for Right of Way (RoW) approvals required for laying of optical fibre cable.
 The mission also involves Development of Broadband Readiness Index to measure the availability of digital communications infrastructure, and foster conducive policy ecosystem within a State/UT.
 It will also strive for creation of a digital fiber map of the communications network and infrastructure, including Optical Fiber Cables and Towers, across the country. MBI ANU

Govt promises broadband access in all villages by 2022; launches National Broadband Mission

<keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> launched his 1.13 lakh crore <keyword id="1929810" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Digital-India">Digital India</keyword> initiative on July 3 with a vision to digitally empower each and every citizen of the country. Though the plan is ready and we are good to go, but is it that easy to transform words written on a ‘white paper’ into a reality? Know all about the challenges of the grand mission before putting your foot forward to become digitally empowered. 1. The foremost challenge is to increase digital literacy in the country. 
 “When you talk about Digital India, the first step is access to high quality broadband and at least a smartphone. Combination of access to affordable broadband, smart devices and monthly data packages should be there to avail all the facilities of the campaign,” said Rama Vedashree, Vice President of Domestic IT, IT services, <keyword id="6372077" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nasscom">Nasscom</keyword>. 
 
2. But to make broadband affordable and accessible, one needs to keep in mind certain ground realities. India is a diversified country, in terms of language, culture, laws which vary from states to states. Complete integration, that is integration of technology and language, is one of the main challenges the mission would face in its implementation. 
 
“Every state and every community has a different prescribed method by which they address governmental communications from both sides. Standardisation of the network would be a tedious task,” said Pratap Padode, Founder Director, Smart Cities Council India. 
 
3. There are different internet protocols in different states depending on what kind of hardware and software they implement and chances are that this might lead to connectivity glitches. Hence, there must be some sort of a directive to standardise all the software protocols. 
 
“It should be on open source basis, rather than propriety and it should be in the guidelines. If they are to take propriety solutions, it would not only be difficult to integrate it across the states, it would be more cumbersome and expensive,” he added. 
 
4. We live in a world where Internet and cyber crime are inseparable enemies. The entire architecture should be designed in such a way that there is proper authentication done of all the documents put online by citizens and it is available to the right users at any time they want with the right authentication. But how can we ensure cyber security if the country does not have any privacy norms? 
 Rama said that although the entire digital platform is being managed by the government organisation, <keyword id="6373306" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="National-Informatics-Centre">National Informatics Centre</keyword>, we need to understand those rules and regulations. 
 
“I don’t think they have published what the services and the agreements are and how do they make sure that there are no privacy breaches. Security in the platform, at the end users side and conformity with strict privacy norms should be there together to take care of digital hacking,” she said. 
 
Besides, there is not enough information and education of people in terms of what is data stealing and privacy breach. 
 
“Training is needed. There should be some sort of a regulation for training in the industry,” said Pratap. 
 
Rama also added that for a first time user awareness needs to be built on what it takes to be safe on cyber security. Digital literacy should be coupled with country wise drive on cyber security awareness, so that users have a safe experience on the internet. 
 
5. To get the fruits of the Digital India initiative, there should be efficient inter-governmental coordination. Although the Department of Electronics and IT (DeitY) is leading it forward, there is an active involvement of telecommunication, justice, finance and planning, health department et al. Without a smooth teamwork between them, this mission would never be implemented to its full strength. 
 
6. Though India has every necessary resource required to implement it, the government needs to realise the strong capability being built in the private sector and needs to leverage that. 
 
“If everything needs to be done by government agencies, I personally think that there would be many bottle necks at some point,” said Rama. 
 
7. The initiatives started under National Optical Fibre networks, which is a very important facet to Digital India that ensures broadband reaches every nook and corner of the country, needs to be accelerated so that optical fibre-reach to the rural villages too. The reach is not yet country wide. 
 
8. Pratap said that in terms of finances, there is the issue of last mile connectivity. We have 250,000 gram panchayats, where we need to establish broadband connection and it is no easy task, especially being one of the worst among the 29 nations in terms of wireless connectivity. 
 
