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Indian Government Mulls Giving Away Mobile Phones To the Poor

Posted by samzenpus on from the let-them-eat-phones dept.

jalfreize writes "The Indian government is finalizing a $1.2 billion plan to hand out free mobile phones to the poorest Indian families (around six million households, according to some estimates). The Times of India reports: 'Top government managers involved in formulating the scheme want to sell it as a major empowerment initiative... While the move will ensure contact with the beneficiaries of welfare programmes (sic) ..., there is also a view the scheme will provide an opportunity for the (government) to open a direct line of communication with a sizable population that plays an active role in polls.'"

17 of 104 comments (clear)

  1. I would guess.. by lordfoul · · Score: 2

    So they can track them and listen in on their calls.

    1. Re:I would guess.. by William+Robinson · · Score: 5, Informative

      No. This is done typically in India, just before elections, to make sure the voters forget their inefficiency and incompetency while choosing their leaders. This is nothing, compared to 80000 Crore rupees (US$ 20.8 billion) loan waiver before previous elections.

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      hilarious
  2. why is it programmes (sic)? by acidfast7 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Programmes" is proper British English.

    1. Re:why is it programmes (sic)? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Indeed. The [sic] here does serve a useful purpose though. It lets us know the submitter is illiterate.

    2. Re:why is it programmes (sic)? by LordSnooty · · Score: 3, Interesting

      There's an interesting tale behind the word "programme" and its use to describe television or radio shows.

      When TV & radio listings were first printed regularly in the (London) Times in the 1930s, the listings were headed thus: "Television and Radio Programmes". But if you read news reports on the topic you'd see that "programme" was used in its traditional sense, i.e. this is a list of the programme of events. The individual shows they struggled to give a name to, as "show" or "series" hadn't gained wide usage (new technology after all).

      But eventually that heading stuck and people interpreted it to mean "programmes" as in "a list of programmes on today". So programme gradually gained traction in the UK as the term for an individual edition of a show. Well into the 60s the Times was still heading its listings in the same way, and by then the term was in widespread use.

      Of course in later years, the computer program would come into being, and as much of the theory and early development came from the USA, their spelling stuck when describing a set of instructions interpreted by a computer. That almost goes back to the original meaning of a distinct set of events addressed as a whole. But it means that in the UK we are now saddled with "program" to describe a set of computer instructions and "programme" to describe a single edition of a TV or radio show (and indeed a magazine sold at music concerts or sports events, or a set of individual events combined to make a programme).

      I'm not sure but I don't think "program" is used heavily in the US to describe TV shows, and it's an interesting example of how new technology can change the use of long-established words, even in just one part of the English-speaking world.

  3. "programmes (sic)" by cupantae · · Score: 5, Informative

    "programme" is the British English spelling, and the predominate form outside of North America.

    Just so you know.

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    1. Re:"programmes (sic)" by SteveFoerster · · Score: 2

      Outside the U.S., you mean. Canadians are closer to British usage than American, and in the English-speaking Caribbean British English is de rigueur.

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      Space game using normal deck of cards: http://BattleCards.org
  4. No electricity... by neither_geek_nor_ner · · Score: 3, Insightful

    When there is no electricity supply in the villages, this is an innovative way of giving 'power' to the people!

    1. Re:No electricity... by acidfast7 · · Score: 2

      6 million phones is much easier than what you are asking for (sanitation/housing/food supply infrastructure.) In fact, for a few USD/phone (including infrastructure), everyone is connected in manner that occurs by TV in the west (news/weather/warnings by SMS)

    2. Re:No electricity... by HungryHobo · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Something I found interesting: in rural areas in africa and india there is now such a thing as traveling charger and internet access men.

      someone comes round the village once a week with a small generator or similar and often a few other things like a satalite dish and tools for some some repairs to electronics.

      He comes round, people pay a few pence to charge their phones or some other small electronics or to send a few emails. (a very important service since it means families can keep in contact when a few of the kids have gone off to work in the cities)

      It's hard to organise food, clean water, sanitation and housing without people being able to talk to each other.

    3. Re:No electricity... by 91degrees · · Score: 2

      Technology itself isn't banned by the Amish. They even use some modern farming equipment. Just that it's pulled by horses. A lot of specific technologies are for various reasons, usually to do with preserving the community or to prevent the sin of pride.

      The Amish objection to electricity is primarily that they're opposed to connection to the outside world. They've always been allowed to use phones, but not allowed to have them in the household (i.e. they can go to a public telephone on the edge of the community).

  5. Most likely someone is getting paid by Shivetya · · Score: 2, Insightful

    like similar programs in the US, some politician is setting themselves up to get something back. Where in the US it is in the form of campaign contributions given the graft and out right corruption in India I would not doubt there is a whole chain of companies and politicians just giddy with this proposal.

