By Express News Service
Published: 30th June 2014 07:21 AM
- Datawind chief executive officer Suneet Singh Tuli making a point while speaking at a curtain raiser on IIT alumni global conference at Indian School of Business in Hyderabad on Sunday | NEERAJ MURALI
HYDERABAD: With the growing demand for digital learning across the country, the market for tablet computers is likely to rise exponentially, Suneet Singh Tuli, chief executive officer of Datawind, the maker of low-cost Aakash tablets for government of India, has said.
In the next five years, akin to mobile phone reach to masses in the country, one can witness 500 million tablet users in India, he has projected.
“Currently, 4 million tablet users are being added to the lot of tablet users in the country. That means, in less than five years one can expect 70-time increase in the reach. This scenario is no less than that of mobile phone user base expansion in the country,” he observed.
He was at the Indian School of Business on Sunday to participate in the curtain raiser on the IIT Global Conference-2014 to be hosted by IIT-Hyderabad in Hyderabad in December.
“The paltry 5 to 7 percent of Indian students who have access to digital content and the Union government, which promises to promote digital education, should work better for the tablet market in the country,” he said.
“The party at the helm of administration at the Centre has vowed to take steps to expand the digital education tools across the country and mentioned it in its manifesto. So, this augurs well for the tablet market,” he said, adding that one lakh Aakash tablets had been supplied to the government of India.
First Such Meet in Hyderabad
For the first time, IIT Global Conference-2014 will be held in Hyderabad from December 19 to 21. It will be hosted by IIT-Hyderabad.
Last year, the conference was held in Houston city in the United States. The event was announced by the organising committee at the Indian School of Business. The prestigious global conference which draws IIT alumni from across the world is expected to see a participation of 3,000 IITians, who are currently working in diverse industries, academia and government globally.
With the active support from the Telangana government, the three-day event is likely to host many internationally-acclaimed personalities and focus on promoting entrepreneurship, research and innovation in Telangana and rest of the country.
An IIT alumnus and managing director of Talent Sprint Santanu Paul said the conference would help Hyderabad regain its position in drawing investors.
