Following TATA's NANO - the cheapest vehicle, now India is again in news for the cheapest tablet PC. Tablet PC is the smallest form of computer. The Indian Tablet PC named as Sakshat is meant for Educational purposes, mainly.
Kapil Sibal, India Human Resource Development Minister has unveiled preview with its earlier prototype available for showcase. The tablet PC will boast WiFi, and Touchscreen as main features. Considering the Hardware, Battery power and Price constraints, the device will be preloaded with Android Operating System which is increasingly gaining its popularity in handheld and mobile segments.
With its official release date in 2011, the government hopes to further reduce the price to $10-20 with subsidize and mass volume production by that time.
The tablet PC Sakshat is suitable for Internet browsing, reading e-books and viewing Multimedia.
Showing posts with label Government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Government. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Rs 500 laptop display on Feb 3
NEW DELHI: A $10 laptop (Rs 500) prototype, with 2 GB RAM capacity, would be on display in Tirupati on February 3 when the National Mission on
Education through Information and Communication Techology is launched.
The $10 laptop project, first reported in TOI three years ago, has come as an answer to the $100 laptop of MIT's Nicholas Negroponte that he was trying to hardsell to India. The $10 laptop has come out of the drawing board stage due to work put in by students of Vellore Institute of Technology, scientists in Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, IIT-Madras and involvement of PSUs like Semiconductor Complex. “At this stage, the price is working out to be $20 but with mass production it is bound to come down,” R P Agarwal, secretary, higher education said.
Apart from questioning the technology of $100 laptops, the main reason for HRD ministry's resistance to Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project was the high and the hidden cost that worked out to be $200.
The mission launch would also see demonstration of e-classroom, virtual laboratory and a better 'Sakshat' portal that was launched more than two years ago. Sources also said that the ministry has entered into an agreement with four publishers — Macmillan, Tata McGraw Hill, Prentice-Hall and Vikas Publishing — to upload their textbooks on 'Sakshat'. Five per cent of these books can be accessed free.
The mission, with an 11th plan outlay of Rs 4,612 crore, is aimed at making a serious intervention in enhancing the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education. The mission has two major components. One, content generation through its portal 'Sakshat', and two, building connectivity along with providing access devices for institutions and learners.
In this context, government would give Rs 2.5 lakh per institution for 10 Kbps connection and subsidise 25% of costs for private and state government colleges.
The mission would seek to extend computer infrastructure and connectivity to over 18,000 colleges in the country, including each department of nearly 400 universities and institutions of national importance. The mission would focus on appropriate e-learning procedures, providing facility of performing experiments through virtual laboratories, online testing and certification, online availability of teachers to guide and mentor learners, and utilization of EduSat and DTH.
Education through Information and Communication Techology is launched.
The $10 laptop project, first reported in TOI three years ago, has come as an answer to the $100 laptop of MIT's Nicholas Negroponte that he was trying to hardsell to India. The $10 laptop has come out of the drawing board stage due to work put in by students of Vellore Institute of Technology, scientists in Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, IIT-Madras and involvement of PSUs like Semiconductor Complex. “At this stage, the price is working out to be $20 but with mass production it is bound to come down,” R P Agarwal, secretary, higher education said.
Apart from questioning the technology of $100 laptops, the main reason for HRD ministry's resistance to Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project was the high and the hidden cost that worked out to be $200.
The mission launch would also see demonstration of e-classroom, virtual laboratory and a better 'Sakshat' portal that was launched more than two years ago. Sources also said that the ministry has entered into an agreement with four publishers — Macmillan, Tata McGraw Hill, Prentice-Hall and Vikas Publishing — to upload their textbooks on 'Sakshat'. Five per cent of these books can be accessed free.
The mission, with an 11th plan outlay of Rs 4,612 crore, is aimed at making a serious intervention in enhancing the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education. The mission has two major components. One, content generation through its portal 'Sakshat', and two, building connectivity along with providing access devices for institutions and learners.
In this context, government would give Rs 2.5 lakh per institution for 10 Kbps connection and subsidise 25% of costs for private and state government colleges.
