| aakash ubislate 7 |
After initial reports suggested that the HRD Ministry might terminate its contract with DataWind to manufacture theAakash tablets, it seems the government will be pulling out the procurement tender for Aakash 2 from IIT Rajasthaninstead. The move comes after a spat between IIT-Rajasthan and DataWind. Adding insult to injury, the responsibility of drafting specifications and features for the new version has been transferred to the Ministry of Communications and IT.
A government official at the HRD ministry said, "We have realised that educational institutes are not capable of handling tenders as it involves large sums of money and handling vendors. Public Sector Undertakings are much better equipped to handle it". It's been reported that public Sector Undertakings such as ITI Ltd or Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd (TCIL) might be considered for procuring the next generation of the device instead.
