Driving infotech to the masses

Kavitha Vivek in Bangalore

It's all about a small man with a big dream. Mr K Muthu Kumar, who took VRS after 17 years of service in the state police department, today devotes his time to bridging the ever-increasing ‘digital divide’ between the IT haves and have nots.

Vibrant Mobile Computer Lab (VMCL) is the vehicle identified by Mr Kumar to realise his dream of narrowing down the rural-urban gap in the cyber space.

Mr Kumar who designed the concept all by himself is now calling for a close association with the government and corporate sector especially MNCs, manufacturing companies, ISPs, PC manufacturers and the IT sector to support and sponsor the project.

The VMCL project is aimed at taking basic IT and fundamental education (for standard 1 to 12) to the rural sector in Karnataka and later across the country. Formulated by basing on a ‘moving camp’ format, VMCL project is designed to be executed on a flat bed trailer with a transparent body on which a fully equipped lab complete with plasma projection screen and 42 computers on board and Internet connectivity through VSAT and dial up.

“This project has been completely designed and put together by me. Close to Rs 12 lakh of personal funds have gone into the project and we are looking at launching the first truck in Karnataka to go around the taluks, district headquarters and Bangalore districts. Later another truck will be launched for the North Karnataka region. The first truck is set to roll out as soon as the project gains support,” Mr Kumar said.
Interestingly, the promoter has also applied for a patent for the project and has also applied for a registration at the National Innovation Foundation besides having approached the Union IT ministry in New Delhi to provide an opportunity for the project to extend beyond Karnataka.
“The idea is to ask for industry’s help for this noble cause. It is not a business with revenue generation in mind. What we will offer to sponsors in return is advertising avenues through brand/logo/trademark promotion on the truck. What the project is looking for is to get support for day to day operations from the corporate sector and also equipment,” he added.
As part of the expansion plan, the project is currently in the process of approaching institutions to raise a total of Rs 80 lakh. Incidentally, the Karnataka state government has endorsed the project and is likely to lend active support.