India's ministry of human resource development (MHRD) has threatened not to extend the letter of credit (L/C) guaranteeing payment for the Canadian manufacturer of what is reputedly the world's cheapest tablet computer.

The Aakash tablets were meant to bridge the digital divide between India's rich and poor by providing low priced computers for students, but the computers have turned out to be prone to faults.

Political backing

The programme to distribute the tablets made by Data Wind to schools is a project underwritten by MHRD. The minister of HRD, Kapil Sibal, who launched the project last October, personally backs the programme.

The L/C in favour of Data Wind expires at the end of January, and the MHRD is reportedly on the hunt for an alternative supplier of the tablets.

Alternatve suppliers

One of Data Wind's main rivals for the lucrative government contract is Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), which already plans to launch a low-cost tablet later this year.

Another option the government is mulling is a partnership arrangement with Data Wind working alongside an Indian supplier such as RIL that is better placed to deal with faults on the computers.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or any of the other partners in DC-PRO.