9. The Digital India plan comes at a time when the debate of <keyword id="6391709" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Net-neutrality">net neutrality</keyword> has still not been resolved. Net neutrality is important for entrepreneurs, who play a major role in this whole campaign, said Pratap. Hence, it is of utmost importance that the debate be resolved at the earliest. 
 
These challenges indicate that Digital India has a long way to go on its road to reality in its truest sense. The government cannot overstep them, no matter how trivial they might seem to be. 
 
(image credits: Twitter (@PIB_India))

Challenges of Digital India: Some heads-up for Narendra Modi

<keyword id="6360789" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Modi-Government">Modi government</keyword>'s investment in technology for the year 2014-15 is an estimated $26 billion comprising of investment in digitization, infrastructural improvements, push for manufacturing and technology in healthcare &amp; agriculture, says a report by market research firm Zinnov. 
 The report, which assesses first 100 days of the <keyword id="6360789" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Modi-Government">Modi government</keyword> and highlights the impacts it has had so far. The new government plans to take digitalization to the next level by implementing the digitalization of agriculture &amp; PDS data, enabling e-governance &amp; m-governance, facilitating the <keyword id="2412665" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="National-Rural-Internet-and-Technology-Mission">National Rural Internet and Technology Mission</keyword>, using IT for real time information gathering, and the digitization of all government files, the report states. 
 In the past, the government has engaged multiple MNCs such as <keyword id="10875" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IBM">IBM</keyword>, HP and <keyword id="6390344" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Cisco">Cisco</keyword> for digitization projects. Digital India, India as the Innovation Hub, Next Gen Infrastructure, Enhance Ease of Doing Business, and Revive Manufacturing - will be executed by a focus on 3S – skill, scale and speed propelled by technology, Zinnov said. 
 
Talent Availability (85,000 Graduates from Top tier Engineering institutes, 1.2 million engineers graduated in 2014) Entrepreneurial Indian mindset (4000+ active technology startups 150 Startup incubators 49 Million SMEs/SMBs operating in India), Strong Democratic Fiber (Well defined electoral processes) and Communication Infrastructure (200 million internet users, 2nd largest number of telecom users) are considered India’s 4 Growth Pillars. 
 
“The stage is all set to create long term sustainable growth and reposition India on the global map with strategies like minimum government, maximum governance; empowering the poor; digital India and relationship building with Asian nations.” said Praveen Bhadada, Senior Director, Zinnov. 
 
Modi’s governance model has a proven track record of being decisive, reform-oriented and business-friendly. The unprecedented mandate and the positive track record have instilled hope for an economic turnaround in citizens and investors, the report said. 
 
Government has defined a 3-pronged strategy to make India an innovation hub. Firstly through enabling skills by the establishment of more premier institutes such as IITs and IIMs and the development of innovation accelerators supported by innovation infrastructure. An innovative ecosystem fosters high quality research. Secondly, giving proximity to customers will accelerate and improve India centric product development. And finally, innovative ecosystem will also allow joint R&amp;D efforts across industries for accentuated product development. MNCs have been leveraging the Indian innovation ecosystem to develop products for the Indian customers. 
 So far, Technology MNCs have played a crucial role in the establishment of next generation infrastructure. The <keyword id="44734" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indian-Government">Indian government</keyword> plans to <keyword id="47916" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="invest">invest</keyword> $11 billion in the key focus areas to drive the next wave of technology-backed infrastructure growth. The key focus is to create national optical-fibre networks and to build 100 smart cities with high-speed digital highways along with national solar missions and national gas grids.

Government To Create $26 Billion Worth Of Opportunity For Technology Firms

With the <keyword id="1929810" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Digital-India">Digital India</keyword> mission moving from strength to strength, the <keyword id="6354775" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Smartphones">smartphones</keyword> category in India continues to be one of the most hotly contested arenas in online shopping. <keyword id="824043" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Business-Insider">Business Insider</keyword> got in touch with <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> to delve into their sales analysis in regards to smartphones purchases. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/how-india-shopped-on-snapdeal-in-2016/articleshow/56202021.cms">ALSO READ: How India shopped on Snapdeal in 2016</a> 
 
According to the company, 50% of sales in the category are coming from Tier 2 &amp; 3 cities, this is an indication of the fact that higher volumes of smartphone sales are enabling more Indians to come online and as a result, to shop. 
 
