Intel to donate 10,000 PCs to India

Intel Corporation, the world's largest semiconductor company on Friday announced its plan to donate 10,000 full-function personal computers to state governments and teacher training institutes in India under its 'Intel Teach programme'.

Under the programme, the microprocessor giant will train 1 million teachers on the application of technology to improve classroom learning.

While announcing the company’s plan to expand its education and digital healthcare programmes in India, Craig Barrett, chairman, Intel said, "By 2008, Intel plans to donate 10,000 full-function PCs to state governments and teacher training institutions, as well as train 1 million teachers on the application of technology to improve classroom learning."

Speaking to the media, Barrett, who is on his eighth visit to India and this time visiting the country as chairman of the U.N.’s Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies, informed that all donated PCs will be equipped with Internet connectivity, education content supported by the government, and software applications provided by Microsoft.

Santa Clara, California based Intel had previously trained 600,000 teachers of 14 states across India under the programme. The chip making company is disbursing nearly $1.1 billion over a five-year period ending 2010 to upsurge its business in India. It will also work to strengthen community-based health care in the nation through the use of technology, Barrette said.

Intel, which employs about 3,000 workers at its Bangalore based R&D center, intends to enhance its Indian operations to include test, assembly and manufacturing facilities. But the final decision to locate such facilities in India will be taken after the government’s announcement of semiconductor manufacturing policy. The policy was expected to be unveiled in May.

"We are eagerly awaiting the government's incentive package and the final state of rules and regulations," Barrett told media in Delhi, on Friday. "The quicker the government decides, the faster we will [make] a final call on the matter."

Defining the teachers’ role in the global development of technologies, the Intel chairman said that teachers are the most potential way we can effectively reach and educate people on the changing technologies of the world. That is why they need to be first trained and endowed with the technical knowledge.

In a response to a query why Intel chose India for this programme, Barrett said, “The drop-out rate in India is alarming and there are not enough schools here. Bringing in computers in these schools will add magic and help in retaining these students, thereby, unleashing their hidden talent.”

“The government is not doing enough for the development of the ICT education in the country. There should be more public private partnerships in this sphere to enable proper computer and broadband penetration which is very low in the country,” he further said.

Meanwhile, Barrett said that company is also looking forward for the clear and early regulation on the spectrum for commercial launch of Wi-Max, a platform to provide communication and information facilities to people. Wi-MAX is a standards-based wireless technology that extends high-throughput broadband connections over long distances.

Intel's chief rival and U.S. chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc.(AMD) has also signed up to play a major role in India's first chip fabrication factory worth $3 billion, backed by SemIndia, a consortium of Indian businessmen.