DataWind, makers of the Aakash tablet, has won the CNBC TV 18 and Mercedez Benz Young Turks 'Innovation of the Year' award for 2011.

Datawind manufactured the world's cheapest tablet in India, 'Aakash', in collaboration with the Government of India.

"It is a great acknowledgment for the incredible hard work our team has put in. While naysayers believed this was impossible, and could not be done by Indians, we're proud to have made it possible with a Made in India product," said Suneet Singh Tuli, CEO, DataWind.

As the world moves to knowledge-based economies, India is at a distinct disadvantage with only 4% of its population having active access to the internet.

"Datawind has recently started online booking of the Aakash and UbiSlate 7 + tablets. In less than 20 days, 20 lakh tablets were booked by people from all parts of India. These are all individual buyers," added Tuli.