Goa government will distribute 15,000 free laptops amongst students in the state by the end of July 2013, sources said on Saturday. The state government has secured a deal with vendors that will bring it a discount of Rs 4,000 on the price of each laptop, thus saving the exchequer a total Rs 6 crore on procurement cost, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has said.
The branded laptops of a similar configuration had come at a price of Rs 21,000 each in 2012. The scheme, which would cost the state government about Rs 25 crore in 2013, is meant to benefit higher secondary students. The 'Cyberage Scheme' of providing computers or laptops to students was started by Parrikar during his earlier term as CM about a decade back. But the scheme was mismanaged by the previous government, he alleged.
The laptops which were earlier purchased by the state education department are now being procured through a tendering process by the state-run Infotech Corporation Goa Limited (ITGL). ITGL Managing Director Nilesh Faldesai said that laptops would be provided to all the 15,000-odd students by the end of this month. Students from professional colleges and technical institutes, too, would be covered under the scheme from 2012.
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