Siddaramaiah launches state-developed, AI ready computer priced at Rs 18,999
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday launched KEO, an AI-ready, compact personal computer priced at Rs 18,999, and "designed and developed entirely within the state to bridge Karnataka's digital access gap".
According to officials, KEO, which stands for Knowledge-driven, Economical, Open-source, aims to make intelligent computing accessible at the grassroots and empower citizens across Karnataka.
The device, unveiled by the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2025, has been developed by the Department of Electronics, IT & BT in collaboration with KEONICS (Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited).
Later, addressing a press conference here, Information Technology Minister Priyank Kharge said, "India's most affordable artificial intelligence personal computer has been launched officially. It is the most compact, powerful AI device in India right now and it is completely based on open source. Nowhere in the world can you build such a device for Rs 18,999."
When asked about the pricing, he said, "When we started, it was a low-cost project. Now it is affordable. The problem is geopolitics -- the US and China's stand on rare earth materials and that is what pushed up the memory cost. Now it's de-escalating".
"We have spoken to a lot of people in Taiwan and the US as well, and everybody is of the opinion that it has de-escalated now. It may take a couple of months to stabilise. Once it stabilises, we will ensure that the cost is lowered as well. As of now, it is affordable. You will not get such a powerful AI-edge machine at this cost."
According to him, Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan and Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw saw the device and were very impressed.
"They have placed an order to procure it, and they will be sponsoring it for schools," he said.
The minister said the device was built to ensure "every student, engineer, creator, innovator and household has access to powerful, intelligent computing at the grassroots, not just at the top of the pyramid."
He highlighted that fewer than 10 per cent of Indian households own a computer.
In Karnataka, the figure is just 15 per cent, well below the level required for modern education and digital livelihoods, he added.
"While smartphones are widespread, studies show that computers are essential for academic work, coding, online classes and hybrid learning," he said, noting that over 60 per cent of Indian students reported being unable to participate in online learning due to the lack of a device -- a factor contributing to higher dropout rates.
Sharath Kumar Bache Gowda, Chairman of KEONICS, said a delegation led by Japanese women entrepreneurs has already seen the device and expressed interest in funding it.
"KEO is now open for pre-orders on our website. We are trying to optimise manufacturing. We are checking in Mysuru and other places. The chip was designed, developed and built by a Bengaluru-based semiconductor company," he added.
According to a statement, built on an open-source RISC-V processor with a Linux-based OS, KEO offers a full computing experience at an accessible price point. It features 4G, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB-A and USB-C ports, HDMI and audio jack support, and comes fully loaded with learning, programming and productivity tools.
KEO includes an on-device AI core, enabling AI to run locally without internet access. It comes preloaded with BUDDH, an AI agent trained on the Karnataka DSERT syllabus to assist students even in low-connectivity regions, the statement added.
Following the launch, KEO is being showcased to the public throughout the Summit, allowing students, start-ups, industry leaders and visitors to experience the device first-hand and understand its role in enabling mass-affordable, AI-ready computing across the state.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
NEET-UG: 2 more held, role of several NTA officers under scanner; CBI focussing on source of leak
New Delhi (PTI): The CBI has arrested two more persons in connection with the NEET (UG) paper-leak case, with the role of several officers of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and other organisations, who had access to the printing press where the papers were printed, coming under the scanner, officials said on Thursday.
The agency has arrested Dhananjay Lokhanda from Ahilyanagar and Manisha Waghmare from Pune and conducted searches at 14 locations across the country in the last 24 hours, they said.
The CBI is focussing on identifying the source of the leak that has caused massive disappointment to lakhs of aspirants eyeing a seat in undergraduate medical courses, which are allotted after the highly-competitive examination, the officials said.
According to the CBI probe so far, the involvement of public servants in the leak cannot be ruled out.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested three individuals from Jaipur -- Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal and Dinesh Biwal -- along with Yash Yadav from Gurugram and Shubham Khairnar from Nashik.
Khairnar was in touch with Yadav and informed him in April that Mangilal Biwal was ready to pay Rs 10-12 lakh for arranging leaked NEET (UG) 2026 questions for his younger son.
Khairnar allegedly provided 500 to 600 questions from the leaked paper to Yadav, the officials said, adding that the questions could have helped score enough marks to get a seat in a reputed medical college.
Mangilal Biwal allegedly procured the paper from Yadav, who was known to his elder son Vikas Biwal from an NEET coaching in Rajasthan's Sikar. The deal between Mangilal Biwal and Yadav was for Rs 10 lakh, if 150 questions from the question bank matched with those in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) paper, the officials said.
Mangilal Biwal shared the paper with his son and further distributed it among relatives.
Yadav also told Vikas Biwal to find additional candidates for the questions to recover some of the money that he had spent on getting those, the officials said.
An analysis of digital devices has given the agency incriminating chats, leaked question papers and other digital evidence. The CBI will subject the devices to a forensic examination to get the deleted data, the officials said.
The federal agency has registered an FIR and formed teams to probe the alleged NEET (UG) paper leak that resulted in the cancellation of the exam held on May 3.
The NEET (UG) 2026 was conducted across 551 Indian cities and at 14 overseas centres. Nearly 23 lakh candidates had registered for the test, which was administered by the NTA at centres across the country.
According to the NTA, information regarding alleged malpractice was received on the evening of May 7, four days after the examination was held. The NTA said the inputs were escalated to central agencies the following morning for "independent verification and necessary action".
The Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group (SOG) has claimed that a "guess paper" for chemistry, allegedly circulated among students ahead of the examination, had approximately 410 questions, including roughly 120 that appeared in the test.
