Govt for providing Aakash at Rs. 1,500

Government is keen to take Aakash tablet to the people at a cost of ₹ 1,500 apiece, Telecom and IT minister Kapil Sibal said today.

Government is keen to take Aakash tablet to the people at a cost of ₹ 1,500 apiece, Telecom and IT minister Kapil Sibal said today.

'I asked Rajat Moona (Director General,C-DAC) to help us in Aakash. Let us take that Aakash to the people of this country for a sum of ₹ 1,500. Each student must have a Aakash in his/her hand so that they can see the world with it,' Sibal said at a function here.

At present, the government purchases the device from Datawind, the maker of Aakash tablet PC, at ₹2,263 apiece. The government will distribute the tablet to students at subsidised rate of ₹ 1,130 apiece.

Sibal said that there is need to gain expertise in providing cutting-edge technology at affordable prices to people, and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) should work towards developing such technologies.

The minister also said that C-DAC should work in the direction of providing cheap and effective technological options for the security of women.

'Recently, we had this very very unfortunate event in Delhi and I called Rajat and said I want a technological solution of the safety of girls and women in our country.

'I want a wrist watch, which will video graph, which will set up an alarm, which will call up dedicated lines. Lets have a GPS system and lets produce this for less than ₹ 1,000 for the citizens of our country for their safety,' Sibal said.

He added that the country needs to scale up its technology skills and attain self-reliance.

'As we look into the 21st century, we realise that there are several areas where we need to be self-reliant. Super computing is of exceptional importance one such area. I see C-DAC as a technology leader in the world. India should provide technological solutions to the world,' he said.