The mission would seek to extend computer infrastructure and connectivity to over 18,000 colleges in the country, including each department of nearly 400 universities and institutions of national importance. The mission would focus on appropriate e-learning procedures, providing facility of performing experiments through virtual laboratories, online testing and certification, online availability of teachers to guide and mentor learners, and utilization of EduSat and DTH.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Army to launch its own mobile service!
Not one to be left behind, the Indian Army will next month launch its own mobile communication system christened 'Mercury blaze', says a PTI report.
An army spokesperson said the mega project is being handled by the Corps of Signals, who are currently weighing the system in terms of reliability and security, among other parameters.
The project was actually launched in January last year, and is expected to reach completion by end of this month.
Sources familiar with the project said the new system will replace the old wireless communication service used during counter-insurgency operations in the state.
They said that the sophisticated technology would ensure faster mobility of troops during anti-terrorist operations. Besides helping provide the best secured communication to troops, the system would provide data communication directly to operational areas.
The sources added that the system would enhance battlefield transparency, with troops being able to coordinate and carry out counter-insurgency operations in the best possible manner.
The countdown to the launch has begun, with a series of mobile towers and other infrastructure already set up across army formations in the country, including Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri, Doda, Udhampur, Jammu, and Poonch districts.
It is learnt that the new system was put to the test in the army's Nagrota-based 16 Corps operational area that spreads out from the South of the Pir Panjal range to the Jammu plains. And, the trial emerged error-free and successful, according to sources.
An army spokesperson said the mega project is being handled by the Corps of Signals, who are currently weighing the system in terms of reliability and security, among other parameters.
The project was actually launched in January last year, and is expected to reach completion by end of this month.
Sources familiar with the project said the new system will replace the old wireless communication service used during counter-insurgency operations in the state.
They said that the sophisticated technology would ensure faster mobility of troops during anti-terrorist operations. Besides helping provide the best secured communication to troops, the system would provide data communication directly to operational areas.
The sources added that the system would enhance battlefield transparency, with troops being able to coordinate and carry out counter-insurgency operations in the best possible manner.
The countdown to the launch has begun, with a series of mobile towers and other infrastructure already set up across army formations in the country, including Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri, Doda, Udhampur, Jammu, and Poonch districts.
It is learnt that the new system was put to the test in the army's Nagrota-based 16 Corps operational area that spreads out from the South of the Pir Panjal range to the Jammu plains. And, the trial emerged error-free and successful, according to sources.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
BSNL, Novatium roll out low-cost computer
‘Nova netPC’ is available in two packages of Rs.1,999 and Rs.2,999
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Chennai-based IT solutions company Novatium on Friday rolled out a low-cost home computing device that could help the former achieve a target of 9 million broadband connections across the country in the next couple of years.
At a press conference after the launch of “Nova netPC” on the BSNL’s network, Chairman and Managing Director of BSNL Kuldeep Goyal said affordability issues over buying a desktop PC or laptop would no longer stand in the way of broadband penetration, especially in rural areas.
Essentially, the user is provided with a set top box, keyboard and mouse while most hardware functions of a computer will be managed by a central server. Most of the widely used applications will be available to the user. The central server will facilitate access to the BSNL’s broadband conduit, for which the user will need to subscribe to any of the DataOne monthly plans.
Nova netPC, available in two packages (down payment of Rs.1,999 and a monthly charge of Rs.199, and an upfront fee of Rs.2,999 and monthly subscription of Rs.175), is available at BSNL’s outlets in the city.
Mr. Goyal said the total number of broadband users in the country was only 5.25 million, which was less than 1 per cent of the population. In developed societies, the penetration levels were as high as 60 per cent or more.
BSNL aimed to account for about 60 per cent of the 20 million broadband connections stipulated as target for 2010 by the government. BSNL, which now has 3 million broadband users, has equipped at a cost of Rs.1,600 crore 23,000 of its network of 30,000 telephone exchanges for broadband connectivity. BSNL enjoyed a 56 per cent market share in the broadband space, he pointed out.
