DataWind, the manufacturer of Aakash tablets, is making all efforts to meet the March 31 deadline to supply one lakh units to the government.

“The delay was caused by the verification process that Customs needed to conduct on the exemption certificates for certain components …,” the company said in a statement, attempting to clear the air over reports that it would overshoot the deadline.

DataWind has delivered 17,100 devices of Aakash 2 to IIT-Bombay, till date, while 29,400 devices – which are in transit – will be delivered in the next few days to the institution. About 23,500 devices are pending shipment, it said.

Of the remaining 30,000 units, final assembly is expected within the next couple of weeks, although all efforts are being made to deliver as many as possible by March 31, it added.

“We are currently delivering 2,500-3,000 units per day to our customers commercially and have been recognised among the top three tablet manufacturers in India for the last two quarters in a row,” said DataWind President and Chief Executive Officer Suneet Singh Tuli.

This is the third time DataWind has run into controversies. Earlier the company failed to provide the devices (Aakash 1) to as many as one lakh students across the country and later an issue over the origin of Aakash tablets was also raised.

Separately, the Canada-based company is gearing up to launch the third generation gadget (Aakash 3) by mid-2013. The specifications are expected to be finalised by National Mission for Education through Information Communication Technology (NMEICT) by March, the company’s Web site said.

> rajesh.kurup@thehindu.co.in

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