The delivery status of Aakash2 devices

New Delhi: 23 March 2013: Aakash2 project is a matter of national importance for India and a matter of international pride. It is part of a broad strategy by the government to use low computing and internet access to bridge the digital divide and eliminate illiteracy.

“We commend Honourable Minister Dr. PallamRaju for carrying on Honourable KapilSibal’s vision; and Professor Deepak Phatak for salvaging the project after the difficulties encountered in the first version” said Suneet Singh Tuli.  “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.”

 

In response to a number of inexact stories that have been published in the media in the last 24 hours, DataWind has today released the following update on the delivery status of Aakash2 devices to IIT-Bombay:

-          To date 17,100 devices have been delivered to IIT-Bombay and paid for.

-          29,400 devices are in transit to IIT-Bombay  through our logistics company and shall be delivered in the next few days.

-          23,500 devices are manufactured and at sub-contract manufacturers, pending shipment (upon payment for the 29,400 units).

-          Of the remaining 30,000 units, the mother boards including touch screens and all other components are manufactured, and final assembly is being completed, which is expected within the next couple of weeks, although all efforts are being made to deliver as many as possible by March 31^st.

The 30,000 units are being manufactured at: 

1.     H. S. Chawla& Co., New Delhi 

2.Delhi Control Devices Pvt. Ltd., Noida, Uttar Pradesh

3.       Digital Circuits Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore, Karnataka

4.      RishabhInfrarealities Pvt. Ltd., Raipur, Chhattisgarh

5.    And at DataWind’s facilities in Amritsar.

The delay was caused by the verifications process that Customs needed to conduct on the Exemption Certificates for certain components issued by IIT-Bombay. 

“We are pleased with how our manufacturing has scaled over the last few months,” said Suneet Singh Tuli, President & CEO of Data Wind Ltd. “We are currently delivering between 2,500 to 3,000 units per day to our customers commercially and have been recognized among the top 3 tablet manufacturers in India for the last two quarters in a row.”

Suneet Singh Tuli further confirmed: “We continue to maintain our leadership position as India’s lowest cost supplier of tablet computers, and have pioneered India’s ‘phablet’ market where our UbiSlate 7C+ devices provide combined smartphone and tablet functionality.  Coupled with our patented breakthrough web delivery platform, the UbiSlate 7C+ provides the fastest mobile internet experience on common cellular networks.”

In addition to the four new manufacturing partners for the Aakash2 tablets in India, DataWind has set-up India’s first touch-screen fab in Amritsar, furthering its goal to establish and grow India’s hi-tech manufacturing Industry.  DataWind is committed to this project and will continue iterating improvements with each version.