In a move that could possibly convert India’s massive unorganised retail sector into an organised one with a reliable database, a set of low-cost computers developed exclusively for grocery stores across the country is all set to hit the market.
Very soon, the owners of grocery stores may have entire lists of items available with them as well as data of customers’ expenses and the items bought over a period of time. These computers, titled ‘Galla’ and specifically developed for small shopkeepers, were researched and designed by the developmental informatics laboratory at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai and funded by Media Lab Asia. The computers will be available in at least eight languages, including English, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali and Malayalam.
The computers will have all the facilities of conventional computers as well as certain unique and user-friendly features for shopkeepers. The name of the computers is derived from the common term used to refer to the cash boxes at in grocery stores.
“Galla is a unified solution that consists of hardware, software and online services specifically designed for the Indian kirana retail sector. There will also be a mobile phone retail module. Some of the main features of the computers are designed for Indian retailers after understanding their business traditions and needs, cost-effectiveness and maintenance,” said Kumaresan P, the designer of the product.
The brainchild of IIT professor Krithi Ramamritham, who is also heading the project, 25 computers have already been distributed among shopkeepers in Mumbai on a pilot-project basis.
A source who worked on the project at IIT, Mumbai said that the idea behind it was to give shopkeepers a system as simple as operating a calculator. “The shopkeepers can enter data of their customers, from their cellphone numbers to their monthly demand, in the computers. This will help them to be prepared to meet the demands of their customers on time,” the source said.
According to a source close to the project, work on the computers is nearing completion and the products may be launched in the market by this Diwali.
Initially the computers will be priced at between Rs20,000 and Rs25,000, and will include a printer, scanner and battery. The shopkeepers will also have the option of running the computers on solar energy.