<a href="http://Exclusive: This is how you can get free cloud credits on Digital Ocean">ALSO READ: Exclusive: This is how you can get free cloud credits on Digital Ocean</a> 
 
The popularity of smartphones in India, as clearly indicated by #FlipTrends, highlight the shift consumers are making towards 4G enabled smartphones. Today consumers are opting for brands and models that could not just offer them the features, but are affordable as well. 
Some interesting insights in this category are: 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/these-are-the-five-gadgets-you-should-buy-before-the-year-ends/articleshow/56184857.cms">ALSO READ: These are the five gadgets you should buy before the year ends</a> 
 
What sells 
 
Top 5 Selling Brands: 
 - <keyword id="13722" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lenovo">Lenovo</keyword> 
- MI - <keyword id="10591" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Samsung">Samsung</keyword> - <keyword id="11148" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Motorola">Motorola</keyword> 
- LeEco 
 
Top 5 Selling Phones: 
 
- Redmi 3S Prime 
- Redmi Note 3 
- Moto E 3 Power 
- Lenovo K5 
- Samsung J5

Here are the five top selling smartphones on Flipkart

After leading the baton of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=narendra+modi">Prime Minister Narendra </a><a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=narendra+modi">Modi</a>’s <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=digital+india">Digital India mission</a>, now, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Karnataka-government-sets-yet-another-example-access-4187-services-on-single-App/articleshow/48099007.cms">Karnataka’s Department of E-Governance</a> is showing promptness in rolling out services under the e-District program. 
 
As reported by The Economic Times, the state is all set to introduce 376 government services under the banner. Surprisingly, the count of services is four times more than BJP-ruled Maharashtra, where the number is limited to 85. This is the highest count in the country as of now. 
 <keyword id="2637574" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rathan-U-Kelkar">Rathan U Kelkar</keyword>, CEO of <keyword id="6354780" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Karnataka">Karnataka</keyword>’s <keyword id="1391650" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Centre-for-E-Governance">Centre for E-Governance</keyword>, told ET, "Other states have started earlier, but we feel we are in line with the requirements of Digital India as many of our departments are already ready with a lot of these services. We are integrating all of them on the e-district platform and with this; we will be number one in e-services in the country." 
 
The services in the e-District program will take account of services related to revenue department, motor vehicles department, education, police, forest, industries, Backward Classes department, registration of vehicles and land, among others. 
 
To avail the services, all that a native of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Karnataka">Karnataka </a>would have to do is visit a citizen service centre like the one in Banglore or Atal Janasnehi Kendra and provide a few relevant documents. The franchisee running the centre will do the rest of the required documentation and will sent it across to the concerned department via Internet. 
 
Kelkar informed, "We will have about 5,000 such centers in the state, almost one for each gram panchayat. The citizen will ask for his requirement, the franchise will upload all documents and send it. The concerned department will process it and an SMS will go to the citizen after a few days saying your document is ready and you can go to the centre. It will be digitally signed and handed over to him." 
 
In addition to this, the state is looking to cover 1,200 services in the next stage of this project. "For this, we have to sit with the departments, understand their back-end processes and figure out how best we can onboard all of these 1,200 services that we have listed," he added.

