$100 laptop...Can it help in Orissa Education Sector?

See http://laptop.media.mit.edu/ for more information about the $100 laptop. The website mentions that the laptop won't be available for sale. Only to be distributed to schools directly through large government initiatives. Keeping this minds, Orissa should prepare to make the most of this initiative. The Orissa Govt., people, NGOs all need to think about this scheme and see how we can benefit the most. We should figure out the following:

1. First how Orissa get hold of the laptops to be distributed across the students. We need to really proactive and make people listen to us at the right places and at the right time.

2. Prepare softwares and teaching material to be put on this laptops so that students really benefit from them. The laptop should be more than just a Leo Toy and students should be really gaining out of that. Only then Orissa will have a generation of highly educated students who can take further my dream of "Orissa 2020: People's Own State".

I guess we will be looking at these again in future.

Super Tree Plantation to break Super Cyclone

The idea of planting trees to break super cyclones came from http://www.bitsunami.in/

Similar thing we can do in coastal orissa to break the wind and even the waves which caused the deaths and destruction during the Super Cyclone...I want to stop listening from my friends: "We only hear about Orissa when there is a Natural Calamity". I know we dont have full control over them but atleast lets do what's possible.

I dont see this to be really out of our reach...Good coordinated effort and Govt./media support will definitely help us in make it a success and may be a Guiness Record as well. (Current record is 2,54,464). We also need to get in touch with horticulture people to find out which are the best plants for orissa climate and soil. We must also get the support of local school children and teachers as well as local people and local authorities. Tree plantation is not just one time effort but needs to be monitored at some time intervals.

Education...BITS Pilani

To make Orissa a developed state, we need to make people study at top colleges. Be it in engineering, medical, law, general sciences or any other stream. We need Oriyas to go to top institutes and get the best education.

To give this a push, Utkal Samaj(oriya gang in BITS Pilani) are planning to organize BITS Orientation in dec 2006 to make people aware of BITS Pilani, its education system. Unfortunately though BITS is considered to be among top 10 colleges in India, students of Orissa are unaware of this and they prefer to go to a local engineering college instead of BITS Pilani. The Orientation is meant to address this issue. The target is "100 to BITS". If this is possible, this will be one small step in the right direction for development of Orissa.