SP may distribute free mobile phones if voted back to power next year

Lucknow: Utttar Pradesh may create a record of sorts in mobile connections as state chief minister Akhilesh Yadav is toying with the idea of distributing free mobile phones if his Samajwadi Party is voted to power again next year.

Opening a bit of his mind , techno-savvy chief minister disclosed at a meeting here on Wednesday that the party was seriously considering this proposal and may reach a conclusion on the eve of the poll.

The possibility of a positive decision is not ruled out because the party had freely distribute laptops after winning the last assembly election.

• For the people outside the state who have little knowledge about the scheme , it was launched in Uttar Pradesh in 2013 to encourage school students achieve excellence in their studies. The scheme has not been abandoned and a large sum been marked for the current financial year too for the project.
• The government has been generous in free distribution of laptops which is clear from the fact that as many as eight thousand laptops were given to meritorious class 10 and 12 students in only two districts of Ghaziabad and Gautambudh Nagar in the first year of the scheme.
• No other party can have any grudge because the promise to do so was made in the party's election manifesto in 2012.

Reason behind the mobile proposal:

• The proposal has a logic. Technology is fast catching up in most of the regions in the country and mobile demand is also growing up. In this backdrop , more and more people with the mobile sets to know the latest developments in the country and outside is not a bad idea, he argued.

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• Implementation of this proposal after the victory next year may also attract mobile companies to set up units in the state which will generate new employment opportunities and improve the overall economic situation in the state.
• The state has been already provided 4G connection which is the latest mobile service.