Friday, August 4, 2006

Software in Indian languages?

I came across this piece of news in Business Daily which said that there is work going on to develop software in 12-14 Indian languages which if used with low cost hardware will speed up the computerisation process in India. Hmmm.. I just paused here to think if this is actually a good idea and if it will really achieve its desired results? Well, considering how prevelant illiteracy is in India, this does seem like a good move. At least it can replace the manual processings in a lot of places which really eats away our time!! If you step into a government office in bangalore, more often than not, they still need to dig up a huge pile of ledgures to get hold of your case or profile. Also, this is mainly to cater to people who cannot communicate in English.The new software will significantly improve this. But I feel it could also act as a disadvantage. By making it easy for people to stick to their local languages, it really doesnt help them raise the bar for themselves or take that extra step to go ahead and get that English education. When India as a whole is trying to develop in every sector and every aspect, in my opinion, this may not be that good an idea in the long run! As an immediate step...it does sound good though..

1 comment:

Suresh S Murthy said...

hi pratima, i happen to be a regular reader of ur blog. the post of "software in indian languages", does provide insights of the state of sft knowledge in india