Free laptops for 15,000 Odisha Plus Two students this year

(File Photo)

Bhubaneswar, November 3: The Odisha Government would
distribute around 15,000 laptops to meritorious Plus Two students this year. The Government has asked the Odisha Computer Application Centre
(OCAC) General Manager to provide the same at the earliest.

This is the second year in a row that the government is
distributing laptops. The scheme has been launched under a special programme,
Biju Yuva Shashaktikaran Yojana, an initiative under the Odisha Youth Policy of
2013.

For 2014-15, leading computer manufacturer Hewlett-Packard
(HP) has bagged a Rs 30-crore contract from the Odisha Government for the
supply of 15,203 laptops. The government had given an equal amount to Acer,
which bagged the order for 2013-14 for supplying 15,000 laptops at a unit cost
of Rs 20,343. For the current year, laptops will be procured for Rs 19,899 a
unit. 

As per Government report, 164 students would get laptops in
Angul district followed by 1,443 in Balasore, 813 in Bargarh, 444 in Bhadrak,
344 in Balangir, 86 in Boudh, 1,727 in Cuttack, 33 in Deogarh, 354 in
Dhenkanal, 49 in Gajapati, 1428 in Ganjam, 338 in Jagatsinghpur, 436 in Jajpur,
69 in Jharusguda, 204 in Kalahandi, 390 in Kendrapara, 267 in Keonjhar, 2,716
in Khordha, 232 in Koraput, 21 in Malkangiri, 706 in Mayurbhanj, 72 in
Nabarangpur, 618 in Nayagarh, 84 in Nuapada, 100 in Phulbani, 652 in Puri, 101
in Rayagada, 534 in Sambalpur, 179 in Sonpur and 396 in Sundargarh.

Of the total 15,000 laptops to be distributed, as many as
5,818 Arts students would get laptops. Similarly, 1,795 and 6,777 students
would get laptops in Commerce and Science streams, respectively.  As many as 394 Sanskrit toll students and 216
students of Vocational stream would also be benefited.