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India to Offer $35 Laptop for Students


New computing device will have web browsing, video-conferencing capabilities, ability to run on solar power, says HRD Minister Sibal

India has created a prototype for a $35 touch-screen laptop that it hopes to make available to thousands of students.

India's Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal says the computing device will have web browsing and video-conferencing capabilities. The iPad-like gadget will also have the ability to run on solar power.

The Linux-based computer, introduced by the Indian Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of Science, should be available by 2011.

Sibal says there are plans for the device to become even cheaper, with the price dropping to $20 and eventually $10.

The inexpensive laptop is part of a nationwide Indian education initiative that also includes installing broadband capabilities on the nation's more than 22,000 college campuses.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP AND Reuters.

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