Congress-ruled Karnataka to lead Modi’s ‘Digital India’ initiative

<ul><li><keyword id="270252" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="GoDaddy">GoDaddy</keyword> launches a new campaign with <keyword id="10972319" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="brand-ambassador-ms-dhoni">brand ambassador MS Dhoni</keyword>.</li><li>The campaign is conceptualised by Tilt Brand Solutions.</li></ul>GoDaddy has launched a new integrated marketing campaign encouraging small local businesses in the country to create an online presence for their business. Aligned with the government’s ‘Vocal for Local’ mission, GoDaddy aims to support local businesses in India by helping them build their own website easily and at an affordable price. For this campaign, GoDaddy will be working with its current brand ambassador in India and one of the world’s most renowned cricketers, <keyword id="6354832" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ms-dhoni">MS Dhoni</keyword>. He will be seen in the character of Bijness Bhai, a helpful business mentor, guiding and encouraging small local business owners to build their presence online to reach a larger set of customers and grow their ventures successfully. In line with the company’s commitment to offer support in local languages, the campaign will be available in seven Indian languages, including Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu. This will help spread the message to Indian small business owners and entrepreneurs across multiple geographies in the country. <div type="Youtube" id="KvgrCFGrmAI" title="GoDaddy Complete Online Business Solution | Sports Shop" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KvgrCFGrmAI/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Commenting on his association with GoDaddy, MS Dhoni said “As an aspiring and home-grown entrepreneur myself, I understand how important it is now, more than ever, to have an online presence for your business. Many local small businesses have struggled to survive and grow amidst these difficult times due to lack of digital existence. In this challenging pitch of business, one needs to have the right online tools and solutions to deliver a match-winning performance. I am glad to be associated with GoDaddy again and help inspire local entrepreneurs across the country to have an online presence and grow their businesses digitally.” GoDaddy worked with Tilt Brand Solutions, a Mumbai based creative agency, to conceptualize and create fun and quirky television commercials (TVCs) as part of the campaign. In these TVCs, Dhoni, as the perfect Bijness Bhai, is seen encouraging small local businesses to ‘make in India and sell in full India’ by building a website with GoDaddy’s online tools and solutions. Using an intriguing narrative, this campaign coalesces with the government’s Atma Nirbhar Bharat mission of promoting local small businesses, and GoDaddy’s support for encouraging everyday entrepreneurs to come online. Commenting on the campaign and partnership with MS Dhoni, Nikhil Arora, Managing Director and Vice President, GoDaddy India said, “We are thrilled to have MS Dhoni on board, yet again, for phase 3 of our famous Bijness Bhai marketing campaign. He represents a trusted voice of India with a successful professional journey, as a cricketer and as an Indian entrepreneur. With a strong connect to his local roots; he is the perfect influence for Indian small businesses to dream big. By working with Dhoni, we aim to continue to inspire all local businesses in the country to grow their business with an online presence.” He further added, “2020 has been a challenging year for everyone, especially for small business owners in India. At GoDaddy we are strongly focused on supporting entrepreneurs by helping them come online and build their presence. Taking ahead the ‘Vocal for Local’ mission, we aim to educate small local businesses about the benefits of building an online presence while demonstrating the power of our integrated suite of products and services to help emerging India transform digitally." Currently one of the TVCs has been released on GoDaddy’s official social channels, and will be live across TV and other digital platforms in the coming few days.

GoDaddy launches new marketing campaign with MS Dhoni to inspire local businesses in India

New Delhi, Dec 15 () Chhattisgarh has emerged as the top state in terms of policy and infrastructure readiness and mission mode projects performance, a report by Coeus Age Consulting said on Sunday.
 Chhattisgarh was followed by Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in the tally of top five states, the Digital States of India 2019 report said.
 "Digital India is gradually gaining ground across the country. A phenomenon that was concentrated in a few large states, mostly from the south and west, is now becoming widespread with inclusion from north, east and the north east," Coeus Age CEO Kapil Dev Singh said.
 Madhya Pradesh, which ranked first in 2017, slipped to the fifth spot in this year's study.
 The biggest jump has been made by Haryana, which moved seven places higher to third in 2019 from 10th in 2017.
 Other states and union territories that made big gains in ranks include Goa, Bihar, Chandigarh and Assam, the report said.
 The report is an outcome of an assessment of states and union territories of the country using two broad constructs -- Policy and Infrastructure Readiness (PIR) and Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) performance, it added. 
 The assessment uses 128 parameters across PIR and MMPs, and 15 state specific MMPs were considered for the study, it said. SR RVK

Chhattisgarh tops in policy and infrastructure readiness, mission mode projects performance: Report

