PlanetRead is an organization that provides support to social entrepreneurs like Brij Kothari from India. Kothari created the Same Language Subtitling (SLS) plan to address illiteracy. SLS involves subtitling television programs in the same language as the audio to provide reading practice to viewers. Kothari implemented SLS for songs on Indian television beginning in 1999. Research found SLS improved literacy and 90% of viewers preferred it. SLS gives millions of people reading practice through everyday entertainment at low individual cost. The goal is to implement SLS on all television songs in India.

1. PlanetRead
A Presentation By Project S.o.J.a.W.e.M

2. What is PlanetRead?
PlanetRead is an Schwad organization of social
entrepreneurship that provides for social
entrepreneurs.
One such social entrepreneur provided by the
organization is a Indian entrepreneur of illiteracy
named Brij Kothari.
Brij Kothari was the creator of the Same
Language Subtitling Plan.

3. History of Brij Kothari
In 1996 he joined the faculty of the Indian Institute of
Management in Ahmedabad. While continuing to teach
communication to MBA students, he started work on SLS at IIM.
He has been on the Faculty of IIM Ahmedabad , as Associate and
Adjunct Professor, since 1996.
In 1999, in an effort to improve functional literacy rates in India, he
experimented with subtitles television program. In 2002, the
Doordarshan network subtitled their national program. Since 2006,
His work was also selected by the Google as one of the projects
for funding.

4. SLS
(Same Language Subtitling)
Link to video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7XDMzsLd5o
Same language subtitling refers to the practice of
subtitling programs on TV in the same language as
the audio. This method of subtitling is used by
national television broadcasters in India. This idea
was struck upon by Brij Kothari, who believed that
SLS makes reading practice an
incidental, automatic, and subconscious part of
popular TV entertainment, at a low per-person cost
to shore up Literacy rates of India.

5. Impacts of the SLS
SLS is preferred by over 90% of the viewers. This is also reflected in higher TV
program ratings
Average improvement over young & adults Average improvement of children (6-14 yrs)
(15+ yrs)
Improvement of Children. Children Feel more confident and will be able to
Get general knowledge from newspaper and able to get daily information.

6. Impacts of SLS
Reading becomes automatic, subconscious, in everyday entertainment.
Used in songs as hugely popular, repetition, anticipation and instant
gratification, adds value for all.
It also severs as a motivational value for non-literate.
Print-exposure with text-sound association for pre-reading children
Before After SLS
SLS
Every US dollar spent on subtitling a nationally telecast program of Hindi
film songs, gives 30 minutes of weekly reading practice to 10,000 people,
for a whole year!
SLS has been implemented on one weekly program each in Hindi,
Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Marathi. The main
goal is to persuade broadcasting policy in India to immplement SLS on all
songs on TV, in all languages.

7. CREDITS
Useful websites 
http://www.planetread.org/impact.php
http://www.planetread.org/research.php
http://www.ashokaglobalizer.org/node/160
Done By:
Matthew Chua
Shaun Tan
Wilson Leow
Johannes Loh