India is currently in the process of developing a US$10 laptop. Others might find it unbelievable but it is a real project that aims to target higher education applications.

According to D. Purandeswari, Minister of State for Higher Education, research on the ultra low-cost laptop is now being undertaken at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai.

The Minister did not however disclose the specifications of the rock-bottom priced laptop during its announcement at a conference in Delhi. It is also unclear whether that price will be achieved thru the government’s aid.

The minister also stressed that the purpose of the laptop is to further strengthen the country’s distance learning programs by using information and communications technology (ICT).

Apart from this, India is also developing a very low-cost and low-power-consuming access device. Purandeswari also said that the country’s grand plan is to provide free bandwidth for education purposes to every Indian.

Despite the large population of the country, its Internet penetration is still low. The country registered a total of 4.38 million broadband subscribers at the end of June for a population of over 1.13 billion.

As of now, large local and international companies like Microsoft and Intel, and NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) have been working on technology for education.

Source: Yahoo News