Odisha to launch free laptop scheme on August 15

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha government today announced that its much awaited free laptop scheme for the meritorious plus II students would start from the Independence Day, official sources said.

At least 3,750 laptops will be distributed in the first phase, Higher Education Minister Badrinarayan Patra told reporters after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik reviewed the scheme.

Earlier under the state Youth Policy, the government had announced to provide laptops free of cost to 15,000 meritorious students passed successfully the plus II examinations.

Patnaik had said that free laptops would be help bridge the digital divide among students and special focus would be given to girls and students belonging to the Scheduled tribe and scheduled caste communities.

Both Information and Technology (IT) and Higher Education departments have been entrusted with responsibilities of procuring laptops to be distributed among students in all the districts on August 15.

Higher Education department would prepare a list of 15,000 students on the basis of merit, said Patra.

The state government had earlier lunched free mobile phones for farmers, bi-cycles for construction workers, blanket and umbrella for the pension holders besides some oter sops for different categories of people.