0:00:00 > 0:00:00in the next few weeks. Concerns over these trees have stepped up a
0:00:00 > 0:00:01in the next few weeks. Concerns over these trees have stepped up a gear.
0:00:01 > 0:00:03these trees have stepped up a gear. Tim
0:00:03 > 0:00:03these trees have stepped up a gear. Tim Muffett,
0:00:03 > 0:00:03these trees have stepped up a gear. Tim Muffett, BBC
0:00:03 > 0:00:04these trees have stepped up a gear. Tim Muffett, BBC News.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07In a moment it'll be time for the Film Review.
0:00:07 > 0:00:26But first, here's Click.
0:00:40 > 0:00:45Driving in India is an experience.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47The roads are cramped, the horn is omnipresent
0:00:47 > 0:00:48and the rules are...
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Well, the rules are here somewhere, I'm sure of it.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54And that's why we won't be doing a piece about self driving cars
0:00:54 > 0:00:57in India any time soon.
0:00:57 > 0:01:04Despite the fact that it seems like everyone in India travels
0:01:04 > 0:01:08in the car, that's not true by any means, many people choose to travel
0:01:08 > 0:01:09by train instead.
0:01:09 > 0:01:14But, if you think that's any less intense, think again.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Yeah, about those rules.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20Mumbai Central Station is a massive heaving hub connecting the city
0:01:20 > 0:01:26to the north and east of India.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29But, if you look closer you'll see something else connecting
0:01:29 > 0:01:35the commuters to the rest of the world.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37116 wireless access points provide free Wi-Fi to anyone
0:01:37 > 0:01:43with an Indian phone number.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46It has been provided by Google which at the moment says about 2.5
0:01:46 > 0:01:51terabytes are being downloaded here every day.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54And here's the interesting part - this is not just about this station,
0:01:54 > 0:02:00along India's railway tracks lie 45,000 kilometres of optic fibre
0:02:00 > 0:02:04and Google is piping internet access down those cables to feed Wi-Fi
0:02:04 > 0:02:06access to 114 other train stations as well.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09I caught up with the man overseeing the project while he was waiting
0:02:09 > 0:02:13for his train.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16If you had to take one place in the country where you want
0:02:16 > 0:02:23tremendous fibre and you had to have reliable power,
0:02:23 > 0:02:25relatively speaking power is a challenge across the country
0:02:25 > 0:02:29and you had to have an entire country walking there at that one
0:02:29 > 0:02:32place, there is only one place that is the railway stations.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34Can you guarantee that all services on Google's Wi-Fi
0:02:34 > 0:02:43will be treated equally?
0:02:43 > 0:02:45Absolutely, I think the whole motivation for us, if you look
0:02:45 > 0:02:50at the reason why we did this, was to see if we can provide an open
0:02:50 > 0:02:52internet, completely open with access for the entire web,
0:02:52 > 0:03:04the way the web was designed.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07So, there is a fibre-optic network that's rolling out from train
0:03:07 > 0:03:10stations like this to the vast rural areas of this enormous country
0:03:10 > 0:03:14and David Reid hopped on a train to find out what affects that's
0:03:14 > 0:03:15having elsewhere in India.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18It's hard not to be romantic about India's Railways.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24British colonial rulers laid tracks for control,
0:03:24 > 0:03:29shifting resources mostly out and prising open markets.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50Now, it's about moving people, millions a day thanks
0:03:50 > 0:03:51to optic fibre, data.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53I took the train here to Jaipur to investigate,
0:03:53 > 0:04:05it has proper broadband and it's free.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08Apart from some controversy at another station where commuters
0:04:08 > 0:04:10were using free Wi-Fi to download hard-core pornography,
0:04:10 > 0:04:13the provision of high-speed Wi-Fi has been almost universally praised.
0:04:13 > 0:04:2090,000 people pass through Jaipur station every day.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23I'm using my Wi-Fi for entertainment, the news,
0:04:23 > 0:04:29the office work.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32I find it quick, yeah.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35For this student journalist it means she can keep tabs
0:04:35 > 0:04:38on breaking stories.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40In the morning the world changes like...
0:04:40 > 0:04:53There are so many things that have changed so I have to come and check.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55Indian stations are full of thriving businesses feeding off,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58or simply feeding the thousands streaming through them every day.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01Free Wi-Fi has actually been a boost to local businesses here,
0:05:01 > 0:05:03this man runs a tea store on the station platform,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06he's making more money now that his customers can make
0:05:06 > 0:05:16online payments to him.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19TRANSLATION: I use the Wi-Fi when my 4G signal doesn't catch.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21When that's not working I used the Wi-Fi.
0:05:21 > 0:05:23Especially when a customer is paying through digital payments,
0:05:23 > 0:05:26I needed to confirm that I have received the payment.
0:05:26 > 0:05:31Digital payments are worth about 40-50% of my takings.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34This is music to the ears of people managing India's Railways,
0:05:34 > 0:05:36a nationalised industry that runs at a loss.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39They are thinking that high-speed Wi-Fi could be a good pull
0:05:39 > 0:05:42for a station like Jaipur, they plan to build a huge concourse
0:05:42 > 0:05:44and attract retail and service businesses.
