The Google Science Fair website says Talk is a patent-pending innovative technology which, using the variations in a person's breath, helps him or her either to dictate letters which are further combined as sentences or speak out specific phrases depending on the mode selected.

Current such devices cost thousands of dollars but Talk can be made accessible under $100 and it also increases the speaking rate by at least 300 percent, it says.

"Earlier, a single access switch device was the only way to help ALS patients, but its cost starts from 10 lakh. Middle class families are not able to afford this device," Arsh said.

He said that over 100 million people throughout world are ALS patients, more than the population of Germany.

However, there was no data available about the number of such patients in India, he said.

Arsh will be leaving for California September 19. There will be an exhibition round September 21-22, and results will be announced September 23.

Six awards will be given among the 15 participants.

There is also a voters' choice award, and Arsh has appealed to the people of India to vote for him.

One can vote by visiting www.googlesciencefair.com., then select Arsh's project and click 'yes' for him.

Voting lines are open up to 12 midnight of September 15, said Arsh's father Amit Dilbagi, an executive engineer with the Haryana government's electricity department in Panipat.

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has also lauded Arsh for his project.

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