How has been the journey so far since you picked up the MD rank at <keyword id="28115" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Intel">Intel</keyword>, South Asia? 
My 18 years (and counting) with Intel has been a wonderful journey. I joined Intel when I was pretty much fresh out of college and the company has taught me everything I know about the business and also made me the person I am today. To me, Intel is like a magical garden with opportunities hidden in every corner. You just need to be hungry enough to look for those and be confident enough to open the door when you find it. The myriad roles I have done at Intel, especially in the first few years, gave me a 360 degree understanding of the business and taught me the importance of collaboration and teamwork, both of which have served me very well. And along the way, I have met some of the smartest and most wonderful people who have helped me grow as an individual and a professional. 
 It was always a dream to get the opportunity to build the <keyword id="54324" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="india-business">India business</keyword>. So when I was told in 2011 that I needed to come back to India, there was absolutely no looking back for me. India is one the most challenging and exciting markets ever and the opportunity to make a difference with technology is much bigger than anywhere else in the world. If India has to make real progress, inclusive growth is a must. For inclusive growth, you have to ensure that every citizen has access to quality education and basic services – be it healthcare or government services. And it is impossible to enable that without technology. Technology, if used right, can empower every citizen to be more successful, productive and contribute greatly to their families, communities and domestic economies. That’s where I see Intel playing a key role in this country. That’s where we want to make a real difference. 
 
I know everyone asks you this, but how is the <keyword id="176127" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Intel-India">Intel India</keyword> business doing? And what we can expect in the coming months on the PC and laptop front from Intel? 
When I think India, I think opportunity. As a country, we are significantly lagging in the use of technology for development and growth. Somewhere, we lost focus and got over-obsessed with devices and hardware. The focus in India needs to be on what we do with the devices and the impact it has on individuals. In that way, we have not even scratched the tip of the iceberg. In fact, I believe that we haven’t even located the iceberg as yet. 
 
The focus in India needs to be on driving real and meaningful usage starting at the grassroots – be it building job skills or finding employment opportunities or finding new markets for small traders or providing preventive healthcare to the masses. Technology is meaningful and useful only when it enables us to be more productive and it makes our lives easier. We have a long way to go to enable that India. What we need is a holistic approach to technology that addresses last-mile access, localised content, digital literacy and, of course, choice of devices to meet different consumer needs. If we get it right, the sum total of the strategy will have more value for the consumers and the industry than the singular focus on hardware or devices that we see in the country. 
 
Regarding devices, the world is moving from the era of personal computers to the era of personal computing. It’s what we do with the technology that becomes much more important than form factors. My belief is – we will see Indian consumers move towards a multi-device lifestyle. The PC, which Andy Grove called the ultimate Darwinian device, will continue to evolve and adapt to changing consumer needs just as it has done all these years. It will get thinner, lighter and capable of doing much more, and the lines between form factors is going to blur. With the innovation we are driving at the CPU level, our partners will have the increased ability to innovate much more around the look and feel and we will see very exciting form factors coming out, based on how consumers are using technology and emerging needs. 
 
A great example is the announcement of 2-in-1 computing. With the launch of the 4th Generation Intel® Core™ processor family, which will drive an unparalleled amount of innovation in the personal computing space, we will see the start of a new era of 2-in-1 computing. A 2-in-1 device works as a PC when you need it and a tablet when you want that, and you’ll soon start seeing a lot of these products in the market. The new Core family delivers the most significant increase in battery life in Intel history with an additional 50% improvement in battery life in active workloads over the previous generation. The 4th generation Intel Core processors, with Intel Iris Graphics, boast up to two times the performance over today’s fastest Intel HD Graphics, thus bringing mobile computing devices to life with built-in, eye-popping visual experiences. All of this is to meet the needs of today’s mobile and multi-tasking consumers. 
 
India is a large market with its set of challenges. Any experience you would like to share where Intel India has done fabulously well? 
Because of our commitment to long-term market development in India, I don’t see the country as a short-term sales opportunity. In fact, that is the biggest mistake one can make. In the short term, the market is and will continue to be one of the most challenging ones we have worked in. But the moment you balance short-term realities with long-term opportunities, the game changes. 
 One example is the <keyword id="1568547" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="National-Digital-Literacy-Mission">National Digital Literacy Mission</keyword> we launched last year. Post my return to the country last year, one of my first observations was that the industry was putting the cart before the horse. We were obsessively focused on just selling what we had, to the audience that was already tech savvy. As a result, it was a market share game for everyone while millions of families were still not connected to the Internet. 
 
