Uttar Pradesh: Smart phones, tabs to be given to 5 lakh students

LUCKNOW: Students waiting for the mobile phones and tablets will not have to wait for too long. The state government is going to start distributing the electronic devices to eligible students within the next fortnight.
Under the Swami Vivekanand youth empowerment scheme, the government had announced it would distribute 40 lakh tablets and smartphones to the final-year students every year for the next five years.
While launching the scheme in the last fiscal year, the government had set a target of 17.7 lakh devices (10.5 lakh smartphones and 7.2 lakh tablets). The companies were able to supply a total of 12.3 lakh devices to the government by March 31 and they were provided to the students.
However, 5.4 lakh devices were being procured. Senior government officials said that the tender has been floated to purchase the remaining batch of the devices and will be distributed among final-year students pursuing graduation, post-graduation, doctorate and other vocational courses. A total of 38 lakh students had enrolled under the scheme when it was launched but only final-year students will get the devices for now, said officials.
Moreover, in the coming fiscal year, a kitty of Rs 1,000 crore is going to be raised.
“We are going to ask the state-run universities which have funds to provide some money in the kitty. It will be used to procure the device in the coming academic sessions,” said a senior government officer.