Under-fire DataWind blames Customs

Against the backdrop of many reports saying the Centre might be considering to scrap the ambitious Aakash project due to the delay in supply of the tablets, manufacturer DataWind on Saturday said the delay was due to the verification process by the Customs.

“The delay was caused by the verifications process that Customs needed to conduct on the Exemption Certificates for certain components issued by IIT-Bombay,” a statement issued by DataWind President and CEO, Suneet Singh Tuli said.

According to reports, the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has asked IIT -Bombay, which had placed the order of 100,000 Aakash tablets, to ensure that DataWind met the terms and conditions, failing which action would be taken against the company. Reports also say the HRD ministry has put on hold its plans to tender for 50 million tablets because of the repeated production delays by Datawind.

DataWind, however, has said that it has already delivered 17,100 devices to IIT-Bombay while 29,400 devices which are already dispatched to the institute will reach it in next few days. It further said, another batch of 23,500 units are being manufactured by the company through its subcontractors and will be shipped upon the payment of the previous dispatch.

“Of the remaining 30,000 units, the mother boards including touch screens and all other components are manufactured, and final assembly is being completed … all efforts are being made to deliver as many as possible by 31 March,” the statement added.

The company said it is manufacturing these units with the help of four subcontractors and its own facility located in Amritsar.

Brainchild of former HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, the low cost Aakash project is presently going through an uncertain future partly due to stiff competitions from various private vendors who have also started offering tablets at attractive price points.

“While detractors glee in proclaiming the project’s premature demise, our vision is to enable every child in India with such solutions, and promise to persevere against adversity,” added Tuli.