Sunday 25 November 2012
Aakash 2 a 'Made in China' device? DataWind denies allegations
Posted on 21:49 by Maria Scott
Controversies have continued to chase
India’s ambitious ultra low-cost tablet PC, the Aakash 2. According to
reports on the web, the ‘revolutionary’ device aimed at bridging the
digital divide in the country is actually a cheap ‘Made in China’
device, and has been embellished with some applications from IIT Bombay.
Questions are being raised whether the Aakash 2 is a true Indian
innovation.
Economic Times in its report claims DataWind, the company assigned to design, develop and manufacture the Aakash tablet,
procured about 12,000 devices A-13 model designed by AllWinner Tech of
China. The supplier was finalised by IIT-Bombay, which is also
implementing the Aakash project. The report says the procurement took
place shortly before the Aakash 2 was officially launched.
The Chinese tablets cost about $42
(around Rs. 2,310) per unit, and were purchased from firms such as
Kalong Technology Co., Ltd, Dasen International Electronics Co Ltd,
Trend Grace and Shenzhen Shetong Zhaoli Co Ltd. The report points out
that IIT Bombay issued a certificate dated October 29 for importing
20,000 units in India, and sought a waiver of duty as they were meant
for school students under an HRD ministry programme – days before the
Aakash 2 was launched.
According to the report, DataWind didn’t
design or manufacture the Aakash 2 tablets. DataWind CEO Suneet Singh
Tuli has refuted the charges and claimed his company had designed the
Aakash 2. "For the first 10,000 units for IIT, and for expediency sake
we had the motherboards manufactured in one of our Chinese
subcontractor’s facilities And then the units have been ‘kitted’ in
China at various manufacturers for expediency, whereas the final
assembly and programming has happened in India. We finished this batch
of 10,000 units and delivered them to IIT and will be starting another
batch of 20,000 units for them in two weeks," Hindustan Times quotes Tuli as saying.
Clarifying reports of the Aaksh 2 not being an Indian device, Tuli told website PKR,
“Our business model is similar to that of Apple where we use
subcontract manufacturers to build our products. So, these are built in
facilities of our contractors. For the first 10k units for IIT, and for
expediency sake we had the motherboards and kits manufactured in our
Chinese subcontractor’s facilities, and then the units have been
‘kitted’ in China at various manufacturers for expediency, whereas the
final assembly and programming has happened in India.”
The government hasn’t made any official statement on the controversies surrounding the Aakash 2.
However, the ET in its report quotes a senior government official
involved in the project as saying he was unaware whether the products
were off the shelf tablets from China. IIT Bombay has also not responded
on the issue yet.
One of the prime reasons behind DataWind
choosing to manufacture the Aakash 2 tablets in China is believed to be
its rift with its Indian partner VMC Systems, which was supposed to
assemble the device in Hyderabad. It is learnt that VMC had halted
shipments over non-payment of dues. The Aakash project is no stranger to
controversies. The project has been stalled various times in the past
for a number of reasons. The original Aakash tablet was rejected over
poor specifications whereas standoff between DataWind and IIT Rajasthan
also delayed the project. At one stage it looked like the Aakash 2 will
never see the light of the day. Read Aakash 2 tablet: Outdated even before launch? and Indians sceptical about Aakash 2 launch; want to see it to believe it
Source: http://www.thinkdigit.com/Tablets/Aakash-2-a-Made-in-China-device_11494.html
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