Politicians get iPad lessons to cut paperwork
Members of Parliament are taking lessons on how to use iPads and other tablet computers after being given a special budget to buy technology that reduces the use of paper and brings down the tedious paperwork.
Each of the 790 lawmakers, many of whom are elderly, has been granted Rs. 50,000 to invest in one of the devices in an attempt to tackle India's infamously laborious red tape.
The scheme was ‘to reduce the huge mountains of paper piling up each day while parliament is in session.'
Many veteran MPs such as E.M.S. Natchiappan, 63,of the ruling Congress party, bring their iPads to work daily. They are allowe dto use the tablets in the chamber to make notes but no Internet access is available.
So far, India's bureaucracy has been renowned for its addiction to paperwork,with even basic transactions needing triplicate forms, stamp certificates and endless information recorded in hand-written ledgers.