Thiru A Raja, Minister of Communications and IT announced the launch of computing devices starting at an affordable price of Rs 5,000. The devices are based on Intel's revolutionary Atom Processor and these will be available in the Indian market very soon. The Minister was launching a unique 'Connected Indian' movement facilitated by Intel with partners from the industry and support from the government. Raja said, this could provide the 'unconnected' citizens with a truly affordable, simple and easy to use access to the Internet. He hoped that the price range would appeal very strongly to the broad citizen base. Raja called upon the industry to continuously innovate to create cost effective Internet access usage models. The Minister had earlier directed Intel to create a computing device at an approximate price point of Rs 5,000.

Raja observed that the Connected Indian movement would bring with it rapid broadband deployment and help harness the powers of Internet to accelerate inclusive social and economic change. He commended the industry for working on a new class of simple, affordable, Internet-centric devices nettops, netbooks and mobile Internet devices along with affordable broadband connectivity schemes from the service providers. He said bridging the digital divide is a key concern for India, considering that nearly 70 percent of the country's population has been bypassed by the ICT revolution.

Referring to the recent announcement of the WiMax and 3G Broadband Wireless Access Policy by the Ministry, Raja said, this will go a long way in providing true broadband Internet access in the hands of every Indian. “The government will ensure that licenses are awarded so that operators can create long term profitable business model,” stated Raja. He added that he expected global silicon companies like Intel to facilitate the bulk adoption of broadband wireless through a range of affordable WiMax and 3G devices.

Several captains of IT and telecom industry attended the launch of the Connected Indian Movement.

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