Tech Shout!

Around a year ago, India pulled out its support from the ‘One Laptop Per Child’ (OLPC) initiative. Now Human Resources Development ministry in India is seeking ways to develop a laptop that would cost an unbelievable $10.

The Indian government has taken a pass on the device, opting for two homegrown designs. The first design is from a student at Vellore Institute of Technology and another from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, according to the Times of India.

At present, none of the two devices has managed to get the price to $10; in fact $47 is the lowest they could reach. Till now, the Indian government has not got any company to agree to produce the device, since building it for merely $10 would most probably mean that the manufacturer would have to take a significant loss.

Many of the parts that would be needed must be produced elsewhere, which incurs additional costs, those close to the project said. To save money, some parts may be produced within the country rather than elsewhere.

People working on the project stated that several of the parts required for the $10 laptop would be produced elsewhere, thus incurring extra costs

The effort by the Indian engineers came in response to the increasing price of the OLPC ‘$100 laptop’, which is slated to ship later this year.

One wonders how a laptop at that low a price is possible. Two years is the earliest that the novel laptop may become a reality. A meeting is to be help most probably by May end, to discuss the project.