New Delhi Plans $100 Laptop for Students

A $100-bill will buy you a lot of stuff in India -- and soon it could buy you a computer.

Shortly after developing its cheapest car, New Delhi has set its target for rolling out a $100 laptop, according to a government transcript. Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangladore and the Indian Institute of Technology have already begun researching the $100 notebook, which would be primarily designed for educational use.

Producing a $100 notebook will not only rectify computer illiteracy and e-learning issues for India, but also for the rest of the world, said D Purandeswari, Minister of State for Human Resource Development.

New Delhi's goal coincides with that of the One Laptop Per Child organization, which spearheaded the effort to produce an affordable education device for children in third-world countries. The organization's current offering, the XO (pictured above), costs $188 and includes a 433MHz processor, 256MB of RAM and a special touch screen for pointing and drawing. OLPC's goal since 2005 has been to produce a sub-$100 computer, and the organization hopes to meet that goal by the end of 2008.

Other computer manufacturers have been producing inexpensive notebooks as well. Jointech is offering a its JL7100 mini laptop for $99, and the NPX-9000 is selling for $130.