There was an urgent need to pull together the industry and focus on creating tomorrow’s users – not just to grow the market but to increase technology usage and impact in the country. NDLM was created with this goal in mind. One of the key reasons why people did not use technology in India was that they did not know what to do with it. The objective of NDLM was to address that and drive digital literacy at the grassroots. Intel’s digital literacy training, Intel® Easy Steps, focuses on integration of technology in our daily lives in very simple ways and this training has received an overwhelming response. Along with our partners, we have worked with over 30 NGOs to train 1.7 million people in India in over a year. 
 
To be successful in India, you have to balance between short-term and long-term priorities, and you have to invest in market creation. These two are my mantras for Intel in India. 
 
Thanks to the new age ultra-books and tablets, the <keyword id="28355" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="PC-market">PC market</keyword> has seen a slow down? Has that affected business? 
As I said above, the personal computer is no longer defined by a form factor. Andy Grove once said that the PC is the ultimate Darwinian device – it will adapt to what consumers need. Right now, computing is evolving and the industry is in a period of transition and hyper-innovation. New shapes like tablets, 2-in-1s and new operating systems are blurring the traditional lines. We now have a much greater choice of devices; we typically own more devices and choose the right one for the task at hand. 
 
When you look across the spectrum of device form factors (i.e., desktop, notebook, Ultrabook, tablet and smartphone) and operating systems, personal computing is evolving and growing. Intel is well positioned to take advantage of the range of computing devices – from the lowest power portable devices to the most powerful data centre servers and everywhere in-between. 
 
In developing the 4th generation Core, Intel was successful in bringing down the power significantly to reach 6W SDP to power the Ultrabooks and will usher in a wave of new 2-in-1 designs. Furthermore, ‘Bay Trail-M’ and ‘Bay Trail-D’, the 22nm SoCs with PC feature sets, will be available later this year for value 2-in-1s, clamshell laptops, desktops and all-in-one computers, ultimately offering users a spectrum of computing products at a variety of affordable price points. Over the last decade, Intel has moved from a company that largely serves the PC industry to one that increasingly provides the vital intelligence inside all things computing. The beauty of all this is that – IF YOU GET IT RIGHT, the sum total of the devices will have more value for the consumers and industry than the individual device itself. That is the business model we are working towards. 
 
If I have to take a shot at predicting the future, I will say that it will see a multitude of devices and they will continue to get smarter, more power-efficient and more intuitive. And they will all have to talk to each other and work together. It is our goal to create that future with relentless innovation. 
 
How important is the rural <keyword id="47445" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Indian-market">Indian market</keyword> for Intel? Any new front that Intel is working on here? 
As per a report by McKinsey, the number of people on the Internet in India will be around 330 million by 2015, making it the 2nd largest base worldwide. However, even with 330 million people connected, we will still be at an Internet penetration of 28%, far less than the projected global average of 43%. To achieve a penetration of nearly 40% by 2015, which would be similar to China’s Internet penetration at that date, India would need to have notched up more than 500 million Internet users. And that is impossible without the participation of rural India. So no debate on that one. 
 
However, the reality is that we cannot expect rural India to adopt the Internet unless and until they see the real relevance. And there lies the challenge. We have to start thinking differently about the market and what it takes to win, with the focus mostly on the following areas: 
 
- Increasing awareness about what the Internet can do in a way that is relevant to the audience. For instance, how farmers can use the Internet to get relevant information like weather details and mandi process to plan their transactions better and increase their earnings. The ability to increase income and productivity will be the most important drivers of faster adoption in the country. 
 
- Innovation at the software and hardware levels is a must to enable solutions that meet the needs of the target audience. As we move beyond the cities, the next wave of users will be largely local language users. 
 
But currently, none of the Indian languages features among the top 10 languages on the Internet. We will need to drive content and application in local languages to cater to the audience. We also need to drive innovations at the interface level to enable more intuitive ways of interacting with technology that simplifies ease of use. For example, the day a farmer can speak to his PC and get the latest weather information in his local language, we will see a real need for technology build up in rural India. The industry will also need to think through ecosystem innovation in areas like alternate power sources as lack of electricity is and will continue to be a key roadblock to Internet adoption and usage. 
 
- Both the government and the industry need to keep striving to bring down the total cost of access. There are several success stories globally where governments have driven special tax incentives or subsidies to accelerate adoption in rural segments, SME and education. These initiatives cannot just be about cheap device as the cost of broadband is the largest piece in the total cost of ownership. Also, given the need to drive inclusive growth, just depending on low-end devices for connectivity is not going to help India. 
 
