Laptops for SC/ST students from next academic year

BENGALURU: Over 35,000 SC/ST students of higher education courses will get free laptops from the next academic year under the ‘Laptop Bhagya’ scheme for which the Higher Education Department is spending Rs 112 crore. The department decided to provide free laptops to SC/ST students in government engineering colleges, polytechnics and government degree colleges at a meeting held on Monday. Confirming this, Higher Education Minister Basavaraja Rayareddi said, “We have taken a decision and are calling for a tender shortly. This initiative is taken under the special component fund released from the government in the end of November.” As per the data available from the department, there are over 35,000 students who will benefit from this scheme. The laptops will cost around Rs 32,000 to Rs 35,000. The only condition that the students must fulfil to get the laptop is that they should belong to SC/ST communities. Only first year students will be given laptops. “This is a new concept in higher education and there will not be any income limit for this,” said Rayareddi. Bangalore University has a similar scheme where it provides laptops to SC/ST students at the Post-graduate level. However, the students have to return the laptops after completion of the course.