Gurpreet Singh Kangar distributes smartphones to Mansa students under Punjab Smart Connect Scheme

Mansa : Fulfilling the promise to provide free smartphones to the youth, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh led Punjab Government on Wednesday, has started the distribution of smartphones to Class XII Government School students under its first phase of the Punjab Smart Connect scheme on the occasion of Janam Ashtami and International Youth Day.Punjab Revenue, Rehabilitation and Disaster Management Minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar launched the scheme in Mansa by distributing 20 smartphones to the students of different Government Schools in the district. The Revenue Minister distributed the smartphones to students simultaneously via video conference with the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who launched the scheme in Chandigarh.Gurpreet Singh Kangar said that the main purpose of providing smartphones to the students of government schools by the Punjab government was to provide digital access, skills development, technical knowledge, integration with the online education system, provide future employment opportunities and timely government services. He said that these phones would prove boon for students especially during this time of online study system amid COVID-19.Revenue Minister said that under the scheme over 1.73 lakhs students Class XII will be given free smartphones of which 6231 free smartphones will be distributed in Mansa district. He said that this scheme would benefit 3088 female students and 3143 male students of Mansa district.
Divulging the details, Gurpreet Kangar said that these Lava company smartphones equipped with latest specifications including 2GB RAM with 1.5 GHz processor, 5.45 inches display size, 3000 mAh battery, eight-megapixel rear and five-megapixel front cameras with capacitive touch screen beside the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, headphone jack, USB enabled OS-Android 9.0 phone will be compiled with all types of networks such as 2G, 3G,4G/LTE, VoLTE having ROM (Memory) – 16 GB, which is expandable to 128 GB. He said that the applications like M Seva and Captain Contact app are already installed in the phones, which would be of immense benefit to the students.Students expressed gratitude to the Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh for the smartphones citing that they were unable to afford smartphones due to financial constraints at home but this initiative of the government has given a new impetus to their desire to get an education.Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner Mohinder Pal said that after the formal launch by the Cabinet Minister, in the next few days all the students of Class XII would be provided mobile phones. During the launch, MLA Nazar Singh Mansahia, Former MLA Ajit Inder Singh Moffar, Chairman Zila Parishad Bikram Singh Moffar, District President Youth Congress Chuspinderbir Chahal, Member Zila Parishad Gurpreet Kaur Gagowal, Secretary Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) Balwinder Narang, Congress leader Manju Bansal, Arshdeep Gagowal and Kulwant Rai Singla among other prominent persons were present.