The promise and potential of free Wi-Fi: Rajgarh District shows the way

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When the Internet is offered as a utility and free of charge, the results can be extraordinary. Rajgarh District in Madhya Pradesh is aiming to become the first district in the country to offer free Wi-Fi to all its people

By Mohd Ujaley

Recently Rajgarh, a district in Madhya Pradesh made headlines for turning its three remote villages into free Wi-Fi hamlets in the country without any government funding. IT professionals, Shakeel Anjum and Bhanu Yadav along with Tushar Bharthare and Abhishek Bharthare left their plush jobs at MNCs to formally launched the services on January 1 after a two-month trial run. Inspired by the project, the district administration is now aiming to be the first district in the Madhya Pradesh to offer free Wi-Fi services.

“Yes, we are aiming to become the first Wi-Fi district. It will involve the effort of various entrepreneurs, social organisations and administration,” Tarun Kumar Pithode, district collector, Rajgarh told EC.

While many innovative ideas have been discussed on how to do it, the district administration is broadly mulling on three ideas. One is to promote volunteer organisations like the one done in the panchayat Bawadikheda, but they are not sure about the sustainability of the project. If sponsors come onboard, then the model could be sustainable in the future.

The other model is to let it be free for the entrepreneurs to implement and levy a basic user charge. This may involve complex issues of licenses and therefore legal modalities are still being worked out. The third model involves helping the local bodies to implement such a service. “We are working on details of all such models. There could be two other ways also, but it is still in the process of development and discussion,” says Pithode.

Pithode, a 2009 batch IAS officer, who recently joined as a district collector is wary of the fact that most of the e-governance project in many cases have not delivered the anticipated outcomes. Therefore, to bridge the gap between conceived outcome and actual delivery, Rajgarh is only looking to implement the most sustainable model. “The gap between planning and delivery is a serious issue, that is why we are of the view that the most sustainable model should be implemented,” states Pithode. He believes that the government should only be facilitators and promoters of various e-services, and the rest of the things should be left to forces of demand and supply.

Broad vision of the district is to provide multiple connectivity options, technology and training so that people’s livelihood in rural areas could be improved. “Our broad vision is to make people capable through various inputs like training and technology to ensure they take the right decisions at the right time leading to improvement in the quality of life for all the residents of the district, especially rural folks,” informs Pithode.

According to government officials, one of the main requirements in a village is information relating to farming, health consultancy and education inputs for the students. “If we can create a low cost Wi-Fi zone, it will ensure that people get these services on their own,” adds Pithode. “My first priority is to ensure that all the schemes of the government are implemented to the satisfaction of the people , as this can create confidence among the masses,” he adds.

It is interesting to note that after the scam broke out at Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (MPPEB), famously known as Vyapam, Pithode was posted there. He turned to technology to plug the loopholes in the system. During the initial few months, he tried to understand the loopholes and then decided to act against the fake selections. “Our analysis revealed that the technology used in the computer section of PEB was too old, yet the word computer made people shy away and led the power be concentrated in few hands. We understood this and decided to modernise the system with the help of the IT department of the Government of Madhya Pradesh,” adds Pithode.

“This involved starting the process of computerisation of all the processes of examinations. We also started the process of introduction of online examinations. This took more than a year starting with an EOI to floating the tender and finalising the party and finally starting the online examinations. Before I left, we had already conducted four examinations involving more than two lakh applicants. This started the era of mass computer based examinations in PEB,” points out Pithode. This experience shows how technology can help in weeding out corruption.

If basic Internet is offered for free, then more people would be aware and knowledgeable. More education related options would be available, and villagers will have an option of conducting business on online forums. Basic Internet connectivity can lead to a transformational effect as it can empower better decision making, and encourage better inclusion and outreach.

Can Rajgarh become the first district in the country to offer free sustainable Wi-Fi services? While these are early days, the best part is that a beginning has been made, and hopefully will inspire several other villages and districts to experiment and try out different models for providing affordable or free Internet services.

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The article first appeared in print edition of Express Computer magazine, February 2016 issue. Read it here : Express Computer, February, 2016 

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