The scheme would be up for cabinet approval later this week
The current ruling party of Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party, may be planning on distributing smartphones for free to get more votes. According to a report by Times of India, Akhilesh Yadav’s government is planning on rolling out a scheme to distribute free smartphones in the state. It is noted that the scheme will be up for the cabinet's approval later this week. Those interested would be able to register online in a month to claim a phone.
Of course, there are a few clauses. Firstly, the phones will only be available to those who are 18 and above by January 1, 2017. Further, the people who register for the phones will have to upload their high school certificates as the proof of their date of birth. Reports also suggest that the phones might be delivered by the second half of 2017, which will most likely be after the Legislative Assembly elections. The party had distributed free laptops in 2013.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav said, “If devices are not available to people, investment in infrastructure and services would be of no use. It is for this reason we had distributed laptops and are now aiming at distributing smartphones to youth, farmers and others.”
It isn’t yet known which phones will be given away by the government, but TOI’s report states that the devices will be acquired through global bidding. Further, the devices would have apps that are aimed at helping people access government schemes via audio, video, or text. However, the question remains, would you vote for a party if they offered free smartphones?
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