The Odisha Cabinet has approved a Rs 393.62-crore flagship scheme to provide free, high-speed Wi-Fi connectivity to 601 government and aided colleges and universities across the state, in a major push towards digital education.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the state Cabinet in Bhubaneswar, chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. The scheme, formally titled ‘Odisha Shikshanet — Empowering Students through a Free Wi-Fi Internet Facility to all Colleges and Universities’, will be implemented by the state’s Higher Education Department over three financial years, from 2026-27 to 2028-29.
1 GB of free data a day for every student
Under the scheme, every authenticated student will receive up to 1 GB of free internet data per day within the campus, earmarked for academic, research and skill development use. The connectivity will be free, secure and high-speed, and the initiative is expected to benefit over six lakh students and faculty members at government and aided higher education institutions.
The scheme builds on a first phase that has already covered 130 colleges, scaling up the programme nearly fivefold. The approval was part of a series of policy and developmental decisions cleared during the Cabinet meeting, aimed at strengthening education, governance and public infrastructure across the state.
Bridging the digital divide
The government has said the initiative specifically targets students from rural, remote and economically weaker sections, aiming to bridge the digital divide in higher education access. With campus internet often patchy or unaffordable outside major cities, the scheme is designed to give students in smaller towns the same access to digital learning resources as their peers in larger centres.
The initiative is aligned with the objectives of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the Digital India initiative and Odisha Vision 2036. Officials said the rollout would be watched closely, since connecting 601 institutions does not happen overnight — and the real test will be whether the Wi-Fi works reliably in classrooms, libraries and hostels, not just on paper.
The scheme is one of several large public investments announced by state governments in recent weeks. The Centre recently released Rs 8,601 crore in tax devolution advances to Northeastern states to support development spending, while Odisha’s coast hosted a successful missile test in the same week the Cabinet cleared the Wi-Fi plan.
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