• HRD To Scrap Aakash 2 Deal with IIT-Rajasthan

    HRD To Scrap Aakash 2 Deal with IIT-Rajasthan

    Kamakshi S, Feb 02, 2012 1229 hrs IST

    Says PSUs are better suited to handle large tenders and vendor expectations.

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After initial reports suggested that the HRD Ministry might terminate its contract with DataWind to manufacture the Aakash tablets, it seems the government will be pulling out the procurement tender for Aakash 2 from IIT Rajasthan instead. 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.


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Discussion Board
(1) Comments
Indian
,Ahmedabad, on Feb 02, 2012 03:33 PM
Very nice move by the government official to make smooth money out of it for themselves. They suddenly realized that Aakash is gonna generate a lot of revenue and they want their under the table part out of it. And they are blackening the name of IIT Rajasthan for their Dark Deeds.One more Raja coming up may be.
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