Around 1.33 crore women of Rajasthan will get a smartphone with 3-year free internet service in the election year of the state. The Congress government has recently floated a tender of Rs 7500 crore for the supply of these smartphones. It will be a 5.5-inch touch screen phone with a minimum of 2 GB RAM worth around Rs 5600.
The scheme was announced by CM Ashok Gehlot in this year’s budget speech but beneficiaries are expected to get the phone in the last year of the Gehlot government as the government has recently floated the tender and it will take around 4-6 months to complete the process.
The successful bidder will have to supply the phones within one year after the receipt of the work order, so the phones will reach the beneficiaries in the election year as the assembly elections in the state are scheduled in December 2023.
The beneficiaries of the scheme will be Jan Aadhar Cardholders of the state. Women have been made head of the family in the Jan Adhar Card issued by the government, so they will get the phone. This card is different from the Aadhar card as this is a family card and has been made mandatory to avail of the benefits of state government schemes in Rajasthan. Because of this, the data of beneficiaries is already available to the government.
While announcing the scheme in the budget speech the CM Ashok Gehlot had said ‘ to give the information about the welfare schemes of the government and to facilitate families to avail the schemes at their doorstep I propose to start Mukhymantri Digital Seva Yojna.’ So it is meant that these smartphones will become a tool of the government to propagate the government schemes at the time of elections.
