Domestic vendors to bid for Aakash 4

However, the number of units to be supplied has not been mentioned in the tender. The last date for submission of bids has again been deferred till January 28.

Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal had said that the government wanted a price of around Rs 2,500 for the latest device.

Besides Datawind, domestic handset maker Simmtronics and other vendors, who wished not to be named, expressed interest in bidding for the latest Aakash tablet order.

Simmtronics said its "price will be competitive," but did not reveal the likely price to be quoted in the bid.

"Low quality products will fail to qualify technical bids. We will qualify but maintaining desired price level in present form is a challenge as most of the components are imported."

"There are duties on components which should be waived as Aakash 4 will be supplied to government," company's managing director Indrajit Sabharwal said, adding that multinational chipset companies have approached it to supply processors at minimal cost.