All students to get Aakash tablet for free

At a recent event HRD Minister Kapil Sibal revealed the Indian Government’s plans to offer the low price Aaksah tablets free of cost to students across institutions in the county.

Up till now, Aakash was being marketed to students at a discounted price of approx. Rs 1,100

Kapil Sibal spoke about future plans for the tablet at a summit that was organized by the Indian Semiconductor Association in Bangalore. He said: ‘we are planning to distribute Aakash tablets to students free of cost to deliver e-learning experience to one and all.’

The HRD and Communications and IT Minister then went on to explain how the Governments plan would be put into action. He specified that the tablet costing Rs.1,500 would get a 50% Government subsidy of Rs. 750 and the remaining cost will be covered by the educational institution that the students belong to.

Of course, it remains to be seen how each institution takes care of its end of the bargain.

The plan to provide free tablets to students is the latest in a series that the Government has devised in order to bridge the digital divide within the country.

Aakash as a low cost tablet was originally developed to ensure that every student, no matter their means, gains access to information technology and e-learning.

Though a noble idea, its implementation has seen some hiccups along the way. Not only has the launch of the Aakash tablet been delayed a number of times since its unveiling in October 2011, it has also been found to house a few glitches.

The imperfection and subsequent delay of the tablet has worn the patience of the Indian population thin and many are wondering if the tablet will ever see the light of day.

The Indian Government, on its part, is trying to salvage the situation by roping in 3 other IITs to assist IIT Rajasthan in building a new and improved version of Aakash.

Besides DataWind, a number of other manufacturing companies are likely to work on Aakash along with IIT Madras, IIT Mumbai and IIT Kanpur. The Government is hoping that this dream team will successfully launch a flawless machine. 

Despite its grand plans, the people’s faith in the Government as far as Aakash is concerned is on tenterhooks. The only way for the Government to win some brownie points and popularize Aakash is for it to build and supply the tablet at record speed.

Though the country is skeptical about it and when Aakash will finally be ready for retail, students and tablet enthusiasts are lined up to get their hands on the Indian-made tablet.

If the Government plays its cards right, Aakash might just become the fastest growing device in the Indian market. After all, who can resist a free/subsidized gizmos.