- Last but not the least, we need to ensure there is last-mile access. While the government lays out the National Fibre Optic Network, there has to be steps taken to work with the industry to drive last-mile access plans. 
 
Currently our focus is more on understanding the rural audience. We are working with select NGO partners to conduct several pilots in rural India to understand how technology can help people. That is the best place to start the thinking. 
 
How do you see the fate of the tablet? It is not doing as well as the smartphone, but is definitely eating into the laptop pie. 
I honestly believe that the form factor innovation is just starting and we have seen nothing yet. I think the verdict is out on tablets as they currently exist – they’re here to stay! Today, consumers lead a highly mobile lifestyle and want to be connected at every step. Tablets and smartphones help them do just that. 
 
However, if you look at the usage aspect of ultra-mobile devices, a large part of the usage is for consumption purposes like reading, checking e-mail, social networking, etc., but when it comes to tasks related to creation, users still need something more and that’s where traditional devices like desktops and laptops come in. Still, a tremendous evolution in form factors in these traditional devices is also happening with all-in-one PCs, Ultrabooks and more recently, with the 2-in-1 devices. Intel is at the forefront of enabling the innovation in the personal computing space in all these areas. 
 
When can we see Intel partnering with major mobile brands such as Samsung and Nokia to launch some really powerful smartphones? 
It should come as no surprise that Intel is broadening its scope and delivering a range of sleek, new devices. We are accelerating our Android efforts overall and have multiple tablet projects in the works with dozens of customers. ASUS recently announced its Fonepad, a 7 inch handheld device powered by the new Intel® Atom™ Z2420 processor with 3G voice and mobile data for all the features of an Android smartphone and the convenience of a larger tablet display. Additionally, Samsung recently shared that its new Samsung Galaxy 3 tablets will be running on our Intel Atom Z2560 (Clover Trail +) processor platform and will offer the Android operating system. Our newest Atom platform, Bay Trail, is optimised for both Windows and Android. So we expect to see a number of these devices in 2013. 
 
How is the partnership with the XOLO brand going? Can we expect more smartphones coming under the same brand? Can you share some features they will have? 
We cannot comment on behalf of Lava on their product roadmap. However, what I can tell you is that the launch of the first Intel processor-based smartphone in the world happened right here in India with the launch of XOLO X900. Today, there are three XOLO phones with Intel processors. 
 
On a personal note, if you had the chance to design a tablet or a smartphone, what features (except the Intel Chipset) would you like to have in it? 
Well, the obvious one is that it will have to be an Intel-based device! But if I got a chance to actually design a device, I would like to create a device for the real India, for the millions of people who may not be fluent in English or may not even be literate, but can tremendously benefit from technology if they could use it. My dream device for India is the one that comes with built-in local language speech recognition capabilities, an intuitive interface that can recognise speech and gestures, thus reducing the need to key in words, and with a battery life that can last all day with a few hours of charging to take into account the sporadic access to power in most parts of the country. And yes, it needs to have the flexibility of a tablet and the performance of a laptop built in.

You Searched For "Digital India mission" and got 10 results

A Step Toward Digital India: 10 Crore Aadhaars Linked To Bank Accounts

BI India Bureau

All you need to know about the Digital India campaign

Usha Rani Das

Govt promises broadband access in all villages by 2022; launches National Broadband Mission

PTI

Challenges of Digital India: Some heads-up for Narendra Modi

Usha Rani Das

Government To Create $26 Billion Worth Of Opportunity For Technology Firms

ET

Here are the five top selling smartphones on Flipkart

Tanya Dubey

Congress-ruled Karnataka to lead Modi’s ‘Digital India’ initiative

BI India Bureau

GoDaddy launches new marketing campaign with MS Dhoni to inspire local businesses in India

BI India Partner

Chhattisgarh tops in policy and infrastructure readiness, mission mode projects performance: Report

PTI

Challenge Lies In Creating Inclusive, Relevant Technology For India: Debjani Ghosh, MD (Sales & Marketing), Intel South Asia

Sulabh Puri

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides