Finally, 19,847 students of Himachal Pradesh to get laptops on June 8

Shimla, June 6

Finally, 19,847 meritorious students of class X, XII and graduation of 2018-19 and 2019-20 academic sessions would get free laptops under “Sri Nivasa Ramanujam Student Digital Yojana” on June 8. The laptops would be distributed at 55 locations.

Laptops are given to 4,500 meritorious students of Class X and XII and 1,000 students of graduation under the scheme. The cost incurred on distribution of free laptops is Rs 83 crores, said Principal Secretary Education Manish Garg.

The distribution of laptops was delayed as the budget provision of Rs 50 crore made for 2018-19 and 2019-20 academic sessions, (Rs 25 crore for each year) had increased by additional Rs 25 crores as the cost of laptops had gone up in the past two years. Sources said that the company had given a discount of Rs 5,000 per laptop.

However, smart phones would be given to about 10,000 meritorious students of 2020-21 for which tendering process is on, said sources in the education department.