Telecom and IT Minister Mr. Kapil Sibal recently said that the price of Aakash tablet will soon come down to $ 35 (nearly Rs. 1,900) from $ 49 at present.
"Aakash is a tablet which at the moment costs $ 49. It will come down to $ 35 very soon. It has all the amenities of any modern tablet" Mr. Sibal said at RBSM (Reverse Buyer Seller Meet) organised by Telecom Equipment & Service Export Promotion Council.
The Minister added that next version of the tablet will also have Skype, an application used for making voice calls using Internet connection and does not necessarily require a SIM.
"It performs the same function as a $ 150 tablet" Mr. Sibal said, adding that Aakash is kind of product that two - third population of world needs as they do not have enough resources to buy tablet costing $ 150.
Explaining on the way price of Aakash tablet drops, the Minister said: "The capacitative ( touch) screen is imported at a cost of $ 22 or about $ 20. The manufacturing cost is $ 2. If you were to set up that manufacturing unit in India, the cost will come down automatically from $ 49 to $ 29"
Mr. Kapil Sibal said that central government is in process to get Cabinet approval for manufacturing of about 50 lakh units of Aakash tablet in India & then float a global tender for its production in India. The production of Aakash tablet in large volumes will further drive down the cost."
In the last tender, each unit of Aakash tablet costed central government Rs. 2,263 and it announced 50% subsidy on the tablet for students which finally costs Rs. 1,130.
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