Aakash Tablet to be Developed by IIT Bombay

The government has decided to hand over its ambitious Aakash tablet project to IIT Bombay. Fed up with the constant and unsavoury bickering between IIT Jodhpur and Datawind over various aspects of the $35 Aakash tablet, a high-powered committee met last week and decided to officially divest IIT Jodhpur and its Director Prof Prem Kalra from the project, highly placed sources confirmed.
The HRD Ministry will now also monitor the project more closely. The issue is learnt to have caused a stir in the Board of Governors of IIT Jodhpur, which met a few days ago to take stock of the situation. Disturbed over the reports on IIT Jodhpur’s role in the controversy over Aakash tablet, the board had asked Kalra to make a presentation and explain the situation. The board had decided that it was best to return the project to the ministry. The contract for procuring 1 lakh Aakash tablets will now be taken over by IIT Bombay.