<div>We need to think differently about the issues.. not from how we see when we are in the government where our role is how to stop a good idea from happening.. Rather we need to think of how to make a good idea work..</div>
<div> </div>
<div>While I do not agree with nearly any of the observations made below and am witnessing how things can be and are being changed, I would prefer some other members of this group to take it forward.<br><br></div>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Sat, Nov 1, 2008 at 2:21 PM, K. K. Subramaniam <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:subbukk@gmail.com">subbukk@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">
<div class="Ih2E3d">> What is wrong with using a $188 computer as collateral for the loan to<br>> buy it?<br></div>The asset depreciates 60% every year. So a long term loan from banks on<br>commercial terms is ruled out.<br>
<div class="Ih2E3d"><br>> What about the economic opportunities that it opens up for<br>> families, even before their children go through school? I want<br>> computers for preschoolers, to be paid back out of the economic growth<br>
> of the entire community.<br></div>Yes, that is possible but a lot more infrastructure (particularly in micro<br>power generation and communication) needs to get into place before computers<br>can become economically viable. The communication infrastructure will be in<br>
place in the next few years. There are people working on the micro power<br>generation problem (see <a href="http://www.selco-india.com/" target="_blank">www.selco-india.com</a>) but we still don't have our arms<br>around the problem.<br>
<div class="Ih2E3d"><br>> > 2. INR 15,000 is a huge amount for most people. Capital is expensive in<br>> > India and educational loans would cost upwards of 11%. Over a decade the<br>> > loan amount would triple. An XO would depreciate long before a decade.<br>
><br>> You are assuming that computers for schoolchildren have no economic<br>> value.<br></div>Incorrect. My statement was that children will not be able to generate enough<br>money to compensate for interest cost and deprecation in the asset value. The<br>
situation gets better for the 14+ age group but that is not where the bulk<br>of the problem lies.<br>
<div class="Ih2E3d"><br>> This turns out not to be the case. Elementary school children<br>> have been found to be doing agricultural research for their families<br>> on the Internet.<br></div>Children in the 14+ age group also earn money doing chores around the village,<br>
but what about younger children? Basic education for young children should<br>not be tied to their ability to earn money.<br>
<div class="Ih2E3d"><br>> Anybody who makes anything that can be sold outside<br>> the community, such as art, music, clothing, crafts, and much more,<br>> can get into e-commerce on sites such as Overstock.com, Shopping.com,<br>
> eBay.com, and others. People in microfinance programs connected with<br>> e-commerce have been known to go from an income of $1/day to $6/hour.<br></div>Yes. but power and communication infrastructure is not yet in place to enable<br>
this to happen. It will take a few more years. Again this model will work for<br>older children but not for younger children. There is a law against employing<br>young children in commerce.<br><br>Subbu<br></blockquote></div>
<br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>-- Satish Jha <br>President & CEO<br>One Laptop per Child, OLPC India<br>One Cambridge Center,<br>Cambridge, MA 02142<br>T: 301 841 7422<br>F: 301 560 4909<br>IN: +91 98 75 68 39 50<br><a href="http://www.laptop.org">www.laptop.org</a><br>
_________________________________<br><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satish_Jha">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satish_Jha</a><br>