<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-SIZE: 11pt" lang=EN-SG>Now thatOLPC has been operative in India for a little over year, may be its time to take stock of the situation.<BR><BR>We heard about state governments ordering 250k laptops. But the central government has made no announcement if they have released any funds as yet.<BR><BR>Part of the reason may be the elections and the model code of conduct. A new minister may take his own time to assess the situation. However, the media has had some positive stories.<BR><BR>The government has not abandoned its low cost laptop project as yet though we do ot hear much about it got discredited and even Sam Pitroda called it "ridiculous".<BR><BR>It will be great to learn about the stateof this initiative.<BR><BR>Based on what we hear about it, it looks as follows.. and it will be good to have considered views on this forum..<BR><BR><STRONG>Challenges<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></STRONG></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol" lang=EN-SG><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-SIZE: 11pt" lang=EN-SG>Typical challenges of decision making in a functioning democracy with a multi-party political system<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol" lang=EN-SG><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-SIZE: 11pt" lang=EN-SG>Media and non-profit activism makes decision making even more deliberated and discussed<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol" lang=EN-SG><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-SIZE: 11pt" lang=EN-SG>An ambitions<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>government programs to fix the poor school systems has been celebrated to have made some initial ‘visible’ results – expectations are high – this may lead to questions being raised on why a new thought needs to be entertained when an in-progress activity is delivering results<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol" lang=EN-SG><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-SIZE: 11pt" lang=EN-SG>Typical questions of why a laptop when even basics like food, shelter and clothes are not available continue to exist<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-SIZE: 11pt" lang=EN-SG><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-SIZE: 11pt" lang=EN-SG><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-SIZE: 11pt" lang=EN-SG>What needs to be done?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol" lang=EN-SG><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-SIZE: 11pt" lang=EN-SG>Demonstrate proof of outcomes through credible sources – work with company CSR initiatives with established non-profits to create small, but credible case studies<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol" lang=EN-SG><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-SIZE: 11pt" lang=EN-SG>Be visible in the media – associate clearly with ‘education’ not just laptops <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.75in; mso-list: l2 level2 lfo2" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Courier New'; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Courier New'" lang=EN-SG><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">o<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-SIZE: 11pt" lang=EN-SG>We need public discussions around why current education systems, even if fixed, are not enough to provide underprivileged children access to opportunities<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol" lang=EN-SG><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-SIZE: 11pt" lang=EN-SG>Keep engaging with government – seek smaller contracts to begin with<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol" lang=EN-SG><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-SIZE: 11pt" lang=EN-SG>One BIG visibility thrust – Professor Negroponte’s visit with media coverage<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-SIZE: 11pt" lang=EN-SG><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-SIZE: 11pt" lang=EN-SG><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-SIZE: 11pt" lang=EN-SG>Important<o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol" lang=EN-SG><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-SIZE: 11pt" lang=EN-SG>Recalibrate numbers <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; FONT-SIZE: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol" lang=EN-SG><SPAN style="mso-list: Ignore">·<SPAN style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'"> </SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN style="LINE-HEIGHT: 130%; FONT-SIZE: 11pt" lang=EN-SG>Be patient – the team seems committed – the opportunity is large – the decision making process is slow – democratic debate is active<BR><BR>??<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P><br><A HREF="http://sigads.rediff.com/RealMedia/ads/click_nx.ads/www.rediffmail.com/signatureline.htm@Middle?" target="_blank"><IMG SRC="http://sigads.rediff.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_nx.ads/www.rediffmail.com/signatureline.htm@Middle"></A>