Kochi: The government will distribute 10,000 Raspberry Pi (small, single-board computer of the size of a credit card developed by Raspberry Pi Foundation) to schoolchildren next year as part of its initiative to cultivate entrepreneurial talent among them.
It will also start fabrication labs in 19 engineering colleges, Technopark and Startup Village with the support of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Announcing the decisions at TiEcon 2013, Industry and IT Principal Secretary P.H. Kurien said the proposed Rs 150-crore Innovation Zone at Kalamassery here will have 12 incubators, including electronic, nano-technology and hi-tech farming.
The central and state governments would invest Rs 75 crore each for the Innovation Zone. “In three years, we expect to generate 3,000 technology startups at the Innovation Zone,” Kurien later told reporters.
Each of the Raspberry Pi is expected to cost Rs 3,000 and the Fablabs Rs 50 lakh or more depending on the number of machines. Students from both government and private schools will be eligible for the Raspberry Pi.
