EDII and HP Launch HP WoW - Mobile Bus for Digital Inclusion

Dr. J. N. Singh, Chief Secretary, Govt. of Gujarat, inaugurated the “HP WoW” vehicle which is a 20 seated computer and IT enabled vehicle powered by green energy and backed by numerous software suites and cloud integration.

The HP-WOW bus will offer a mobility solution to help bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas by bringing easy information technology access to the isolated and disadvantaged groups in 18 villages of Ahmedabad, Gujrat.

It will also promote IT enabled education through e-learning modules, entrepreneurial and skill development courses will help train school children, rural youth and communities, among others by acting as a Community Service Center (CSC). With added services of Common Service Centre (CSC), it will benefit the local population for a hassle free linkage to Government programs and initiatives.

Also present on the occasion were Dr. Sunil Shukla, Director – EDII and Mr. Ashish Sahay, Head, CSR- HP Inc. India.

The ‘Digital India’ program aims at transforming India into a digitally empowered society and a knowledge economy. The Program symbolizes the vision of connecting and empowering 125 crore citizens; creating unprecedented levels of transparency and accountability in governance; and leveraging technology for quality education, health care, farming, financial inclusion and empowering citizens. One of the pillars of Digital India visions empowering citizens, especially rural populace, by making them digitally literate. This is intended to be achieved through collaborative digital platforms and by making available digital resources in their native language to ensure their participation. It will help tap into the data that will be freely available on the cloud computing platform—independent of an intervention.
The “HP World on Wheels” or (HP WoW) project sponsored by (HP) Inc.; and implemented by Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), is part of HP’s commitment to build and deploy 48 self-contained, Internet-enabled digital inclusion and learning labs in PPP model aimed at driving digital literacy, E education, Entrepreneurship training, and other citizen services in rural India.

Through its fleet of 48 vehicles and collaboration with other Corporates, NPOs, Govt Programs etc, HP aims to reach 6,400 Indian villages, impacting more than 15 million people over the next six years. In the current partnership with EDII, HP has contributed total of 5 vehicles across Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Each 20-seat, IT-enabled HP WoW vehicle is equipped with HP computing and printing equipment, such as HP Thin Clients, an HP Workstation, and an HP OfficeJet all-in-one printer, as well as software suites and e-learning tools, like HP Classroom Manager, HP VideoBook & HP Life.

Speaking at the occasion, Dr. J. N. Singh stated, “This is a landmark initiative towards creating a knowledge society. I am sure the results will lead us to a large section of digitally empowered people where enhanced knowledge, skills and behavior will help the nation carve a niche.”
Endorsing the statement, Mr. Ashish Sahay said, “We intend to make a measurable difference by inspiring people to put their best foot forward by gaining digital literacy and meaningfully contributing towards the making of the digital economy that we all envision.”

Dr. Sunil Shukla stated, “The vision of Digital India is ably supported by momentous efforts and one such tangible initiative is the HP World on Wheels Project. This innovative project will impart digital capabilities and also an understanding on the variety of significant subjects to people in the remotest corners of the country. EDII is glad to be associating with such an ambitious project. I am sure the results will transform lives and place India several notches up.”