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OLPC Targets 3 Million Laptops In 365 Days; In Talks With 9 State Govts

olpc india satish jha

Targets will be targets will be targets, but much like the telecom ministers dream of 500 million Internet connection by 2012, it'll be a pleasant surprise if the One Laptop Per Child initiative is able to reach its target of 3 million laptops in 365 days. I spoke to Satish Jha, President & CEO of OLPC India, who said that for shipping to begin in India, they need to hit the magic number of 1 million XO laptops, and they're counting on support from corporates. "If a country can take 8 million cellular phones a month, they can take 3 million laptops in a year." If only... The OLPC foundation has launched the G1G1 (Give One Get One) initiative in India, as per which, a customer can purchase one laptop, and the OLPC foundation will gift another laptop to a child in a developing country. The XO costs around $210 to produce, so you'll be paying for two (around $400) under the G1G1 initiative. What's not palpable, is that the Indian government is charging an import duty of 10.2% on the laptops. Some readers might remember that a couple of years ago, India had rejected the OLPC at a national level. Consequently, the OLPC foundation is talking to governments at the state level in India - Jha said that they're currently talking to 9 state governments, who are interested in the project. "Education is a state subject anyway. It's a leap of faith for them, but I'll talk about them…

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Founder @ MediaNama. TED Fellow. Asia21 Fellow @ Asia Society. Co-founder SaveTheInternet.in and Internet Freedom Foundation. Advisory board @ CyberBRICS

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