0:05:44 > 0:05:51It might just be an earner.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55As Wi-Fi expands and becomes taken for granted then I think people
0:05:55 > 0:05:57will transact more and more of their business.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00Jaipur is a kind of domestic, tourist hub and an international hub
0:06:00 > 0:06:01of high repute.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04People are coming out here from all parts of the world
0:06:04 > 0:06:07so now when you have a huge concourse it becomes an area
0:06:07 > 0:06:12where you can have shops, entertainment spots...
0:06:12 > 0:06:15For Google, more people online is more people to sell to,
0:06:16 > 0:06:18India's Railway is the country's backbone, its public Wi-Fi is poised
0:06:18 > 0:06:46to be as least as far reaching.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49This is the Anjuman-Urdu primary school in the town
0:06:49 > 0:06:50of Kundapur in Kamataka.
0:06:50 > 0:06:51My name's Spencer.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55This 155 kids here from grades one through to seven and a whole bunch
0:06:55 > 0:06:55of dedicated teachers.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57And this is how they start their day.
0:06:57 > 0:07:09THEY SING.
0:07:09 > 0:07:19Over in this classroom things are a little more serious.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22At the back of the projector there is a device which is plugged
0:07:22 > 0:07:30in and is running videos on English, maths, and science.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34The videos are made for the entire region, but then they are dubbed
0:07:34 > 0:07:38in different dialects, different languages,
0:07:38 > 0:07:49depending on where they are being sent to.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51Today we are learning about fractions.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54It is a great teaching tool as long as there is electricity.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57But there are plenty of times when there isn't.
0:07:57 > 0:07:58TRANSLATION: This is a new school.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01Earlier it would have been difficult to teach due to power cuts.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05We would get electricity in the mornings, but as the day
0:08:05 > 0:08:08passed by in the afternoon we would have power cuts for more
0:08:08 > 0:08:08than two hours.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12That's why the projector and tablet are hooked up to this box,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15which is itself attached to a solar panel on the roof.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Together they can provide up to five hours of electricity a day,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21meaning that classes don't have to be interrupted or cancelled
0:08:21 > 0:08:22if the power cuts out.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25TRANSLATION: Then we started using solar power as it is an easy
0:08:25 > 0:08:27and natural source of generating electricity.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30We have introduced the study of generating power through solar
0:08:30 > 0:08:32energy to our students and are teaching them the importance
0:08:33 > 0:08:34of working with it.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37We also explained to our students that this process will help us
0:08:37 > 0:08:39in the future to generate electricity.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42This whole system has been provided by the Selco Foundation,
0:08:42 > 0:08:45an Indian charity with the hope to alleviate poverty by improving
0:08:45 > 0:08:51access to energy.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53With this students can get better education.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55And then there is no problem of electricity.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58At any time they can take their students to the classroom,
0:08:58 > 0:09:02they can teach through this medium.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06Selco and other NGOs they work with pay for half of the cost
0:09:06 > 0:09:08of installing the projector and solar system.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10The other half comes from local schools or local government.
0:09:10 > 0:09:16How important is the projector?
0:09:16 > 0:09:19TRANSLATION: Before this project came into use it we had
0:09:19 > 0:09:20very few students.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22But since we have started using the solar power,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25our number of students has increased in a good way.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28We have students coming to us from different villages to learn.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30And not only students, we have other schools coming down
0:09:30 > 0:09:32to our Institute for smart classes.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35The smart class is a good way of teaching kids these days.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38They seem to enjoy and learn more than usual.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40After we introduce smart class our school stands proudly
0:09:40 > 0:09:41in the educational sector.
0:09:41 > 0:09:50We plan to grow large as the years pass by.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52Cool.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55Oh!
0:09:55 > 0:09:58CHUCKLES The same system is already in hundreds of rural schools
0:09:58 > 0:10:07and they are aiming to add hundreds more this year.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09And it's not just key for schools.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Across rural India businesses can be helped massively by having
0:10:12 > 0:10:20a reliable power supply.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23Sumana is a seamstress who lives a short drive from Kunapur.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27She became the main breadwinner for the family after her father
0:10:27 > 0:10:28was taken ill.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31The more clothing she can repair the more she gets paid.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34With her old hand operated sewing machine she could fix a couple
0:10:34 > 0:10:38of items a day, but thanks to the solar panels on her roof her
0:10:38 > 0:10:45electric machine can whizz through five or six clothes per day.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48Plus, she has a fan, a TV, and a light, so she can work
0:10:48 > 0:10:53earlier and later.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55One quarter of India's rural population lives below
0:10:55 > 0:11:05the official poverty line.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07That's 216 million people whose livelihoods could be improved
0:11:07 > 0:11:09by the addition of basic facilities like electricity.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12And, of course, one key way of helping people out
0:11:12 > 0:11:13of poverty is education.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17It's always such a privilege to come to a place like this and see how
0:11:17 > 0:11:20the simplest technology can make a world of difference.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25That's it from India for the moment.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28You can see plenty of photos and more backstage
0:11:28 > 0:11:32gossip on twitter.
0:11:32 > 0:11:33Thanks for watching.