CHENNAI: Since the free laptop computer distribution to college students has begun in TN, the initial phase of the project, which would reach 10 lakh students, will be completed by end of February, even as nearly 2 lakh systems have already reached the beneficiaries. The second phase is expected to start in March.

The Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT) floated an international tender to procure 20 lakh laptops, and the State government will be allocating Rs 2,000 crore.

Accordingly, the laptops procured from MNCs such as Dell, Acer and HP, will be configured with Intel i3 or AMD Ryzen 3 processors, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD storage, Windows 11, BOSS Linux, MS Office 365 and a six-month free subscription to the AI-powered Perplexity Pro platform. Each beneficiary will also receive a high-quality laptop bag.

Stating that the government has already started identifying beneficiaries across around 4,600 arts, science, engineering, agriculture and medical colleges throughout TN, a senior official from the Higher Education Department, said that more than 1 lakh laptops were already distributed to the students. “Almost all the beneficiaries’ details were reported by the colleges. Students’ data submitted by the institution will be thoroughly scrutinised to ensure the scheme reaches all beneficiaries without fail,” he added.

The official also pointed out that the companies, which will supply the laptops, will be setting up service centres across all districts. “The number of service centres will be released soon after the first phase of the scheme is over,” he stated.

The official also cautioned students not to believe rumours on social media about online registration for the scheme.