India's Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Kapil Sibal, today unveiled a low cost computing-cum-access device, whose price is estimated at $35 per piece, which is set to gradually drop further to $20 and ultimately to $10 per unit.
Picking up the mantle from Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project, which aimed at a $100 device, the Ministry said the endeavor of lowering the device's price and enhancing its capabilities would need research and development. Consequently, the Indian Institute of Technology, Rajasthan, and other IITs around the country, in tandem with other technical institutions, are setting up research teams that will address a wide range of issues in achieving the ultimate goal in terms of price and quality.
 The statement said that the Ministry initiated the program after receiving a rather lukewarm response from known corporations in this sector. It held discussions on the concept with a group of Professors and experts at Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras and IIT Bombay. Bachelors and masters students of technology were guided to produce the motherboard for such low cost devices with ample flexibility to change components.
One such motherboard design was generated under Ministry’s guidance in the B.Tech project of a student at VIT, Vellore. The cost of bill of material worked to $47 at that point of time. The printed circuit board (PCB) of the motherboard was fabricated at IIT Kanpur. It was evident that by customizing the device to the needs of learners across the country and utilizing the capabilities of suitable processors, it was possible to substantially reduce the eventual price of such an access-cum-computing device. Then came the wave of collaboration with interested partners. The Ministry's aim is to ensure that such devices reach students at colleges and universities across India, and provide choices of low cost access devices around Rs.1,500 ($35) or less in near future.
The device holds considerable promise for India's education scenario and three cardinal principles of the Education Policy viz., access, equity and quality. Each could be well served by providing connectivity to all colleges and universities, providing low cost and affordable access cum computing devices to students and teachers and providing high quality e-content free of cost to all learners in the country. National Mission on Education through ICT (NMEICT) covers all three elements – with connectivity to institutions having already started, almost 8.500 colleges have been connected. High quality e-content in various subjects is being created and under the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), with almost 500 web and video based courses available and uploaded on “sakshat”, YouTube and NPTEL portals. Another 1,100 courses in various disciplines of engineering and science are getting generated in four quadrant approach, the statement said. Some media reports said the device would run Open Source software and would not have a hard-drive. It would support video-web conferencing and would feature multimedia content viewers, print support, a media player, and USB ports.
Image: Courtesy PIB - The Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Kapil Sibal, addressing the press at the unveiling of a low cost computing-cum-access device, in New Delhi on July 22, 2010. Also seen are India's IT Secretary, Ministry of HRD, NK Sinha and the ADG (M&C), PIB, Ms. Ira Joshi.
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