According to technewsworld, India’s Ministry of Human Resource Development unveiled a prototype touch-screen computer which they claim will cost only $35 (R260).

Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri Kapil Sibal, said the aim is for the price to drop even more to $20 and then $10 in the future.

This strikingly cheap device resembles modern tablet computers in looks and will offer standard functionality such as word processing, web browsing and video-conferencing.

Planned for release in 2011, the department stated that it is aimed especially at students, but would also appeal to a larger lower income class demographic who have never owned such devices in the past.

It still remains a mystery how the department has managed to put together such a cheap computer, but it has been announced that the device will run on a Linux operating system which should cut licensing costs exceptionally.

Designers have also devised a flexible motherboard which can cope with changing components if need be. The touchscreen PC reportedly won’t have a hard drive either, opting to make use of a removable memory card.

Of course the question of quality does come to one’s mind. At $35 or less users shouldn’t be expecting an iPad, but at such a cheap price, the device can simply be discarded at the end of its lifetime without anxiously looking for the warranty.

The tablet should be extremely appealing to cash-strapped students or parents wanting to give their children a first computer.

It also shows much promise in emerging markets such as Africa, where it can be used for education as well as a communication device, introducing people to the internet and touchscreen computers for far cheaper than is presently possible.