Delivery of smartphones to 1.3cr women to miss Aug 30 deadline

Jaipur: Chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s ambitious project of distributing free smartphones to 1.3 crore women in the state is set to miss August 30 deadline.
The first-of-its-kind project announced in the state Budget 2021 has an estimated burden of Rs 12,000 crore on the exchequer. The bidding process for purchasing 1.35 crore mobile phones was last opened in May 2022 and is still open and yet to deliver any concrete results.
A day earlier, Gehlot said at a public rally in Sikar that money would directly be deposited in women’s bank accounts in case the government is unable to purchase and distribute the phones. Gehlot’s admission is based on the struggle being faced by the IT department in completing the bidding process. The scheme was revised in the 2023 state budget making the distribution of smartphones phased-wise. In the first phase, they set the target to distribute 40 lakh phones, with preference given to young women—students, working etc.
“The bidding process is still open, and we are hoping to meet the deadline of August 30,” C P Singh, general manager (technical) at DoIT, adding that meeting the huge order is not an easy task now in India. Another official requesting anonymity says that CM Gehlot’s statement has indicated plan B in case phones are not procured by the department.
“It is not possible for any company to deliver 40 lakh handsets and distributed them from district to village level by August 30 even if the bidding process is completed as of today. We have been trying our best since the scheme was announced in the 2021 Budget but the reality is meeting the high demand along with three years of free internet turned out to be a great challenge,” said an official.
Sources said that cost is a major obstacle coming in the way of the completion of the process. “Government didn’t want to spend Rs 5,000-6,000 on one handset. Also, three years of free data with unlimited calls and messages in India is overshooting the tight budget,” said an official.
Reacting to the situation, leader of Opposition Rajendra Rathore said, “This is the fate of most of their social welfare schemes which are announced without giving any thought. If procuring mobile phones in such a high number is a problem, why can’t the officials have predicted the same before the announcement.”
Calling the Gehlot’s statement of releasing money for mobile phones in case they did not deliver it as a violation of rules. “You can’t release money in place of any article which is part of the scheme. The state is already under great financial stress and any such moves will further aggravate the financial health of the state,” said Rathore.
The scheme titled Mukhyamantri Digital Sewa Yojna is touted as the country’s biggest smartphone distribution scheme for women registered as head of the family with the Chiranjeevi Health Yojana. The objectives of the programmes are that women to access government programs and schemes online. “Women to explore entrepreneurial ideas and they can use the mobile phone in the wake of any mishappening,” reads the document.