Sibal to make his 'unfulfilled dream' Aakash come true

Telecom minister laments lack of support from govt departments for the project

Calling low-cost tablet PC Aakash his unfulfilled dream, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday said he has pursued the project despite not getting support from some government departments and that the tender for manufacturing the latest version will be finalised in January.      

“Aakash was my dream but it was not fulfilled, I tried hard...Some departments of my government did not support me... despite that I continued to strive and then I brought the project in my ministry and now specifications for Aakash 4 have been completed,” Sibal said at the launch of an “e-inclusion” project here.

“Some departments did not support me but despite that we are bringing the Aakash,” Sibal said.

The Aakash project was Sibal's brainchild when he was the human resource development (HRD) minister. The idea was to provide a low-cost computing device at subsidised rates to students to enable them to access internet for educational purposes.      

Canadian company DataWind had bagged the contract to produce the first and second versions of the Aakash tablet.      

“The specifications of Aakash 4 has been finalised. DGSD (Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals) has floated a tender, which will be finalised sometime in January. All those entities which will meet the tender conditions will be entitled to manufacture the Aakash and depending on the volume of production, it will be available to anybody who wants to buy it,” Sibal said. DGSD procures products for government supplies.      

Asked about the price of the tablet PC, Sibal said: “We will see what the price is. Originally what we wanted was around Rs 2,500 but that is without excise, without any of the other transportation costs and other things. So once you add those on I don't know what it may come to,” he said.      

He, however, added those who can afford it can buy and those who cannot, the government departments like Human Resource Development Ministry and Rural Development Ministry can provide subsidy if they wish to.