Datawind CEO Suneet Singh Tuli has rebuffed the recent reports which claimed that the $40 Indian Android tablet Akash2 had been purchased by the tech firm off-the-shelf from China, even though the company is marketing the tablet as a groundbreaking locally-manufactured device.

The reaction from Tuli came in response to a Hindustan Times (HT) report which cited unidentified sources to claim that Datawind did not have any role to play either in the designing or the production of the innovative Akash2 tablet; 100,000 units of which have been ordered by the Indian government for empowering students. The tablet was introduced by Indian president Pranab Mukherjee on November 11.

According to the HT report, unnamed reliable sources have revealed that over 10,000 units of `A-13' tablets had been procured by Datawind from four tablet-makers in Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The tablets - purchased between October 26 and November 7 - have been priced by Datawind at $42 each --- the price-tag at which the company is flogging the devices to the Indian government.

The HT is apparently based on the documents which show that the `A-13' tablets have been purchased by Datawind from four manufacturers --- namely, Shenzhen Shitong Zhaoli Technology, Dasen International Electronics, Trend Grace Ltd., and Kalong Technology.

However, according to EE Times India, Tuli has denied the allegations leveled against Datawind in the HT report, and has termed the report as "inaccurate and misleading."