Lost IT World, Geeks Strike Back with Plan 9000

The Economic Times, Hyderabad: The techies will never say die. What if the IT superhighway no longer leads to the pot of gold and is propped aplenty with signages of recession, downturn, retrenchments and no vacancies.

Unemployed techies especially in districts, small towns and cities, initially in Andhra Pradesh, and later nationwide, can still mint money through an entrepreneurial venture, promises an ambitious programme being launched by an optimistic computer education company and NGOs with the support of some governmental organisations.

Where start-ups may have failed and several innovative e-biz models fizzled out, the ambitiously titled "Plan 9000", being launched as part of the World Computer Literacy Day celebrations that began December 2, aims at bringing back confidence among the techies and revive the sector.

The programme has been conceived by Hyderabad-based PACE Computer Education, recognised by the government organisation NSIC-TSC, and will be implemented with the help of NGOs and some government departments. The Rs 20 crore IT training company is already talking to a charitable trust run by filmactress-turned politician Ms Jayaprada, Mr A Venkat Reddy, managing director of PACE told ET.

The campaign involves setting up of at least 3,000 self-sustainable self-funded multi-purpose IT centres at mandal and panchayat levels in the state, and 6,000 centres nationwide,

The centres, each of which needs partnership of three techies or polytechnic passouts, who need to partly self-finance the venture and will be helped secure micro-credit from financial institutions and rural banks after an orientation programme. The multi-purpose centres will act as an information window to the developmental programmes in the area, besides providing services of a cyber cafe, an email-Internet kiosk, data processing unit, DTP and screenprinting unit, videographics unit, and will offer cable-TV based Internet service.

Also, the centres will impart IT training and counselling to panchayat functionaries, health workers, teachers and development functionaries, and provide maintenance services to related electronic equipment and electrical appliances, Mr Reddy said.

There's more. The centres, each servicing at least 10,000 to 15,000 people, will also be collecting public information through periodic surveys, and support institutional training in schools, colleges, rural banks, etc.

The multi-purpose centres, which need an investment of over a lakh rupees each in rural areas, will initially provide employment to around 30,000 people and each service centre can earn income upward of Rs 1.5-2 lakhs per annum, he added.