India Developing $10 Laptop?

July 29, 2008 By Geoff Duncan

The IDG news service reports that the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute of Technology are developing a $10 laptop.

Although no specifications or other details have been released, the IDG News Service is reporting that the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute of Technology are working in conjunction with the Indian government to develop a $10 laptop computer aimed for use in higher education. The announcement came at a conference in New Dehli, where the Minister of State for Higher Education D. Purandeswari noted the laptop would help increase the quality of higher education in India.

The Indian government has also announced plans to improve distance learning programs my making free bandwidth available for educational purposes to every Indian, along with developing a very low-cost (and low-power) network access device. The minister also didn’t reveal whether the proposed laptop’s price tag would be supported by government subsidies.

As a nation, India has one of the world’s largest populations—currently estimated to be over 1.3 billion people. However, currently fewer than 5 million have access to broadband in their homes.

The Indian government did not sign on to the One Laptop Per Child program (famously branding the program as "pedagogically suspect"), although Indian telecom provider Reliance Communications has been conducting pilot programs with the OLPC XO since late 2007.

[Update:31-Jul-2008: According to PC World, the Indian government is targeting a $100 price tag; the $10 figure apparently came from an error in a transcript of comments provided to reporters by the Indian government's press bureau.]

Showing 9 comments

Sarin Iyer at 1:23am 26th October 2009 I bought an Acer Timeline 4810T a month ago and its really doing well.The good thing about Acer is that they give us the choice of selecting features, which we require and not thrown at us and that too, at affordable price. I think, where Acer scores over other laptops is more value for money. There are many that will swear by their Acer laptop computers and this is amply evident when you come across a great many advertisements expounding on the virtues of such laptops. However, it is not such a good idea to go by advertising claims alone and it is also necessary to first check out different manufacturers and sees what’s on offer before making a considered decision. It should give you peace of mind that Acer is a worldwide company and it is known for providing practical and first-rate solutions for the marketplace. For this reason it will be worthwhile to consider an Acer Timeline.
P.SHOBA RAO at 6:25am 16th September 2008 Fantastic idea. It should be made compulsory by all educational institutions. Indian brains can do wonders if they are provided at their younger stage. I am sure, the lady minister will definetly see that her dream idea would materialize--knowing her too well from her school days.
Sreenivasan at 9:50pm 31st July 2008 $10 typo made by the spokesperson has gathered enough campaign by itself, though not the best way to achieve that. Still, calculated mistakes are unfortunately becoming a necessity.
I have developed a $80 Desktop. Not just another project but it is nothing less than a revolution. Could someone put me on to a right person? Thanks in advance
Sreenivasan at 9:50pm 31st July 2008 $10 typo made by the spokesperson has gathered enough campaign by itself, though not the best way to achieve that. Still, calculated mistakes are unfortunately becoming a necessity.
I am working on a $80 desktop project. Not just another project or claim, but it is nothing less than a revolution. Could some one put me on to the right person?
Bharath at 4:53pm 31st July 2008 Well, I really thank the IIS and IIT for taking us such a challenge to create a laptop at $100 price tag. This will surely uplift the youth of our nation. Every Indian has to support this and lets show the world that we are the best. I also congratulate, the Minister of State for Higher Education D. Purandeswari for taking up the initiative. Thanks, Bharath
JimmyDee at 8:02pm 30th July 2008 Bravo India, you have the brains - just control the corruption, and you will join the G8 within the next 10 years.
jef5623 at 3:42am 30th July 2008 India plans to enter the 7th age of computing like this?
jeff at 1:46pm 29th July 2008 Who's the lady in the caption pic? Scary.
Matt at 1:46pm 29th July 2008 I wish them luck, but I'm not sure how a $10.00 laptop will contribute to higher education. Maybe it will fuel the anger management classes when it doesnt work properly.