India’s first dot-com billionaire, Rajesh Jain, is now developing a solution that could make computers truly affordable and computing really widespread in India. Frederick Noronha probes into Jain’s model of thin client-thick server computing and explores the possibilities it could throw up

Rajesh Jain believes the solution to his new mantra of thin client-thick servers lies in making computers discarded by developed markets into thin clients

Rajesh Jain hit the headlines when he sold his IndiaWorld website for over Rs 400 crore towards the end of 1999. Today, his focus has shifted to taking computing to the common man.

“Most technology has been priced in dollar terms, putting it beyond the reach of a large number of businesses and consumers in emerging markets like India. The computer, which is the lynch pin of an economy, is still seen as a luxury by many,” argues Jain.

But Jain believes his lateral thinking and innovative solutions could battle the stumbling blocks. “We’re working on something that could really make a difference,” Jain told Express Computer.

Currently, he argues that India needs “computers for Rs 5,000 so that there can be one in every home and office; ubiquitous and cheap high-speed wireless communication; and software as a service for Rs 250 per month so that it is affordable.”

This, says Jain, would create a mass-market for the adoption of technology in India.

No, these are not pipe dreams for the managing director of Netcore Solutions, who earlier founded IndiaWorld Communications, which grew into one of the largest collection of India-centric websites (comprising Samachar.com, Khel.com, Khoj.com and Bawarchi.com—portals dealing with news, sports, Indian search-engines and food). Jain, who made history in Indian cyberspace when his earlier firm was acquired by Satyam Infoway in November 1999, says his goals are entirely feasible.

“Fulfilling the list (of what India needs) may seem like a tall order. But the interesting thing is that the building blocks to put the solutions together already exist,” he says.

Netcore, his current firm, is working to lower costs to an extent that will make computing widely affordable. To reduce computer prices, Jain suggests we get away from the “treadmill of enforced obsolescence.” Currently, new software is driving hardware upgrades every 3-4 years, he says.

Through thin and thick
Thin client-thick server computing. That’s Jain’s new mantra. The solution, he believes, lies in making the computers discarded by developed markets into thin clients. These clients don’t need a hard disk or CD-ROM drive; they just need the bare minimum processing power and memory to run a windowing server (like the X Server).
Essentially, the recycled PCs become graphical terminals, which connect to “thick servers.” All computing and storage happens on these servers. The thick server can actually be the latest desktop system, with enhanced memory and processing power.

While the Indian market is pushing out slightly older models of computers, Jain suggests the large-scale use of recycled computers from developed markets. The US itself is disposing—read upgrading—computers at the rate of more than 25 million each year.

Netcore is working on a thin client-thick server solution. This means older, lower-configuration PCs would work off more powerful new computers.

“The Rs 5,000 computer can provide all the functionalities that users are accustomed to seeing on a computer in the corporate environment.... The next 500 million users across the digital divide are just as hungry as we (in universities) were a decade ago,” he says.

“Technology is essential to bridge the digital divide. Yet, most technology has been priced in dollars, putting it beyond the reach of a large number of businesses and consumers in emerging markets like India. What can be done to create mass-market adoption of technology? What can be done to ensure that there is affordable and ubiquitous access to Internet-connected computers in developing countries like India?”

India 3.0
The first India, argues Jain, built on its Independence to become agriculturally self-sufficient and feed its own people. The second India produces more software engineers than any other country and is a force to reckon with in the world of outsourced technology services. And yet, the technology revolution has touched but a handful within the country.

Much of India still remains “frozen in time.” For India to progress, Indians have to progress. For Indians to progress, technology has to become a utility for the masses.

Jain points to some interesting figures: The installed base of computers is 7 million for a population of 1 billion. Annual computer sales are stagnating between 1.5 to 2 million units since 2000. New computers still cost more than Rs 25,000, with the basic additional software (MS-Windows, MS-Office and anti-virus) costing an additional Rs 25,000. There are only about 6 million Internet connections in India, even as an hour of connectivity could still cost more than Rs 30.

In short: India is a great concept, but with poor execution.

Interestingly, Jain is suggesting a switchover to the Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) solutions based on GNU/Linux. Says he: “The total cost of these applications: Zero. At a conservative estimate, the hardware-software savings with an open-source-based thin client can be 75 percent or more as compared to a Microsoft Windows-Office fat desktop.”

In terms of broadband connectivity—a fast linkup to the Net—he suggests WiFi, the Wireless Fidelity technology also called 802.11. “It uses open spectrum, so there are no license fees applicable. WiFi enables the build-out of grassroots, bottom-up networks,” he argues.

Jain argues that there is a solid business model for all this. But will India actually get its act together? Whether we can upgrade to India 3.0 (beyond post-Independence agricultural self-sufficiency, and producing more software engineers than any country in the world) depends on the next steps we take, he emphatically concludes.