J Srikant, ET Bureau Oct 31, 2013, 04.05AM IST
NEW DELHI: As the government gets ready to procure Aakash 4, the latest iteration of its cheap educational tablet, hardware makers are forming alliances and preparing to throw their hat in the ring. A few days ago, human resource development ministry, which is spearheading the Aakash project, gave the final go-ahead for sourcing 2.2 million tablets. While the price at which each tablet will be procured is yet to be finalised, the ministry is expected to put up Rs 330 crore.
Datawind, which won an earlier contract to supply 100,000 units of Aakash 2, said it will participate in the latest tender.
"We will be forming a consortium to bid for the Aakash 4 project when it comes up in the tender process," said CEO of Datawind Suneet Singh Tuli. "There will be at least three partners in the consortium." However, he declined to name them.
Tuli said that given the scale of the project, a consortium will have a better chance of winning the tender and delivering results on time.
The proposed government procurement is staggering in terms of volume when compared to the tablet market in the country. India shipped 1.15 million tablets during the April-June quarter.
Shipments grew 10.7% from a year ago and 27% on a sequential basis. Samsung had a 21% market share compared to Datawind which had 12.5% share.
"We are keeping a close eye on the tender and are open to all such opportunities," said SN Rai, cofounder & director, Lava Mobile, when asked about Lava's plan to bid for the tender.
