India plans to develop $100 laptop

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A $100 laptop may sound unbelievable, but that is what the Indian government is aiming for. The project is similar to the One Laptop Per Child Program, however those notebooks cost nearly $200 per unit.

Ms. D. Purandeswari, Minister of State for Higher Education, made this announcement at an education conference in Delhi.

However, she didn’t give any specifications for this laptop or whether any subsidies will be involved.

To make this laptop research work, it's being carried out at premier institutions such as the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai and Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.

Purandeswari told Infoworld the Indian government is "planning to use information and communications technology (ICT) to strengthen its current programs for distance learning by making them accessible online."

In addition, the government is planning to develop a low-cost and low-power consuming access device; it plans to provide free broadband access for educational purposes all across the country; and it plans to build a “knowledge network” between colleges and schools.

In India, there are only 4.38 million broadband subscribers compared to nearly 250 million subscribers in the U.S. and in China. India's population is 1.13 billion.

Also, corporations like Microsoft, Intel and India's top company (Reliance Communications) are helping Indian children by providing computers and OLPC laptops (through Reliance).

I imagine it will be extremely difficult for the Indian government to make a $10 laptop, but as long as it's less than $100, it will help the poor and those who can’t afford this type of technology, as well as improve the education system in the country.

Update: There is a correction to the story, the government wrongly stated it in their transcript as a $10 laptop it is a $100 laptop.