Home to more than a billion people, India has a literacy rate of only 65 percent, according to CNN, and the government has set new goals to increase the country’s overall education achievements. A big part of their plan is to help students access the Internet and new technology. A touch-screen laptop computer that comes at an incredibly cheap price might just be the way to do so.
AFP reports Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal as saying, “This is part of the national initiative to take forward inclusive education. The solutions for tomorrow will emerge from India.”
The gadget, which will be introduced at $35, with hopes of dropping the price all the way down to $10, will be available for university students by 2011. The ministry will also provide broadband Internet at all 22,000 colleges so students can use the device. The computer will be equipped with an Internet browser, video-conferencing capabilities, a media player, word processing and more.
“The aim is to reach such devices to the students of colleges and universities, and to provide these institutions a host of choices of low-cost access devices around Rs 1,500 [$35 USD] or less in near future,” the human resources ministry said at the launch of the computer, as reported by CNN.
The government called on its top technology and engineering schools, the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science, to develop the gadget after the private sector showed no interest.
The tablet-type computer will also have solar power capabilities, which will be great for students who live in areas without electricity. The solar feature though, at the moment, will come at an extra cost.
The ministry understands the need to bring India up to par with other developing nations like China, which boasts a 95 percent literacy rate. The hope is that an affordable computer will allow more students of all ages to engage in today’s digital world, increasing the country’s standards in education and also spurring economic stimulation.
Photo by World Economic Forum via Flickr.