Aakash, which started out as Indias dream project to provide affordable connectivity to the masses, is now synonymous with controversies that have put the country in an embarrassing position. It is now reduced to blame game with all the stakeholders pointing fingers at each other for the mess.
In the latest turn of events, DataWind Ltd., the British-Canadian tablet manufacturer of ultra-low cost has put the blame for all the mess on Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)- Rajasthan and the Bangalore-based company, Quad Electronics, its erstwhile manufacturing partner.
"It is unfortunate how in India we have mastered the art of making a mockery of everything from low-cost devices to spectrum and taxation of an off-shore merger. Constant bungling, slipped deadlines, unclear policies are staple telecom diet making the sector a laughing stock," says Sridhar Pai, Chief Executive Officer of Tonse Telecom. (See Is the Aakash Dream Over?.)
DataWind is the latest in the long list of projects which have not succeeded because of unclear policies and non-serious attitude of the parties involved.
IIT Rajasthan has acted biased in this entire saga. The test criteria imposed by IIT, Rajasthan was not part of the original tender. There is misinformation [in media] that the product did not meet IIT Rajasthans test criteria, alleges Suneet Singh Tuli, CEO, DataWind. The Canadian manufacturer has further accused Hyderabad-based Quad Electronics of collaborating with IIT Rajasthan to produce a 'converged device', hence breaching the agreement with DataWind. In spite of best efforts, IIT Rajasthan refused to comment on these allegations. (See DataWind Thrown Out Of Aakash Project.)
Amidst these accusations, it is very easy to forget the original role of Aakash. Whatever be the merit of these accusations, one needs to remember that Aakash Tablet is the beginning, not the end. To encourage innovation from entrepreneurs, we need to be more broadminded in our approach. Agreed there were a lot of issues with the tablet, but it was also a breakthrough at that price point. Do you expect Rolls-Royce features from a Tata Nano? Then why do we compare Aakash with, say, the iPad? It's grossly unfair, comments Shashwat DC, an industry observer and former editor of the technology magazine, Dataquest.
One may also sympathize with DataWind, considering the fact that the vendor which had hoped to become one of the biggest tablet manufacturer in the country, has ended up giving explanations and resolving conflicts with bureaucrats and associations. (See Datawind Clarifies Over Aakash Issue and DataWind Adds New Twist to Aakash Saga.)
Whats in store The future of Aakash largely depends on the collaboration between the ministry and stakeholders. The government, in a bid to put an end to the conflict between IIT Rajasthan and DataWind, has already transferred the project to IIT Bombay to procure the first lot of 100,000 units of Aakash from DataWind. However, according to the company, there are some procedural hurdles in transferring the project to IIT Bombay and hence some further delay is expected. The company expects to fulfill its commitment of providing the first lot of devices to the government by June.
On the other hand, Quad, which has been working on a converged device in collaboration with IIT Rajasthan, has claimed to have followed all the guidelines and maintained that it is free to develop any competitive device Under the Freedom of Action clause in the agreement.
Meanwhile, the Canadian manufacturer is also planning to launch its commercial device, Ubislate 7+, with almost the same specifications as Aakash by the end of this week. It is not clear, however, if DataWind can legally launch the commercial version without fulfilling its obligation criteria of supplying devices to the government. The company also said that it will speed up its pending supply of devices to customers in the next couple of weeks.
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India in poor lightIts not the first time, though, that the stakeholders of the Aakash project have indulged in the dirty blame game, without even realizing that they are sending out the wrong message to the world. Since the launch, there have been innumerable rounds of allegations from Quad Electronics, IIT Rajasthan and DataWind throwing stones at each other.
While the device was meant to provide affordable connectivity to students, the growing animosity between the stakeholders might eclipse the real purpose behind the launch of the project.
The recent turn of events is also embarrassing, considering that the project is being led by Telecom and IT Minister Kapil Sibal, who hailed the launch of the US $35 tablet as one of the greatest modern innovations.
India's image has taken a beating post the Vodafone tax issue and the 122-license cancellations that were done recently. DataWind fiasco has only added to the already tarnished image of this sector in India. DataWind also explains how we can transform a great vision into a big disappointment...
- Jatinder Singh, Principal Correspondent, Light Reading India
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