Aakash tablet may be launched under new name

The languishing e-learning device Aakash, which was envisioned by the UPA government, could well see a rebirth, albeit with a different name, and may not be distributed free to students in government colleges and universities.

Suneet Singh Tuli, president & CEO, Datawind, whose company was associated with the former government for the manufacture of Aakash in a tablet format, said the NDA government has yet to take a call on it but indications were that it could be launched under a new name and a new format.

"It (Aakash) may be launched in a different incarnation. I wouldn't be surprised if it comes out in a different name. The format could also be changed. It may not be free but heavily subsidised," he said, on the sidelines of his company's event to launch low-cost smartphones with one-year free internet service on Reliance Communications's GSM network.

Tuli said the new government had understood the significance of the Aakash project for the revolution of the education system in the country and was working on a solution to see that it took off.

He said the government was currently engaged with the completion of the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN), its prestigious broadband project that will connect 2.5 lakh villages by December, 2016.

Former human resource development (HRD) minister Kapil Sibal had launched the first version of Aakash in late 2011 amidst huge fanfare, only to be confronted with quality issues. This had forced the government to work on an upgraded version that was renamed Aakash IV.

The tablet, which will have digitised course content of government colleges, continues to be stuck as the government drags its feet on selection of a vendor for its manufacture.

A senior government official had told dna that the project had been inordinately delayed because of the Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals' (DGS&D) inaction in awarding it to vendors for production.

Tuli, whose company is among the 13 vendors that have bid for the Aakash IV, said the government wanted dual operating system (OS) – Android and Linux -- as they want the device to be used for both accessing content and programming.

"There are 20 pages of 400 benchmarks. We passed on most except for 2% of it but they (previous government) created expectations that were difficult to meet," he said.

If the government gets the e-learning device project, under Aakash or any other name, students in 25,000 colleges and 400 universities will linked and will get access to digitised course content.