Govt tells IIT Jodhpur to drop ‘military-grade’ demands on Aakash tablet

IIT-Jodhpur instructed to draw up revised specifications for the low-cost tablet instead of the initial proposal that seemed aimed more at the military than students

January 19, 2012 Mihir Patkar

In a welcome move, the Ministry for Human Resource Development has ordered IIT-Jodhpur (the Indian Institute of Technology in Rajasthan) to withdraw the criteria they had initially laid out for the Aakash tablet, and replace them with more “consumer-friendly” options.

IIT-Jodhpur has been under criticism from all corners about the proposed requirements it imposed on the low-cost student tablet, with some specifications being dubbed as ‘military-grade’, such as the one requiring the tablet to be water-proof. Datawind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli had claimed this would be impossible, saying, “You can’t put (a rugged Rs. 1 lakh laptop) and a product which you are trying to make in Rs. 2,000 in the same category. By these criteria, Aakash will fail. You don’t have to even bother testing it.”

On Wednesday, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal met with officials from Datawind and IIT to resolve the matter, and instructed IIT-Jodhpur to revise its specifications for the next iteration of the tablet, the Aakash II.

More information about the Aakash II:

Aakash 2 coming in April, Datawind CEO slams IIT Rajasthan tender

Aakash 2 tablet announced: better features, same price

Source: Indian Express