Digital Seva Yojana: Government to Distribute Smartphones to 1.35 crore Women

According to officials, on August 19 three of the nation's major telecom companies expressed interest in the Rajasthan government’s Digital Seva Yojana, which would provide smartphones to 1.35 crore women in the State.

A high-level committee will decide on the bidders this month following the evaluation, according to a senior official. The government aims to finish this process as soon as possible so that the plan may be put into action before the Assembly elections the following year.

The project would cost 12,000 crores in total. On Wednesday, the technical bids for the government project were officially opened in Jaipur.

"On Wednesday, technical bids were made public. Vodafone, a private company that offered the tender, did not appear,” Chhatrapal Singh, the project’s in charge, informed PTI. A high-level group would now evaluate the tenders and make future decisions, he claimed.

Officials are optimistic that the procedure will be resolved as soon as possible and that the government will get the first batch of cellphones before the start of the festive season. Mukhyamantri Digital Seva Yojana was introduced by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in this year's budget.

In accordance with the scheme, smartphones with internet connectivity would be provided for three years to the women who are the heads of the 1.35 crore families registered in the Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme. The project's implementation is the responsibility of the State-owned business Rajcomp.

According to officials, the initiative would cost roughly Rs. 12,000 crores, which includes the price of mobile phones, three years of internet connection, and other services.

One SIM will be pre-activated in the given mobile device's "primary slot," which cannot be altered, according to an official, and the device will offer two-SIM functioning. Rajasthan will hold its upcoming assembly elections in December.