He said the tablet PC was being tested and based on feedback from students commercial production would be taken up.
A faster and enhanced version of low-cost tablet PC, Aakash, would be launched on trial basis in May, Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal said in Kolkata on Monday.
"The second version of Aakash will be launched some time in May," Sibal said on the sidelines of an ICC organised higher education conclave.
He said the tablet PC was being tested and based on feedback from students commercial production would be taken up.
The new tablet would have a better 3200m AH battery with a three hour battery backup, a 700 MHz Cortex A8 processor and a capacitive touch screen which would get over the earlier issues observed in the tablets, Sibal had said earlier.
The first stage of 100,000 tablets was aimed for students of higher technical educational institutions, he had said recently.
Asked whether the optional examination in Class X would be extended across the county like CBSE, Sibal said a few state boards were planning to adopt the model.
Stating that he expected introduction of the National Vocational Qualification Framework in the 2012 academic year, he said it was likely to be placed before Cabinet in the next three to four weeks.
It would have different levels and could go up to graduation level and would cover different industrial sector skills.
The minister said he wanted structural, decentralised, administrative reform and collaborative approach for development of the education sector for flexibility and mobility of students from one place to another across the country.
When told that West Bengal was opposed to introducing a common national examination for undergraduate engineering courses across the country, Sibal said, "We will consult everybody (every state)".
He said there would be a meeting of all state education ministers since the Central government did not believe in moving forward unless there was complete consensus and consultation.
Sibal's comment comes in the backdrop of five states opposing the Centre's plan to introduce a common national examination for undergraduate engineering courses across the country.
Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Puducherry have opposed the proposal, while Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have asked for wider consultation.
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