Govt to help launch PC for less than Rs 10K by June

Common man's dream of owning a PC could well become a reality soon. The
union government is currently working with the industry to ensure that India
produces a PC for less than Rs 10,000.

Union minister for Communications and IT, Dayanidhi Maran was confident that
the government would be able to meet this goal by June this year. "My
ministry is working closely with the industry to ensure that we produce a PC for
less than Rs 10,000, so as to make it accessible to the less privileged sections
of the society. We are in close talks with Intel and Microsoft for this. We are
trying to fit a modem into it," he said.

Asked to comment on the IT Act, 2000, the minister stated that a group headed
by the IT secretary is currently working on the revamp of the act. He said that
a report is expected in the next four to five weeks.

Commenting on the criticism that USO (Universal Service Obligation) funds
were not being utilized fully, Dayanidhi said that additional Rs 1,200 crore has
been allocated towards the allotting telephone lines in 56,000 villages in a
span of two years. Earlier, alluding to the conference theme on 'Education for
the underprivileged' in his speech, the minister said that ICT could be a
great catalyst for delivering the promise of education for all.

Meanwhile, the government of Maharashtra is seriously considering the
possibility of introducing computer education in schools from Std I to Std VII.
Minister of State for Higher and Technical Education, Sureshdada Jain said that
a decision on this would be taken soon. "The government is likely to
appoint Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation (MKCL) as the nodal agency for this
purpose," he added.

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