Draft:OLPC India

Submission declined on 7 October 2025 by NeoGaze (talk).

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Declined by NeoGaze 30 days ago. Last edited by NeoGaze 30 days ago. Reviewer: Inform author.

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Comment: Subject seems notable, but sourcing is a major issue; the draft largely relies on a single source that leads to another wiki, which is user-content and generally not allowed. Five references also aren't enough for a draft of this size. Please add more substantial, independent and reliable sources. NeoGaze (talk) 11:15, 7 October 2025 (UTC)

One Laptop Per Child India (commonly OLPC India) is an initiative to deploy the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) program in India, aiming to provide low-cost laptops to children in rural and underserved areas to improve educational access and digital literacy.

Background

OLPC India was founded by Satish Jha,^[1]^{[failed verification]} a journalist, social entrepreneur and former corporate executive, who decided to pursue deployments via state governments and NGOs after the Government of India declined a national rollout. The effort is coordinated within India by the OLPC India Foundation (OIF). Deployments are managed via collaboration with state governments, NGOs, and volunteer communities.^[2]^{[user-generated source]}

The first pilot deployment occurred in Khairat, a village near Navi Mumbai, where each child was given an XO laptop to carry home.^{[citation needed]} Over time, the initiative expanded to various states via pilot projects, proposals, and government orders. As of early 2010, seven Indian states had decided to adopt or pilot OLPC: Kerala, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and others.^[2]^{[user-generated source]}^[3]^[4]

State-level Deployments & Support

Manipur

The Government of Manipur was an early and strong supporter. After a presentation in March 2009, they approved procurement of ~75,000 OLPC units. Initial deployment began with 1,000 XOs as a pilot.^[2]^{[user-generated source]}^[5]

Kerala

Kerala placed an order for OLPC laptops and became one of the first states to adopt a large scale initiative. However, the state's efforts required coordination with the central government due to education jurisdiction issues.^[2]^{[user-generated source]}

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh planned deployment under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) program, targeting residential girls’ schools (Kasturba Gandhi Vidyalayas).^[2]^{[user-generated source]}

Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh announced interest in 4,000 schools (about 250,000 children) in June 2010, but progress was reportedly delayed due to central government clearance.^[2]^{[user-generated source]}

Bihar

There was interest from Bihar’s education authorities, but competing ICT device proposals (such as Intel’s Classmate) and procurement delays complicated adoption.^[2]^{[user-generated source]}

Deployment Sites

Current (as of the last available update):^[2]^{[user-generated source]}

Katha Khazana School, Govindpuri, New Delhi
Chiragh Grammar School, Uttar Pradesh
Khairat School, Khairat-Dhangarwada, Maharashtra
Parikrma Center for Learning, Bangalore
Aradhna Convent School, Bangalore
Holy Mother School, Nashik
St. Anthony School, Dugawar (U.P.)
Auroville, Tamil Nadu
Mandal Parishad Primary School, Aziznagar, Hyderabad
Our Lady of Merces High School, Goa
Primary School, Shriganganagar, Rajasthan
Udaan School run by Dr. Veena Sethi, Uttarakhand
Bhagmalpur Village, District Jaunpur, U.P.

Potential Sites: ^[2]^{[user-generated source]}

Ashram Madhyamik Shala, Wagholi, with support from Indo Science Education Trust
Venu Udayar Middle School, Palayanur, Tamil Nadu
Chiragh Grammar School, Meerut, U.P.
Belgaum District, Karnataka
Ahmedabad, Gujarat (funded by MangoTree Group)

Organizational Structure & Volunteer Network

OLPC India operates in part through a volunteer network. The OLPC India Student Chapter was established on 5 February 2008 at a seminar in Punjab University, Chandigarh, with the goal of raising awareness about OLPC across universities, colleges and schools. Regional chapters exist in various cities and states, including Rajasthan, Pune, Mumbai, with volunteer groups engaging in local awareness, deployment, training, and localization. ^[2]^{[user-generated source]}

Localization & Educational Content

Due to India’s multilingual environment, OLPC India places emphasis on localization (software and content) in Indian languages. Volunteers and alumni from PUMBA (Pune University) have helped in converting primary school textbooks into digital e-books in various Indian languages for XO laptops. Additional localization efforts include adapting keyboards, translations of interfaces, and the development of localized educational software and content. ^[2]^{[user-generated source]}

Projects & Software Initiatives

Several projects have been undertaken under the OLPC India umbrella:

BoomingBang — a light third-person RPG arcade game built using SDL and XML.
JUPITER1.0 — also called Brhaspati in Sanskrit, intended as an intelligent self-study software system that adapts to student’s age, level, and language.
WEB-TEACHER — aims to support remote teaching and mentoring via internet/remote desktop, leveraging XO mesh networking and school servers.
COES (Complete Online Education System) — speculated as a path to making a full online education system; details were under development.^[2]^{[user-generated source]}

Events

OLPC India Day was held on 4 August 2008.^{[citation needed]}

Challenges & Observations

Procurement & Government Coordination: Many state deployments were challenged by the need for central government approval, conflicting policies, and budget constraints.
Competition from Alternative Devices: In places like Bihar, proposals from other ICT devices (for example, Intel’s Classmate) impacted decision making.
Scale & Sustainability: While multiple pilots exist, the scale remains limited (fewer than ~5,000 units countrywide, per the last archived status).
Localization Complexity: India’s linguistic diversity (28 states, 24 official languages) adds complexity to software, content translation, and keyboard support.^[2]^{[user-generated source]}

References

^ "Women Economic Forum (WEF)". Women Economic Forum. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m "OLPC India - OLPC". wiki.laptop.org. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
^ "Education rides from laptops to tablets". The Financial Express. 2012-08-20. Retrieved 2025-10-01.
^ "OLPC aims to sell 1 mn laptops in India".
^ newspaperport (2014-08-25). "One Laptop per Child (OLPC)". The Future Leadership Institute. Retrieved 2025-10-01.

[1] "Women Economic Forum (WEF)". Women Economic Forum. Retrieved 2025-10-01.

[:0-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m "OLPC India - OLPC". wiki.laptop.org. Retrieved 2025-10-01.

[3] "Education rides from laptops to tablets". The Financial Express. 2012-08-20. Retrieved 2025-10-01.

[4] "OLPC aims to sell 1 mn laptops in India".

[5] wspaperport (2014-08-25). "One Laptop per Child (OLPC)". The Future Leadership Institute. Retrieved 2025-10-01.

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