“Negotiations with the Universal Service Obligation Fund, a body mandated with scaling up rural telephony, are in an advanced stage on providing near-free broadband tariffs and subsidised customer end equipment for rural users,” he said.
3G technology
BSNL’s plans for the immediate future include rollout of 3G technology on its GSM network (the national launch planned from Chennai now has been rescheduled to February), providing broadband on optic fibre for high-end users and facilitating wireless broadband (WiMAX) in 1,000 rural blocks.
Advance purchase orders for WiMAX equipment had been placed with suppliers.
Novatium CEO Alok Singh said the link-up with BSNL fitted in with the company’s vision of making computing simple and affordable and taking broadband to the nook and corner of the country.
The netPC, which is protected with 11 global patents, had been around for over a year in Delhi and would shortly go commercial. In addition to 1,000 users in the capital, the netPC had been launched in Mauritius. In Chennai, where BSNL issued 8,000 new connections a month, Novatium targeted a sale of 1,000 units by January end.
Post-launch, Nova netPC devices were distributed to four BSNL customers.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Chennai-based IT solutions company Novatium on Friday rolled out a low-cost home computing device that could help the former achieve a target of 9 million broadband connections across the country in the next couple of years.
At a press conference after the launch of “Nova netPC” on the BSNL’s network, Chairman and Managing Director of BSNL Kuldeep Goyal said affordability issues over buying a desktop PC or laptop would no longer stand in the way of broadband penetration, especially in rural areas.
Essentially, the user is provided with a set top box, keyboard and mouse while most hardware functions of a computer will be managed by a central server. Most of the widely used applications will be available to the user. The central server will facilitate access to the BSNL’s broadband conduit, for which the user will need to subscribe to any of the DataOne monthly plans.
Nova netPC, available in two packages (down payment of Rs.1,999 and a monthly charge of Rs.199, and an upfront fee of Rs.2,999 and monthly subscription of Rs.175), is available at BSNL’s outlets in the city.
Mr. Goyal said the total number of broadband users in the country was only 5.25 million, which was less than 1 per cent of the population. In developed societies, the penetration levels were as high as 60 per cent or more.
BSNL aimed to account for about 60 per cent of the 20 million broadband connections stipulated as target for 2010 by the government. BSNL, which now has 3 million broadband users, has equipped at a cost of Rs.1,600 crore 23,000 of its network of 30,000 telephone exchanges for broadband connectivity. BSNL enjoyed a 56 per cent market share in the broadband space, he pointed out.
“Negotiations with the Universal Service Obligation Fund, a body mandated with scaling up rural telephony, are in an advanced stage on providing near-free broadband tariffs and subsidised customer end equipment for rural users,” he said.
3G technology
BSNL’s plans for the immediate future include rollout of 3G technology on its GSM network (the national launch planned from Chennai now has been rescheduled to February), providing broadband on optic fibre for high-end users and facilitating wireless broadband (WiMAX) in 1,000 rural blocks.
Advance purchase orders for WiMAX equipment had been placed with suppliers.
Novatium CEO Alok Singh said the link-up with BSNL fitted in with the company’s vision of making computing simple and affordable and taking broadband to the nook and corner of the country.
The netPC, which is protected with 11 global patents, had been around for over a year in Delhi and would shortly go commercial. In addition to 1,000 users in the capital, the netPC had been launched in Mauritius. In Chennai, where BSNL issued 8,000 new connections a month, Novatium targeted a sale of 1,000 units by January end.
Post-launch, Nova netPC devices were distributed to four BSNL customers.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Decoding BlackBerry: Encryption limit may hit 256 Bits
NEW DELHI: The government is planning to increase the permitted level of encryption for electronic data from 40 to 256 bits. This will allow decoding of electronic mails sent through BlackBerry. The matter is presently being examined by the National Security Advisor (NSA).
The move comes after Research In Motion (RIM), the makers of BlackBerry, expressed their inability to provide a solution to the government for decoding encrypted data, claiming that it itself couldn’t decode the mails sent through its system. RIM has, however, said that they would come with some solution by the end of this month.
