The Videocon Group has acquired the tablet personal computer technology developed by an Indian entrepreneur, Sakhar Yadav, for $2 million.

Videocon managing director Venugopal Dhoot said: "Yes, we have bought out the proprietary technology from Skorydov Systems."

The Mumbai-based Skorydov Systems, which has developed the product, was marketing it under the brand name PC Slate.

The technology is being bought by a private company Videocon Services, which is under the fold of the Videocon group.

Dhoot said, "It is a beneficial technology because convergence is coming into play."

Videocon will undertake the manufacture of PC Slates from August and the product will be available in the market at Rs 20,000 onwards.

Skorydov had first launched the tablet PC in India on a test basis in August 2001 even before Microsoft had introduced its tablet personal computers in the country.

Nirjhar Gupta, chief financial officer of Skorydov, said they were technology innovators and as such were in the process of developing more technologies.

The company had been negotiating with various corporates either to tie up with them to manufacture the computers or for the outright sale of the technology.

Gupta said that the valuation of the technology had been done internally. Under the deal, all designs and specifications of the product will be transferred to Videocon.

The latter is also planning to develop the technology, and to this end it is planning to set up a core international standard research centre in India.