'If You Can Make a Difference, Just Do It'

'There'll be extended periods where things aren't working in your favour. But if you believe in the cause profoundly, then you simply persevere.'

When Tanai Nadkarni walked into rural schools during his service internship at the Symbiosis Law School, he encountered a paradox that would reshape his life's journey.

Computer laboratories existed in rural schools of Maharashtra, but they stood silent and unused -- expensive equipment gathering dust in schools where electricity was a luxury, not a given.

What Tanai witnessed in those villages became the catalyst for the Green PC Project, an initiative that has now reached approximately 15,000 children across rural Maharashtra and continues to expand rapidly.

At 26, Tanai has emerged as an unlikely champion of educational technology, bridging the gap between India's digital ambitions and the ground realities of its rural schools. His journey from law student to social entrepreneur encapsulates both the promise and challenges of leveraging technology for social impact.

The Green PC Idea

The turning point came during those early visits to rural villages. "I saw all these computers, these large computer units just lying in schools unused," Tanai recalls. "When I asked the teachers, they told me they didn't have money to pay electricity bills, or there was no electricity at all, or they had electricity for perhaps three or four hours a week."

The scale of the problem became evident through his research. India has approximately 1.5 million schools, and half of them lack functional computers.

One in ten schools has no electricity whatsoever, with many more experiencing severely limited access to power.

"The challenge before us was formidable: How does one provide computing resources to schools that cannot afford to run them? The answer lay in radically reimagining what a computer could be," says Tanai -- on the right in red kurta in the photograph below along with school children and Siddhesh Lokhare, a social impact creator -- explaining his Eureka moment.

Engineering a Solution

Tanai's family background proved helpful. His father and uncle were involved in fleet management and IT systems, and when COVID-19 temporarily disrupted their business, their IT director had time to collaborate on Tanai's vision.

Together, they set about developing what would become the Green PC -- a computer that consumes merely 10 watts of power compared to the 100-120 watts required by conventional machines.

"We found a particular processor, and we designed a computer around that," Tanai explains. "The first five or six schools we worked with were in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Pune Centre in December 2023. Their primary requirement was to provide these with a solar setup because these schools don't have any electricity -- it's either non-existent or highly erratic."

The solution was elegant in its simplicity: Ultra-low-power computers paired with solar panels, creating a self-sufficient digital classroom even in the most remote locations. But technology alone wasn't sufficient. The project had to address a complex web of challenges that extended beyond hardware.

Building Trust

Early conversations with potential funding partners revealed a cynical reality -- previous initiatives had failed because school principals would take donated computers home for personal use. This required Tanai to develop sophisticated monitoring systems.

"We developed something called a data log, which indicates how much the PC is being used and for what duration," he explains. "You can see what they are accessing -- are they on YouTube browsing random content, or are they actually learning? We set a frequency for reports -- every week or every few weeks -- which helps with impact assessment."

For areas with poor Internet connectivity, his team developed an offline AI application utilising large language models. "There's this village called Vashere in Maharashtra where the Internet is particularly poor," Tanai says. "We've given them an AI model so they can understand things even without connectivity. If they receive a medical report and don't know what it means, and they are not near hospitals, they can use the AI application to understand it."

The inspiration for this offline capability came from an unexpected source -- reports from NITI Aayog, India's policy think-tank, about schools in Jammu and Kashmir that experience months without Internet access.

On Ground Transformation

The impact has been profound. When Tanai describes his first school installation, the transformation is palpable. "They didn't know how to operate something as basic as a keyboard or a mouse. We gave them these devices -- they were just clicking randomly, pressing anything. They had absolutely no idea how to operate a computer."

Eighteen months later, that same school tells a different story.

"We went back, and they are creating presentations. They've learnt the basics of Excel. They are typing now. When you witness that progress, it makes an enormous difference because you realise that three or four years down the line, they are acquiring skills they'll require for virtually any job today."

Employment readiness drives his vision. "Almost any kind of job today requires computer proficiency," he emphasises. "We are building basic digital skills -- knowing how to type, how to operate a computer, how to create presentations."

The schools also gain access to Diksha, the ministry of education's digital platform that provides educational content across different examination boards. "Many of these schools lack funds for books," Tanai notes. "When they access Diksha, they can select their board and have access to all this educational content through these computers."

The Business Of Social Impact

The Green PC Project operates as a for-profit social enterprise -- a model that Tanai deliberately chose to ensure sustainability. Each Green PC setup, which includes the CPU, a 19-inch monitor, keyboard, mouse, and earphones, costs approximately Rs 19,500. Schools typically receive between five and ten computers, depending on student numbers.

"We've sold about 850 units and reached approximately 15,000 children," he clarifies. "By the end of December, when our current projects with Rotary International are completed, we'll have reached between 18,000 and 20,000 children."

The project extends beyond rural schools. Under the 'Lean PC Project' banner, Tanai works with organisations seeking to reduce their energy consumption and carbon footprint -- a revenue stream that helps subsidise the rural education initiative while advancing sustainability goals.

Recognition And Momentum

The project's credibility received a significant boost when it won 'Best Project of the Year' from Rotary Club of Pune Centre, earning Tanai the opportunity to present to Rotary International. This opened doors to funding and partnerships across Maharashtra, from Junnar and Manchar to Ravet and Indapur -- remote villages where electricity remains problematic.

