Free Mobile Phones: UP govt to distribute smartphones, tablets among college students

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government is planning to distribute free mobile phones and tablets to nearly one crore college students in the state. The UP state government plans to give away free tablets and smartphones to undergraduate and postgraduate students graduating from technical, medical, and nursing institutions. The state government is also planning to distribute these devices to those enrolled in skill development programmes, officials aware of the matter revealed.

UP CM, at a meeting that he presided over on Saturday, directed officials to prepare a list of the eligible students so that smartphones and tablets can be distributed to them by November end. As per reports, chief secretary R K Tiwari said the devices will make the students digitally empowered and lead to the creation of job opportunities for them.

He has directed universities in the state to prepare the information of the registered students of the colleges affiliated to them and send it to the district magistrates’ offices who will verify the information and distribute tablets and smartphones at the district level under orders from the Industrial Development Department.

It is worth noting that UP CM Yogi Adityanath announced that his government will distribute tablets and smartphones among the youth by November-end while laying the foundation stone of a government medical college in Sultanpur. "To equip the youth of Uttar Pradesh with the latest technology, the state government will start providing tablets and laptops from the last week of November," UP CM had at the time.

The announcement followed a supplementary budget that was earlier presented in the Uttar Pradesh State Assembly back in August this year to earmark INR 3,000 crore for procuring the smartphones and tablets for youths in a bid to make them digitally proficient. The government has already invited bids to buy 2.5 million smartphones and tablets. It is expected to procure more devices soon.

Separately, the UP government has also proposed to give free laptops to the meritorious students of classes X and XII. The state government is planning to offer 20 lakh free laptops to its top students who cannot afford to buy these devices. Aspiring students will need to visit www.upcmo.up.nic.in to register themselves for this scheme.