India is developing a $ 10 laptop

India is developing a laptop that sells for $ 10, targeting educational applications, an Indian minister said.

D. Purandeswari, Minister of State for Higher Education, said research on new low-cost laptops is being conducted by the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and the Indian Institute of Technology at Chennai. She added that this measure will help improve the quality of higher education in India.

However, the Minister did not give details of the 10-dollar laptop, nor did it make it clear whether the record low price would be subsidized by the government.

Purandeswari just added that the Indian government is planning to use information and communication technology to expand their distance education programs, by putting them on the Internet.

Therefore, the Indian government is also working to develop access devices with very low prices and low energy consumption. The government also plans to allow Indians to use free broadband for educational purposes.

India's Internet penetration rate is very low. India had 4.38 million broadband subscribers by the end of June 2008, out of a population of more than 1.13 billion people.

Some local and multinational companies such as Microsoft and Intel and non-governmental organizations are promoting technology into education for India.