The gadget, developed by the elite Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science, is part of a push to give students a better education and technical skills needed to boost India’s economic growth.
The first users are expected to be university students with introduction of the Linux-based computing device targeted for next year.
The ministry is going to install broadband internet at all of its 22,000 colleges so students can use the 35-dollar device, government spokeswoman Mamta Verma told AFP on Friday in New Delhi.
The tablet gadget, which can be run on solar power, is equipped with an internet browser, video-conferencing capability and a media player, among other facilities.
“This is part of the national initiative to take forward inclusive education,” Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal told reporters on Thursday.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 24th, 2010.
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