Cellphone Banking Helping To Fight Poverty In India 76
An anonymous reader writes "Technology Review is running an in-depth story about the way cellphone banking is transforming the lives of many poor people in India. By enabling users to manage a legitimate bank account and finance micro-loans, cellphones are a major force of social and economic change. It's perhaps not surprising, given that despite widespread poverty, India has the world's fastest-growing cellphone market and the second largest number of cellphone users (after China). The article mentions one Indian start-up, mChek, that is thriving as a result. There's also an excellent video report."
Poverty (Score:5, Insightful)
Cell phones are like computers and the internet rolled into one for those poor people in India.
I bet in the next ten years, markets in India and Africa are going to be the hotspot for 3.5/4G wireless internet service through cell handsets. I imagine that their governments will encourage the building of cell infrastructure because they can see how cell access is helping people become upwardly mobile.
Re:Super security (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Poverty (Score:2, Insightful)
The more benevolent, stable, governments will, but the last thing that the kleptocracies and dictators want is upward mobility for their people. It might give them an actual voice in their government. Still, this is good knews for the poor in many countries.
Re:Super security (Score:2, Insightful)
Of course it makes sense. You get your card. The number is on it. Bank staff shouldn't be able to even access it, unless you give it to them.
Re:Duh... (Score:4, Insightful)
Exactly, which is why statements such as "the second largest number of cellphone users (after China)" are mostly useless at conveying information.
Tell us what the number of cellphones per capita is and in comparison to the rest of the world. Then you'll be telling us something useful...
Re:Poverty (Score:3, Insightful)
Yep, we are all "in" the caste system here. Everyday, when I wake up my grandfather asks me if I've been "in" the caste system. On most days I do and I can answer honestly. But on some days, I'm late to the office and I have to lie to my grandfather. Of course, my office has its own caste system so I make up during the day.
Does it make you feel better about yourself when you open your mouth to blab about stuff that you have no clue about? Let me guess, you:
And you thought that that qualifies you to speak about a complex social problem that has existed for 1000s of years.
Re:Food, water, shelter not necessary. Nokia 6220! (Score:4, Insightful)
India does not work that way. It is a chaotic system, with a lot of entropy, and has lot of redundancy built in. Normally, you would expect a country/society/country to move bottom to top. i.e. improve life in terms of health, economy and education, then move on to develop better means to accelerate the progress. But it has not work in India. There are lots of social, economical, religious factions and factors why India can not operate that way. It is a country of conflicting priorities.
The result is that we have successful space programs, successful telecommunication infrastructure while still a lot people die of hunger. But somehow, we have still managed to get better - though not in very rapid/efficient way. There are less % of people below poverty line (even if you do not believe government numbers), life expectancy has improved. At the same time, villages are breaking up and cities are clogged.
So, its erratic, and it does not make sense. But we still have just launched our moon mission. Go figure.
Re:Food, water, shelter not necessary. Nokia 6220! (Score:4, Insightful)
Somehow, I think that the person whose life is on the line if they don't spend their money on the right things is probably more qualified than you when it comes to knowing what decisions they have to make to keep them alive.
Re:Food, water, shelter not necessary. Nokia 6220! (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Poverty (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Poverty (Score:4, Insightful)
Ah, an American. Of course, America has no caste system as everyone treats everyone else as an equal all the time.