And then Tanai's appearance on Kaun Banega Crorepati with Amitabh Bachchan proved transformative. "It changed Green PC Project's prospects enormously," he reflects. "I received calls not just from India, but from the United States and Canada. There's substantial trust that comes from being a young founder, which I genuinely needed."

The collaboration between the Aditya Birla Group and Sony Entertainment lent credibility that extended beyond celebrity endorsement. "Even my school, where I wasn't exactly the most brilliant student, invited me back to speak to students and inspire them," he adds with a laugh. "It's changed significantly in terms of trust and how we'll move forward with this project."

The Youth Challenge

Being 24 when he launched the initiative presented unique obstacles. "I was pitching to people twice my age. It's a novel concept. There's no established use case for it," Tanai acknowledges. "The funding aspect is where I struggled considerably."

The spectre of past failures haunted early conversations. In the 2000s, the 'One Laptop Per Child' initiative, associated with Bill Gates, had attempted similar goals before faltering.

"Many companies have tried computing initiatives for rural schools and failed because they started charging software fees," Tanai explains. "These Indian schools don't have money to pay salaries on time, let alone software fees. That's why you see all these large computers lying unused in schools now."

Learning from these failures, Tanai structured his model differently, avoiding recurring costs that schools cannot sustain.

The Reality Of Rural India

His visits to installation sites have exposed him to conditions that many urban Indians never witness. "I've encountered schools where children sit on benches fashioned from rocks. They travel two to three hours to reach school. Sometimes, they also travel by boats. Basic teacher salaries aren't being paid punctually. Many teachers do volunteer work and take tuitions afterwards to earn a living."

Yet he finds inspiration in these challenging circumstances. "Every time I visit schools and spend time with the children, my team and I feel profoundly grateful. We learn more from them than they do from us."

The digital skills these students acquire represent more than technical proficiency -- they are pathways out of poverty. "We are giving people who haven't had the opportunity what we've had growing up," Tanai reflects. "It's social work with tangible impact."

Lessons In Resilience

The journey has been instructive in ways formal education never was. "I've learnt more over the past three years than whatever school or college taught me. It's entirely on-the-job learning," he admits.

When partnerships fall through or funding applications are rejected, his approach is methodical: "If I fail with one foundation, it's not the end of the world. I go to them and ask ten questions: 'why not? Why won't this be possible?' They provide feedback, I work on that feedback. If it's a software issue, we develop that. If it's geographical, obviously you cannot proceed, but you learn."

Reading extensively, studying other businesses and use cases, and spending time in schools understanding pain points form his informal curriculum. "It depends on what the problem is. I simply find a solution. If there's no solution, I ask my father or uncle about it."

The most challenging periods tested his commitment. "There'll be extended periods where things aren't working in your favour. But if you believe in the cause profoundly, then you simply persevere."

"As they say, heart over mind. If you think your heart's in the right place, then whatever's in your mind -- you'll have your highs and lows -- you keep going."

Advice For The Next Generation

For young people contemplating similar paths, Tanai's advice is both pragmatic and idealistic. "Just be different. Create with purpose. I'm not suggesting everyone needs to do this. But if you have the opportunity to make a difference, then absolutely, just do it."

He acknowledges the inevitable self-doubt. "During your journey, you'll hear a great deal of discouragement. There'll definitely be a point where you stop trusting yourself because for an extended period, things won't work in your favour. But if you believe in the cause very strongly, then you must blindly pursue it."

The BIG Vision

The Green PC Project's expansion plans are ambitious. "We are planning to launch in Jammu and Kashmir next year," Tanai reveals, addressing regions where Internet connectivity remains particularly challenging and where the offline AI capabilities will prove especially valuable.

Beyond geographical expansion, he envisions scaling impact through partnerships with more foundations and corporate social responsibility initiatives. The model's strength lies in its sustainability -- both environmental and financial -- offering organisations a way to reduce their carbon footprint while advancing educational equity.

Tanai's work addresses a fundamental pain point in India's development narrative. The country aspires to be a digital powerhouse, yet millions of its children lack basic computer literacy. The National Education Policy 2020 mandates computer education, but implementation remains patchy, particularly in areas where electricity itself is unreliable.

The Green PC Project doesn't merely provide hardware -- it reimagines what's possible when you align technology with ground realities rather than expecting ground realities to accommodate technology.

By reducing power consumption by over 90 per cent, the project makes solar-powered computing viable. By developing offline AI capabilities, it addresses connectivity gaps. By building monitoring systems, it ensures accountability.

"Technology should empower, not exclude," Tanai notes. "Every child deserves the opportunity to develop 21st-century skills, regardless of whether their school has reliable electricity. We are not just installing computers -- we are opening futures."

As India grapples with vast inequalities in educational access, initiatives like the Green PC Project offer a template for how innovation can serve inclusion.

Tanai Nadkarni's journey from witnessing a problem to engineering a solution demonstrates that social impact need not await perfect conditions or vast resources -- sometimes it requires only conviction, creativity, and the willingness to persevere when easier paths beckon.

"If your heart's in the right place," he concludes, "the rest follows."