Overview
- Chief Minister M.K. Stalin inaugurated the Ulagam Ungal Kaiyil programme in Chennai, starting statewide distribution to college students.
- The government plans 20 lakh laptops over two phases with ₹2,000 crore allocated this fiscal for the first tranche.
- Devices from Dell, HP and Acer feature Intel i3 or AMD Ryzen 3 processors, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, Windows 11 or BOSS Linux, and MS Office 365.
- Beneficiaries include students in government and aided institutions across engineering, arts and science, medicine, agriculture, law, polytechnics and ITIs, with ELCOT handling procurement and the Technical Education department managing selection.
- Some reports said 200,000 laptops were handed out at the launch event, while the state cites a phase-one target of 10 lakh, drawing opposition criticism over the rollout’s timing before assembly elections.