Gujarat phone scheme for farmers: ₹1500 to be given to farmers

Gujarat phone scheme for farmers: Under this scheme, farmers can apply and get ₹1500 to buy phones.

Gujarat phone scheme for farmers encourages them to buy phones to increase their farm income. (Pixabay)

Gujarat phone scheme for farmers: The country is well on the path to becoming ‘Digital India' in the true sense of the term. To ensure that no segment of society is left out of the benefits to be derived from Digital India, the Gujarat government has rolled out a scheme in which farmers will be given money to buy phones as aid. To make farmers digitally equipped, the Gujarat government has decided to provide financial assistance of up to INR 1500 so that they can purchase smartphones. This was revealed by a state agriculture department notification. This is expected to bridge the digital divide that farmers are suffering from even though agricultural technology's scope is growing every day.

To bridge the gap between technology and farmers, this Gujarat government phone scheme has been introduced. It will encourage farmers to purchase and use smartphones for various purposes to increase their farm income or get the benefit of agri-tech services. With the use of smartphones, farmers will be able to access information about the weather forecast, possible pest information, advanced farm techniques, usage of technological tools, expert opinions on the personal level, and many more.

The smartphone will also help farmers to apply online for various schemes of the central as well as state governments connected to farming. By using their smartphone features such as camera, emails, texts and multimedia services, GPS, web browser, internet connectivity and even voice searching feature will help farmers know and access benefits that were till now eluding them.

However, this Gujarat government phone scheme covers only the financial assistance for the cost of the smartphone, and other accessories such as earphones, powerbank, etc. won't be covered under the scheme.

Who is eligible for the scheme?

The Government Resolution (GR) issued by the state's Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Cooperation department on Saturday said that any resident of Gujarat who is having its own land can apply for the assistance of 10 percent of the total cost of a smartphone but not exceeding ₹1,500. Farmers can apply for the scheme on the i-khedut portal to get the benefit of the scheme.

This scheme is open to all landholding farmers, however only one beneficiary per joint holding farm is eligible. After the application is approved, the farmers must submit a copy of the smartphone purchase bill, the phone's IMEI number, a cancelled cheque, and other required documents.