The Parliament Secretariat has decided to sanction (maximum of) Rs 50,000 to buy an Apple iPad 2 or Samsung Galaxy Tab for Members of Parliament (IBN).
This comes at a time when government should be eating its own dog food, i.e. the $35 tablet.
Given the IAC (India Against Corruption) timeline, we couldn’t help ask these questions to decision makers:
- Does an iPad improve your productivity?
- iPad is a ‘media consumption’ device (primarily). Why do MPs need it? To play Angry Birds?
- Why not use an Indian company’s product, maybe Notion Ink?
We are actually shocked with this decision, as it involves tax payers’ money. The good news (we are making this up) is that this decision will open up the possibilities of digital world to otherwise technology-challenged politicians, who hopefully will use technology to improve the state of their constituency (read: Kerala CM Makes The Perfect Use of Technology–Installs Webcam In His Office).
Otherwise, this is a wastage of taxpayer’s money. What’s your opinion?