“The government would involve third-party agents to crack the encryption code if RIM does not come out with a solution. It is, however, not possible for any third party to bring down the level of encrypted data at the prescribed level. To avoid technical ambiguity, the government may raise the prescribed limit for data encryption to 256 bits,” an official source said, adding that the matter has been referred to the NSA for its comments.
A mail sent in this regard to communication minister A Raja and telecom secretary Siddharth Behura went unanswered. Country’s security agencies have earlier complained that messages transmitted through BlackBerry devices posed a risk as they couldn’t be traced.
The move comes after Research In Motion (RIM), the makers of BlackBerry, expressed their inability to provide a solution to the government for decoding encrypted data, claiming that it itself couldn’t decode the mails sent through its system. RIM has, however, said that they would come with some solution by the end of this month.
“The government would involve third-party agents to crack the encryption code if RIM does not come out with a solution. It is, however, not possible for any third party to bring down the level of encrypted data at the prescribed level. To avoid technical ambiguity, the government may raise the prescribed limit for data encryption to 256 bits,” an official source said, adding that the matter has been referred to the NSA for its comments.
A mail sent in this regard to communication minister A Raja and telecom secretary Siddharth Behura went unanswered. Country’s security agencies have earlier complained that messages transmitted through BlackBerry devices posed a risk as they couldn’t be traced.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
On board: dial-an-auto
New Delhi, June 6 UD ministry plans radio auto-rickshaws for Capital; transport network to include modern cycle rickshaws
The Capital’s public is set to go more mobile. First the Delhi government planned to put in a total of 4,000 radio taxis on road in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Now the Union Urban Development Ministry has gone a step further: it plans to introduce radio auto-rickshaws in Delhi and Chandigarh soon.
The ministry has already commissioned feasibility studies to see how this can be done.
“What is happening in Delhi right now is that transport is being conceptualised as independent projects,” a ministry official told Newsline. “So you have a BRT corridor coming up and then a proposed LRT. But the feeder system to various networks has not been conceptualised. What Delhi, or any other city, needs is a comprehensive transport network, not scattered projects.
“Non-motorised vehicles comprise nearly 30 per cent of the Capital’s traffic, and auto-rickshaws are here to stay. So they need to be incorporated in the city’s transport system in a more organised fashion.”
This, then, is how it looks on the ministry’s drawing board: auto-rickshaws in the city will be fitted with a GPS-monitoring system; a call centre will be set up on the lines of call centres working with radio-taxi services; and stoppage points for autos will be fixed.
When the project is implemented, Delhiites will be able to call an auto through an SMS or a phone call.
“We are conceptualising plans on how cycle-rickshaws can also be integrated in the transport network,” a transport official in UD ministry said. “The problem with cycle-rickshaws is that they cannot be fitted with GPS system. But we will decide haltage points for them as well, and organise them in a way that they can provide feeder services to other transport corridors.”
The official said their studies have shown cycle-rickshaws have been the “main feeder service” for Delhi Metro so far.
According to the official, all cycle-rickshaws and their owners need to be registered by the municipality. The owners should pay taxes, maintain the rickshaws, and conform to rules and regulations of traffic safety, which are not enforced till date, the official pointed out. “With carbon emission creating a hazard for the environment, cycle-rickshaws have been introduced in cities such as Frankfurt, London, Paris and New York,” the official said. “So it is just a question of improving their aesthetics and making them more viable” to make them more attractive for Delhiites.
The ministry has envisioned cost-recovery of cycle-rickshaw project with advertising hubs at its stoppage points. There are plans to make modern rickshaw stands with sitting facility, fare charts, drinking water and even railway ticketing stations.
The Institute of Urban Transport will conduct the two pilot studies sanctioned by the ministry; they will be completely funded by the ministry.
“Whether they are auto-rickshaws or cycle-rickshaws, it is not possible for individual owners to afford new, upgraded technology,” an official said. “That is why the ministry is stepping in. We are also talking to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) for the project.”
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