Research on ITs Impact in Rural Areas Is Among Top Priorities for New India Lab

Research on IT�s Impact in Rural Areas Is Among Top Priorities for New India Lab: "Research on IT�s Impact in Rural Areas Is Among Top Priorities for New India Lab
In a remote agricultural village where the average worker earns about $40 (U.S.) per month and electricity might only be available for two hours a day, what possible difference could a computer make?
P. Anandan and Kentaro Toyama have journeyed halfway around the world to answer that question, as well as probe many other intriguing issues, at the new Microsoft Research India facility that officially opened Jan. 12, 2005, in Bangalore. Anandan became managing director of the lab after more than seven years as a senior researcher at the Microsoft Research facility in Redmond, Wash., while Toyama assumed the roles of assistant managing director and head of the Emerging Markets Group at Microsoft Research India. "