Taking the web to kids in remote desert

Indian salt pan worker Nirmalbhai Jakhodia working in the Little Rann of Kutch region of Gujarat. — AFP

SHELTERED beneath a canvas sheet to escape the blistering desert sun, miles from any roads or power lines, a group of Indian children huddle around a tablet and experience the internet for the very first time.

The remote wi-fi connection is powered by a van bringing the digital world to around 10,000 families living on the inhospitable salt flats of western Gujarat state, where they work eight months a year in extreme conditions.