    Far too many programs which help the poor merely use their backs and nothing is really done to not keep them poor

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    * Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
  6. Re:(sic) by Chrisq · · Score: 3, Informative

    what's with these Wanker's who quote an article then correct it with a '(sic)'. So the original article had a spellen (sic) mistake, who gives a fcuk (sic) . Live with it. We don't care that you know your proper English. Live with it wanker

    Its not even a mistake, its British English

  7. Re:They are creating jobs by million_monkeys · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Someone will have to manufacture the six million phones, batteries, sim cards and power adapters.....

    How thoughtful of India to create all those jobs for Chinese children.

  8. Stupid Indian government by roman_mir · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The Indian government is solely responsible for the poverty in India at this point - all the insane rules and regulations prevent people from investing in India. Starting a business in India is ridiculously difficult compared to other parts of Asia, especially China. Indian government is extremely corrupt in a way that prevents competition and prevents business.

    Government "providing phones to the poor" - what a ridiculous concept.

    Do you know who is the best to provide for the poor? The businessmen who are looking for profit. How come the phones were impossible to own when it was a government monopoly with AT&T for most of the last century, but then when the gov't allowed the competition, all of a sudden the people could finally own phones, phones became cheap, ubiquitous, there were all these new features. From answering machines and radio phones to buttons on the phones, different colours (not just your beige). Eventually fax machines, modems and cell phones and now smart phones.

    Everybody has more than one phone, while the first cell phones could only be afforded by the top wealthiest individuals, who could pay a few thousand bucks for one and then hundreds or thousands per month in usage fees.

    Cell phones are so cheap today, if competition and business was actually allowed to exist in a FREE market (without government interference) in India, there would be even cheaper phones there, maybe a few dollars for a phone, maybe 1 dollar, who knows.

    Government is going to do it? How? It's NOT going to create a better cheaper phone, it's going to pay more for some existing phone, it's going to give some monopoly license to some company that has people in government and it's going to overpay obviously, while interfering with the free market further, reducing the competition with this government subsidy.

    Eventually the people in India won't PAY for the cell phone, so it means almost no cell phone retailer will exist in India, and so the cell phones in India will be ridiculously expensive - subsidised by taxes and inflation, borrowing (taxes + interest) and so instead of a couple of bucks for a phone it will be the destruction of economy.

    Well, they won't destroy the economy just with this program, it's what they do overall that is the same thing as with these phones that will prevent their economy from rising.

    Poverty in India? It's the government that causes is, like all poverty around the world. It's the governments of those nations that cause it and prevent it from being reduced by the competition, free market, vibrant businesses started by individual entrepreneurs without gov't interference.

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    You can't handle the truth.
  9. Re:With the level of corruption in India ... by hihihihi · · Score: 2, Funny

    photographed... just that!?! you are just humiliating us sir!

    they will initially be photographed and on front page tomorrow. by evening 5 of the 12 phones will develop some "technical" issue. As this happens, opposition will uproar about the quality of phones. by weekend, there will be a leaked tape circulating in media about backroom deals involved in buying of these phones. Of course, there will be demand for "very high level" enquiry from opposition and govt. critical media types, and ofcource, govt. will try to calm people that there is nothing major and that just a "high level" enquiry should be sufficient. Finally, maybe within next 5-6 years, a "judicial enquiry" will be setup, submitting its first report in next 10-12 years.
    in the meantime, by next month, there will be some people on road asking govt. to come clean. after some he said-she said, and some roiting, govt. will decide maybe this needs to be done better. After a loan of 2.4 Billion USD, a study will be done how this should be done better.
    Ah! and those 12 students... how can we forgot those poor souls. Complete analysis will be done on what is their caste/ creed/ social group/ religion/ state are. The one less represented have all rights to demand more, including state level strikes. But certainly, the ones which are over-represented will deny the claim saying they are still less and need more phone.

    and you think just photographed... talk about knowing other cultures
    (Disclaimer: me no govt. employees, so some few issues might have been left out)

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    everyone downmodding this post will be prosecuted for reading my post without first buying a license!!!
  10. Re:With the level of corruption in India ... by punit_r · · Score: 2

    This is exactly what the GP claims it to be. A populist measure before the election campaigns start. Only difference being that it is happening at the Central Government level instead of being limited to a few state governments till now.

    There have been numerous such pre-election promises and surprisingly they work. Few examples in the recent state election in south Indian states for freebies

    "Taking the war of freebies to a new high, AIADMK manifesto for April 13 Assembly elections today promised 20 kg of free rice for ration-card holders, laptops for students from classes XI, free fans, mixers and grinders to all and mineral water to BPL families."

    "free grinders to 35 kg free rice every month for 1.6 million poor families, free bus passes for senior citizens to free laptops for Dalit engineering students, increase in old age pension to new insurance scheme for fishermen"