Aakash2 tablets made in China for expediency: Datawind

NEW DELHI: UK based Datawind on Saturday said that it manufactured about 10,000 Aakash2 tablets in China for the sake of 'expediency', as it couldn't get any supplier in India to start assembling the tablets in time.

"For the first 10,000 units (of Aakash2) 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," said Suneet Singh Tuli, Datawind CEO.

Ironically, Tuli said he got a go ahead (from the IIT-Bombay) for the same. "This was well discussed and we got approval prior to shipping," he added.

Tuli further added that the capacitive screens of the tablets were also not manufactured in India. "This (screen) is the most expensive and important element and this product is manufactured in our Montreal facility," he added.

ET had reported on Saturday that Datawind bought off the shelf tablets from China, pasted the Aakash logo and sold them to the government at Rs 2,263 apiece. India’s president Pranab Mukherjee had showcased these tablets on November 11.

IIT-Bombay is learnt to have issued a certificate dated October 29 for importing about 20,000 tablets into India, and recommended import duty waiver, just days before the launch of Aakash 2.

Invoices submitted by the company to custom authorities in Delhi, that were reviewed by ET, show that the tablets were off the shelf purchases from China. Tuli however maintained that the software and mechanical parts were developed by the company, but did not specify which parts he was referring to.