Datawind, the producer of India's much-publicised low cost Aakash tablet, has disproved recent reports that questioned its capability to supply the required number of second-generation Aakash tablets.

Datawind had made a commitment to supply 1 lakh units of the Aakash 2 to IIT Bombay by December 31, 2012, but it could supply just 20,000 units so far.

Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Pallam Raju last Friday said that Aakash is only a tablet and that students should be allowed to choose a device of their choice. The reports also cited the minister saying that the government was waiting for a special committee's review report on Mission on Education through Information & Communication Technology (NMEICT) for action against Datawind for the delay in the supply of the tablets.

Suneet Singh Tuli, President and chief executive of Datawind, accepted that there was a delay in supply of the tablets; but insisted that it would meet its order.

Speaking on the topic, Tuli said, "To date 17,100 devices have been delivered to IIT-Bombay and paid for 29,400 devices are in transit to IIT-Bombay through our logistics company and shall be delivered in the next few days."

He also claimed that the mother boards, touch screens and other components for the remaining tablets have already been manufactured, and final assembly is in process.

The $35 tablet has been much-publicised as India's low-cost solution to bridge the wide digital gap between the rich and the poor.