Micromax and Jio to distribute 50 lakh smartphones to women and students

A consortium of handset-maker Micromax and Reliance Jio has reportedly bagged Rs 1,500 cr order from the Chhattisgarh government to distribute almost 50 lakh smartphone to students and women across the state.

According to the report, at least 45 lakh smartphones are being distributed to women and rest will be distributed among college students in the state.

Micromax co-founder Vikas Jain told PTI, “the project covered a large part of the population and the company reserved space in 15 warehouses across the state to ensure timely distribution of the handsets. Chhattisgarh had a population of over 2.5 crore in 2011, as per that year’s census.”

The smartphones are being distributed to women have a 4-inch display, 1GB RAM and 8GB ROM. The handsets will be given to college students will have a 5-inch display and 2GB RAM and 16GB of internal storage.

Almost 10,000 camps are being organised under the project and deliveries of these smartphones have already started. Every beneficiary, chosen by the Chhattisgarh government is handed the device personally after activating it with a Reliance Jio connection. The authentication of the beneficiary will be done using Aadhaar.

Every beneficiary will receive  1GB of 4G data to use the Internet, 100 minutes for voice calling 100 SMS’s per month for six months. After that, they will be offered special tariff plans by Reliance Jio.

Micromax along with Chhattisgarh government is launching the Sanchar Kranti Yojana (SKY). Their commitment towards SKY initiative has helped us reach out to women of urban BPL families, rural house and youth consumers by providing them a worthwhile digital experience through their smartphones.

The deal was signed earlier this year with distribution starting at the end of July. “For carrying out the project, we hired about 2,000-2,500 temporary staff… We expect to complete deliveries to all beneficiaries in the next few weeks,” Vikas added.

While elaborating the project he said, “doesn’t appear to be politically motivated”, given that it has taken months of planning and execution for all involved parties. The project was given through a tender process.  He also said, this initiative will help to make Chhatisgarh a digitally empowered state. 

“The SKY project is a key development initiative to deliver digital inclusion, e-Governance and faster economic development in Chhattisgarh. Jio is happy to be a part of this digital initiative to connect the unconnected,” a Reliance Jio spokesperson told PTI. 

Also read: Reliance Jio gifts 8GB mobile data to users