Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday said the free laptop scheme of the Samajwadi Party government would help remove the “digital divide” among students belonging to different economic strata.
He was speaking at a function to mark the distribution of laptops to 10,000 students of 12 educational institutions at Colvin Taluqdar’s College here. Taking a dig at Opposition parties which said that the distribution of laptops was akin to handing over “lollypops,” Mr. Yadav remarked that the critics would also be given laptops.
The Chief Minister said that after the discovery of the wheel, the Internet had made the biggest impact on the world, bringing a revolutionary change in the field of education and other spheres.
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Mentioning that his government would complete one year in office on March 15, he claimed that the State was on the fast road of reforms and development works had been launched in several sectors.
He blamed the previous regime for the unemployment in the State and said no job opportunities had been created by it. Defending the unemployment allowance scheme, he said the dole would continue till job opportunities were created for the unemployed youth. Steps had been taken for setting up industries.
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Huge order
Chief Secretary Javed Usmani said all those who passed Intermediate in 2012 would be given laptops. Mr. Usmani said Hewlett Packard had been asked to supply 15 lakh laptops to the government. The function was attended by Irrigation Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav, Health Minister Ahmed Hasan and the Chief Minister’s wife Dimple Yadav.