Aakash, the “iPad Killer”, Vaporware has Evaporated
Aaskash, the “iPad Killer”, vaporware that the idiot Kapil Sibal promoted, has quietly evaporated in March 2015. Hindustan Times reports “India’s low cost ‘Aakash’ tablet project closed in March”
“The Aakash project at IIT Bombay was closed on 31st March, 2015, after successfully completing all targets. Specifications for future upgraded version has been submitted to the government. IIT Bombay is not in knowledge of future plans,” IIT Bombay said in a reply to the RTI query.
Initially, IIT Rajasthan was entrusted with the project, which it returned to Ministry of Human Resource Development. The project then went to IIT Bombay and since then the institute had been overseeing it.
Other than procuring one lakh devices, the other targets including its sample testing in labs and establishment of over 300 Aakash centres which were engineering colleges across the country were also achieved, it said.
A total of Rs 47.72 crores was approved for the project and this amount has been spent to achieve the targets, the reply said.
Tax-payers’ money wasted on a worthless device. The Rs 47+ crores is just part of the waste. Various institutions must have had to buy those 100,000 devices. God alone knows how much was flushed down the tubes in total. Sibal should be tarred and feathered for this waste. Will that happen? No. Government officials are unaccountable for their disastrous decisions.
I told you so. I wrote an opinion in the Indian Express in Oct 2011: “Swiping without Reading” (Not my title.) I re-posted the piece on this blog, “Aakash, blue skies vaporware“. Do read the comments to that piece also.