Weekly news roundup - Asia, 16 September 2007

Created By: vignesh on 16-Sep-2007 12:00 AM

Filipino farmer starts to ride on technology wave

The Philippines, an island nation in the Southeast Asian region, enables its farmer community to make use of technology. Farmers can freely make use of the Department of Agriculture's (DA) “Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture” through “Mobile Internet Bus” and “Farmers' Information and Technology Services Centres” spread across the country. It has also initiated the one-and-a-half-month online training course on Minus-One-Element-Technique (MOET), an easy way to diagnose nutrients deficiency in the soil. Implemented by the Philippine Rice Research Institute, the online course is a component project of the Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture Program. According to Arthur C. Yap, Agriculture Secretary, Government of Philippines “the DA plans to put up electronic kiosks and create an e-Portal system to connect various computer centres, which would be set up around the country. In these centres, farmers can check market prices of their commodities and seek business partnerships using the Internet.”

Dubai School to become Wi-Fi enabled

Academia Management Solutions International (AMSI), a leading academic consultancy and media firm based at Dubai, is teaming with technology major Nortel to improve its broadband mobility and multimedia capabilities with an IP network across its International School of Arts and Sciences (ISAS) campus. Deployed in conjunction with Nortel's channel partner, MDS PACC, the new integrated voice and data IP network will support AMSI's "Notebooks for Books" (N4B) project. Through technology and digital integration, the school's initiative has completely transformed classrooms into multimedia wireless learning centers where teachers communicate directly with students via their laptops wherever they are on campus. The N4B initiative replaces traditional chalkboards with interactive whiteboards and school textbooks with e-Books accessed from laptop PCs. The project provides the student an opportunity to think and learn independently from the teacher and to develop the skills they need for the knowledge economy.

Singapore and Indonesia to cooperate in Infocom sector

Singapore and Indonesia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate in the field of information and communications. It will see the two countries working closer on media collaborations, and also in developing the information and communication technology sector. Besides co-productions and sale of media content, both countries will work together on developing e-Government, e-Commerce, e-Education and e-Business platforms. Singapore and Indonesia will set up a joint committee, headed by senior government officials. The committee will meet to set goals, timelines, and to assess the progress of projects agreed upon.

UBI plans biometric ATMs to reach rural masses in India

The United Bank of India (UBI), a leading public sector bank in India, is all set to implement ATMs with biometric devices as the solution in the ongoing effort to offer banking services to the rural masses. Initially the Biometric ATMs would be launched on a pilot basis and will be expanded to other parts of the country. The biometric ATM would be replacing personal identity number (PIN) with thumb impression and a fingerprint scanner would be fitted in the machine, which would recognise the customers' thumb impression. This would enable the identification of a rural depositor and subsequently, it would be possible for the rural illiterate people to be a part of banking user community. The bank is going all out in providing a user-friendly banking experience, as a part of the Financial Inclusion process.

Buses connect remote Orissa Villages to Wi-Fi, India

In Orissa, a state situated on the east coast of India, the state transport bus service is contributing to Internet connectivity. Every time the bus passes through Raghurajpur village in the state, it becomes the villagers' ticket to Internet connectivity. The bus is fitted with a Wi-Fi box and is a source of help to many villagers. The United Villages kiosk in Raghurajpur is equipped with a Wi-Fi antenna and computers, and Mohapatra saves his emails on the hard disk. When the Wi-Fi enabled bus passes through Raghurajpur, it picks up his email and delivers it to a nearby town with Internet connectivity. The United Village concept is also called Daknet, or Internet Post, and the bus is like a postman. It connects 25 remote villages in Orissa to already Internet-enabled areas. The Daknet service is not real-time click and surf, but it is still a step towards creating one big global village.

Reuters Market Light plans to extend reach via SMS to rural India and Africa

Global information service provider Reuters has started Reuters Market Light, an initiative to reach the rural community in India. The service provides information on crop prices, weather updates and other agri-related news via SMS. The service, which began in April 2007, is available in Maharashtra with over 7,000 registered members. According to Amit Mehra, MD, Reuters Market Light “the company is looking at extending this service to Punjab, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, among others. It is also building a platform to sell information that would help the rural community take better decision on harvesting, selling and even sowing. Market Light has tied up with the Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board to provide prices of wheat, tur dal, soyabean and onion”. Mehra claimed that Market Light has enabled the farmers to negotiate better prices and its business model has been well established. If effective in India, Reuters will extend this service to African countries.

Qualcomm mapping out 4 rural connectivity projects to rural India

Technology major Qualcomm Inc is planning four new initiatives under its Wireless Reach Initiative to provide connectivity and applications to rural India. The projects will use wireless technology to offer relevant services to the rural people. One of the new projects is being firmed up in association with the Azim Premji Foundation. The company had recently announced a pilot project in Tamil Nadu called Fisher Friend that provides real time information regarding weather and price to fishermen. The company has roped in M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Tata Teleservices, and Astute Systems Technologies for this project. Fisher Friend provides access to a menu of services on specifically designed mobile handsets uniquely focused on fishing communities such as sea wave heights and satellite scan data about fish shoals. The company had earlier announced an alliance with the NASSCOM Foundation to provide CDMA-based wireless Internet connectivity solutions to 65 Village Resource Centres under NASSCOM Foundation’s Rural Knowledge Network Program. Qualcomm has also given a grant of $100,000 to Tata Consultancy Services to design a mobile application to help farmers increase their crop yield.

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