BBC World News 'Click' investigates India's technology challenges and triumphs

In the latest episode of ‘Click’, host Spencer Kelly and the production team travel to India’s technology hub, Bangalore to see the country’s answers to the iPad, the unusual technology challenges faced when 10 per cent of the population have 'no formal identity, ‘and how mobile phones are being used to control irrigation in rural Tamil Nadu.

 

Reporter Marc Cieslak explores the Aadhaar Project, which aims to count and record India’s enormous population of 1.21 billion people. He meets Professor Sadagopan, from the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Doctor Ashok Dalwai, Deputy Director General, Unique Identification authority, India, as well as visiting one of the many centres where individuals’ are having their fingerprints taken and irises scanned.

 

Meanwhile, Spencer Kelly examines the rise in the use of tablets in the region, when he takes a ride on the WiFi bus, which provides passengers with the use of tablets built into the back of the seats, allowing them to surf the net whilst travelling. He also visits a rural farm in Tamil Nadu where farmers are using mobile phones to control irrigation remotely by sending a text message to the pump, which then automatically waters the crops.

 

Back in Bangalore, reporter LJ Rich explores the cheap tablets vying for market position and meets Suneet Singh Tuli, President & CEO, DataWind Ltd and Minister Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, Minister for Primary and Secondary education, Government of Karnataka to discuss the new semi-rugged Intel “studybook” tablet and the next generation government-subsidised Aakash tablet, both due out in June 2012.