After several false starts and announcements, it seems that the Indian government is finally getting its act together. The 'Sakshat' computing device whose technical details have still not been announced , has been set up to be sold at a price of 35$ USD or 1500 INR

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As to how the government could arrive at that price given that neither the manufacturer nor the distribution system has been set up remains a mystery. But what we do have is an image of the illusive device that has been anything but Sakshat (translate - in reality ; in physical form) up until now. Seen here is the Human Resources Minister of the Union of India holding one of the low cost devices during its launch on the 22nd of July.

From what we hear, the specifications still remain the same - namely - 2GB of storage, WiFi, Ethernet and 2 watts of power consumption. It will be using Linux to maintain low costsThe images show the lack of any sort of input device meaning that touch input is a certainty. While the minister was quick to invite private manufacturers to step in and helpin dropping the price even further (they are planning to drop the prices to 20$ soon while the ultimate aim remains to bring the costs to 10$ apiece. Promising that this was possible, the minister claimed that when the first motherboards for the Sakshat were fabricated it cost almost 47$ apiece. However by stringent cost cutting and customisation to meet the exact needs of the end users, it was possible to bring down the prices. Experts, professors and students at the different IIT and IISc centers across the country had inputs in the making of this device. The minister also claimed that once the price barrier of 35$ had been breached, it started of a 'wave of collaboration' with interested partners.

It seems that this project is a lot more than castles in the air as far as Indian politicians go. The portal related to this project, has already been launched with upto 500 web bsed and video courses already present. About 8500 colleges in the country have already been connected. Another 1100 courses are in the process of being finalised in the fields of engineering and science. The Sakshat project also plans on making use of Youtube ,given its easy accessibility and immense popularity. The minister also promised some sort of subsidy on the device (which the current price does not reflect).

If the project actually works out, it would be a brilliant addition in the tools to fight poverty for not just India but all the developing nations.

Press Release Source and

Image from Mid-Day