Ministers give thumbs up to Aakash-II

The new version of Aakash has been given a positive rating by Union ministers, whose feedback on the low cost computing device were sought, with the Labour Ministry proposing to provide it in ITIs also.

Aakash-II tablets, which will be officially launched by President Pranab Mukherjee here on education day on November 11, were sent to all ministers as well as state chief ministers for their views and suggestions.

According to officials in HRD Ministry, most of the ministers described as "very good" the device which will have 1 Ghz processor, four-hour battery time, capacitive screen and Android 4 operating system.

"This (the device) can be a game changer for students in education," said Defence Minister A K Antony.

The Labour Ministry has suggested it should be made available to students of ITIs too, the officials said.

Most of the chief ministers, however, are yet to respond.

HRD Minister Kapil Sibal has earlier stated that "hopefully on November 11, you will see the President talking to 20,000 students across the nation (who) will have their hands on Aakash".

He hoped that the device will be made available to students across the country in the next five to seven years.

Aakash was launched in October last year to make available computing devices to students at subsidised rates. However, the project ran into controversy following IIT Rajasthan rejecting the devices manufactured by Datawind.

The new versions are being manufactured with the active support of IIT Bombay.