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HP India to give education a big push in 2019: MD Sumeer Chandra
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SME Times News Bureau | 13 Dec, 2018
PC and printing major HP Inc is witnessing tremendous growth in the
Indian market across product lines and, in 2019, the education sector
will be the key pillar for the company, says Sumeer Chandra, Managing
Director, HP Inc India.
For fiscal 2018, HP reported net revenue
of $58.5 billion - up 12 per cent from the prior-year period. The net
revenue for the fourth quarter was $15.4 billion - up 10 per cent - and
the Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ) region grew 17 per cent.
"In
APJ, India grew faster than expected in fiscal 2018. HP's India
performance is in line with the global and regional growth. We
strengthened our presence in the A3 printer space, introduced 3D
printing and bet big on PC gaming in the country," Chandra told IANS in a
free-wheeling interview.
The Indian economy, he added, is going
through interesting dynamics at the moment -- especially on the exchange
rate front -- amid some uncertainties such as the general elections due
next year.
"However, we have our strategy areas ready for next
year and providing digital education to the masses will be a key growth
engine. Technology, I believe, can truly transform fundamental education
in India," Chandra emphasised.
For him, education intersects what is good for business as well as for society.
"Education
meets both the objectives. To empower students, we are driving new
price points in our products. We recently launched an affordable mini
desktop to help students learn and collaborate in schools and
educational institutions across the country," Chandra said.
Starting
at Rs 19,990, the HP 260 G3 desktop is enabling schools and institutes
set up or upgrade computers at their science, technology, engineering
and mathematics (STEM) labs at a minimal cost.
When paired with
HP Integrated Work Centre and HP EliteDisplay, teachers can read and
present files effortlessly. With the wide range of input display
connectors, documents can also be shared across multiple monitors.
"The
idea is to help schools either refresh or create digital labs for
students. We also have back-to-campus programmes where we organise
discounted sales for our products so more schools can afford PCs," the
HP India executive noted.
Another key HP initiative is in the
form of self-contained, Internet-enabled digital inclusion and learning
labs on wheels, to take digital literacy to every nook and corner of the
country.
Called "HP World on Wheels" (WoW), the buses are already driving digital literacy in rural India.
"There
are 20-odd PCs in one solar-powered, Internet-enabled bus with a TV at
the back, helping students augment their education, driving youth to
learn New-Age digital skills and providing digital literacy to rural
women," said a beaming Chandra.
People in rural India are also using the facility for Aadhaar and to access other citizen-related services.
"We
have 19 such buses that have reached over 50,000 people so far. We plan
to launch another 12 buses by March and will have a total of 48 buses
soon. In the next six years, we plan to reach 6,500 villages and empower
close to 15 million lives," Chandra told IANS.
Next on his agenda is to reach many more students via HP's wide network.
"Affordability
and accessibility are on top of my mind. Via HP's widest network, 600
HP World stores and tens of thousands of retailers selling HP products,
we can reach many more students," emphasised Chandra.
The company
also has "Smart Learning Hubs", in collaboration with Microsoft, at 600
HP World stores that are engaging customers and non-customers with
edutainment.
HP has organised 160 programmes covering 5,000
school-going children at these stores where they take coding lessons,
learn how to make a YouTube video or create a blog, etc.
"Parents
and children are excited and so are we. We will take this initiative to
smaller cities as well to impart digital literacy to many more
children," said Chandra.
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