Kapil Sibal (above), India’s human resource development minister, told the media the first group to receive the touchscreen computers, which resemble Apple’s $499 iPad, are over 100 million schoolchildren. The goal is reduce the cost of production to $20, and ultimately to $10. India’s development of this computer is symbolic of the country’s power to influence and change the world. How will this affect the country’s enormous illiterate population? According to UNICEF, 34% of the adult population and 18% of youth were illiterate in 2007, compared to a rate of 7% and 1%, respectively, in China. With a total population of over one billion, these numbers exceed the total population of the United States.

How do you think this will change India’s burgeoning population and workforce? How will an increase in literacy and access to internet affect India’s role in the global marketplace?

Read more on Indian Express.

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