India's cheapest laptop costing Rs. 1500

       Launched by the Human Resource and Development Minister, Kapil Sibal, the laptop that costs $30 is not only India's, but the world's cheapest laptop. The laptop, unveiled Thursday by Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal, has all the basic features, including a built-in key board, a 2 GB RAM memory, Wi-Fi connectivity, USB ports and is powered by a 2-watt system for use in power deficit areas. Interestingly, the device doesn't have a hard disk. This is an idea used to cut costs as well as save power. The device is likely to be available next year. 

       The seven and nine inch Linux-based touchscreen gadget can also be run on solar power, besides the battery operated system. The computing device will support functions like video web conferencing facility, and multimedia content viewing. The HRD ministry, under whose initiative the computer was designed and developed, hopes to bring down the price to $10 after the device is mass produced.

       Teams of experts, students and professors drawn from the Indian Institutes of Technology at Kharagpur, Kanpur, Chennai and Mumbai and the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, offered their skills and expertise to bring out the device with the HRD ministry.     

       One motherboard was reportedly designed by a student of Vellore Institute of Technology under his B.Tech project and was fabricated at IIT Kanpur. The cost had worked out to Rs.2,209. Thereafter, the processes of customisation helped reduce the price of the computing device.

       Once it becomes commercially available, it will surely help students as they can now own a resonably fast laptop at very affordable prices