Punjab Free Smartphone Scheme or Captain Smart Connect Scheme 2020 is a new scheme announced by the state government of Punjab to provide 50 lakh free smartphones to the students of class 11th and 12th. Under the Captain Smart Connect scheme, the government is providing free smartphones to eligible youth with free 4G data for one year.
The free smartphone scheme in Punjab was announced in the 2016 election manifesto, but was not immediately launched. However, there have been many changes in the eligibility criteria and implementation of the scheme, now in August 2020, the state government finally launched the free smartphone scheme in the state and distributed smartphones to students.
Captain Smart Connect Free Smartphone Scheme
After waiting for more than 3 years, the Captain Smart Connect Free Smartphone Scheme has been launched and in the first phase of this scheme, smartphones are distributed to the girl students.
Captain Amarinder Singh, CM of Punjab Government on 28 July 2020. Has decided to start the first phase of the free smartphone distribution scheme. In this first phase, about 50,000 smartphones will be given to government students. Schools which are studying in 11th or 12th grade. All students must submit a self-certification form. This form will ensure that the young beneficiaries of the scheme are not already in possession of the smartphone and they really need it.
The Punjab Free Smartphone Scheme is expected to benefit the total students of the twelfth standard of government schools in the first phase. The first phase of the Captain Smart Connect plan will be completed by November 2020.
Various ministers, including legislators and others, distributed free smartphones at 26 locations across the state to launch the scheme. Each minister personally handed over 20 phones to various districts to mark the launch of the scheme, which fulfilled another major electoral promise of the Congress government in the state.
Eligibility for Captain Smart Connect Scheme
To be eligible for the Captain Smart Connect scheme, the applicant must meet the following eligibility criteria.
- Must be resident of Punjab
- Should belong to the age group of 18-35 years
- 10th grade will be passed
- Household income should be less than Rs 6 lakh in a year
Punjab Free Smartphone Scheme – Key Features
Punjab government’s free smartphone scheme will provide basic smartphone to beneficiary students across the state. Some of the main benefits and features of the scheme are as follows.
- Free smartphone manufactured by Lava Mobiles, an Indian company.
- 12 GB data for 1 year using online study material.
- Free 600 minute local outgoing call per month.
- The smartphone will be 4G compatible.
- Smartphones distributed under this scheme will have a decent size touchscreen with HD resolution.
- The smartphone will be equipped with an educational app.
How to apply for Punjab Free Smartphone Scheme
In 2016, online applications were invited for Punjab Free Smartphone Scheme or Captain Smart Connect Scheme through online portal Captainsmartconnect.com, but a lot of things changed after that.
The state government is now distributing smartphones to all the students of class 12 who are studying in government schools. There is no need to apply offline or online for smartphone scheme in Punjab.
The school administration or board will provide the list of all eligible students to the concerned department and purchase the smartphone from the company which will be distributed to the students later.
Punjab Free Smartphone Scheme – Beneficiary List
Students of class 12 who are studying in any government school are beneficiaries of the scheme, which are subject to other eligibility criteria. The list of beneficiaries of the Punjab Mukt Smartphone Scheme is not available online, however, a student can contact the school administration to find out if his name is in the list.
Below is some information about the beneficiaries of the free smartphone scheme in Punjab (first phase).
- Beneficiary: Class 12 students studying in government schools
- Total Beneficiaries: 1,74,015 Class XII Students
- Boys vs Girls: 87,395 boys and 86,620 girls
- Categories: 36,555 OBC and 94,832 SC and 13 ST students
- Rural vs Urban: 1,11,857 from rural areas and 62158 from urban areas