Question : AAKASH TABLET TO POOR STUDENTS



(a) whether the Government has any proposal to provide Aakash Tablet at free of cost to the poor students belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Minorities and Other Backward Classes; and

(b) if so, the details thereof?

Answer given by the minister



MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (DR. SHASHI THAROOR)

(a) & (b) Madam, under the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT) a project with the objective of development of Low Cost Access Device (LCAD) was sanctioned to IIT Rajasthan in September 2010 with the following stated deliverables:

1. Procurement and distribution of 1 lakh LCAD

2. Optimization of the hardware and software of the LCAD

3. Testing of LCAD

This project was subsequently transferred to the IIT Bombay in April 2012. The IIT Bombay has procured 1, 00,000 tablets for the purpose of testing in different climatic conditions and teacher empowerment. The results of the testing with help determine our future course of action.