The Punjab government on Wednesday launched its Rs 92 crore “Punjab Smart Connect Scheme” with Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh handing over smart phones to six Class XII students in a symbolic gesture.

The simultaneous distribution of smart phones was carried out at 26 places by various ministers, MLAs and others across Punjab to kickstart the scheme meant for Class XII students of government schools in the state.

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Each minister today personally handed over 20 phones in various districts to mark the launch of the scheme, which marked the fulfilment of another major poll promise of the Congress government in the state.

The scheme, for which Rs 100 crore was allocated in the state budget for 2017-18, will benefit 1,74, 015 Class XII students of government schools in the first phase, to be completed by November 2020.

Of these, 87395 are boys and 86620 girls, with majority belonging to the Other Backward Class (OBC), Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) categories – thus bridging a major divide that was obstructing these students from affordable access to online education, an official spokesperson said.

While 36555 beneficiaries are OBC students, 94832 are SC and 13 ST students. A majority of these students, 111857, are from rural areas and the remaining are students of urban government schools Capt Amarinder Singh, who launched the scheme on the occasion of Janmashtami and International Youth Day through video conferencing at the state secretariat this afternoon, said people believed in the promises listed in the Congress’s election manifesto and it was thus his duty to ensure the implementation of each one of them.

When the Congress party listed smart phones as a poll promise, it was to provide global connectivity and empower poor youths who could not afford them, the CM said, adding that in the current pandemic situation these phones have assumed more importance as they have become a necessity for continuity of education through online classes.

It was the resource of the people of Punjab which his government was spending on advancement of the youths, Capt Amarinder said, adding that the phones were planned to be distributed in March but the process got delayed due to the Covid crisis.

The CM said he wanted Punjab’s students to be abreast with the latest technology that they could use effectively for their education, which leverages technology in a big way today.

Gone are the days of chalks and boards, he said, adding that the government schools, which had seen a major transformation over the past couple of years, needed to be supported through technological initiatives by the state government.