New Delhi: Posing direct threat to the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) programme, India on Tuesday unveiled a US $ 10 (Rs 450) laptop, complete with 2 GB onboard memory, WiFi, USB port, plus facility to power the gadget with a two-watt system.

The low-cost device has been jointly developed by the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore and the University Grants Commission (UGC) and is expected to have a price tag of $10 to $20 (about Rs 500 to Rs 1,000).

"The project has been conceived and developed for the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and is aimed at bridging the digital divide and making access to computer literacy affordable to the masses," said a senior official associated with the project.

Demonstrating the laptop the country's Education Joint Secretary S K Sinha said the low-power consuming gadget would hit the market in the next six months.

“The device, which is smaller than the normal laptop in size and weight, still needs fine-tuning. With 2GB (gigabit) memory and wireless Internet connection, the laptop will be priced between Rs 500-1,000 to make it affordable to everyone,” Sinha said.

According to a senior HRD official, the Ministry is chalking out plans for a pilot project to distribute the device in higher secondary schools and colleges under the national mission on education through ICT.

“We intend to provide high-speed Internet access to schools and colleges to enable students download e-books, e-journals and relevant educative material through the state-run Sakshat portal,” Sinha said.

“The goal of the national mission is to increase enrolment in higher education by five percent by 2014. The government will subsidise 25 percent of broadband connectivity costs for private and public colleges,” Singh announced.

The Mission is part of the MHRD's initiatives to help the masses in their quest for education and the central government has already earmarked Rs 4,612 crore for the same in the 11th Five-Year Plan.

The $10 laptop is being seen as India's reply to One Laptop per Child's XO and Classmate of Intel.

The XO, created by scientist Nicholas Negroponte and MIT Media Lab was originally targeted to cost only $100 but by the time it was ready to enter the market its cost went up to $188. The Classmate notebook PC from Intel was priced at $ 300 a piece.
—iGovernment Bureau