Smartphones, tablets to be distributed among students from second week of December: UP govt

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government Tuesday said it will start distributing smartphones and tablets among youths of the state from the second week of December in pursuance to the announcement of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Around 2.5 lakh tablets and 5 lakh smartphones will be distributed in the first lot, the government said in a statement. A dedicated portal DG Shakti has been created for this, and it will be launched soon by the chief minister, it said, adding through this portal, distribution of smartphones and tablets and content will be given to the students.

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Apart from this, information about smartphones and tablets will be given to the students from time to time on their mobile numbers and email IDs. The entire system, from registration to delivery of smartphone and tablet is free, it said.

The data of the students is being given to the university by the respective colleges and the data feeding of the students is being done at university level itself. Till Monday, data of about 27 lakh students was uploaded on the portal. The process of data feeding of the rest of the students is also being expedited, said the statement.

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A tender to the tune of Rs 4,700 crore has been floated by the government on the GeM portal for the purchase of smartphones and tablets, the statement said. Financial bids of eligible firms will be opened after technical scrutiny. It is expected that the work order will be issued by the first week of December, the statement said.

The move assumes significance as the Samajwadi Party has been accusing the BJP of honouring the poll promise of providing laptops and tablet computers to students only now, saying that the chief minister (Adityanath) himself is unable to operate a laptop. "If he (Adityanath) knew how to operate a laptop, he would have distributed those earlier," the SP chief said at a function held in an inter-college in Azamgarh, his parliamentary constituency on October 29.

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The BJP manifesto for the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls had stated that the students opting for further studies will be given laptops and tablet computers, along with free data, and Wi-Fi connections will be installed in those institutions, Yadav said.

"The BJP had written in its manifesto that it will give laptops to the children, but those are not traceable. I came to know through the newspapers today that it is going to distribute tablet computers. I want to know from them which tablet they had been giving to these children for four-and-a-half years?" he asked.

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"If the baba chief minister opens the laptop given by us, he will come to know who is coming to power," he said and took a jibe at Adityanath, saying he will not do it because he does not know how to operate a laptop.

On October 23, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said that his government will begin the distribution of tablets and smartphones among the youth by November-end. He made the announcement while laying the foundation stone of a government medical college in Sultanpur.