Goa Govt Ties Up with Vodafone to Rollout Free Internet Data Scheme for Youth

[Mario D'souza]

India’s smallest state Goa will roll out free internet data scheme for its youth in the state in association with telecom operator Vodafone India. As a part of Union Government’s Digital India initiative, the state government of Goa will launch Goa Yuva Samvad Yojan across the state. Under this scheme, nearly 1.25 lakh youth will be benefitted with free talk time and internet data.

How to Apply for Goa Yuva Samvad Yojan Scheme:

The Goa Chief Minister Mr. Laxmikant Parsekar will roll out this digital youth initiative scheme to leverage technology in the state. As per the Goa Yuva Samvad Yojan scheme, each Goan youth aged 16-30 years will get free access to 100 minutes of local voice calls and 3GB of 3G internet data at a speed of 2Mbps. As per the agreement, the scheme is valid for 3 years period and the Goa State Government will pay ₹1crore to cellular operator Vodafone India for floating this programme.

In order to apply for this Goa Yuva Samvad Yojan scheme, the applicant should be the resident of Goa for a period of 5 or more years and should produce Aadhaar card or Voter ID card along with a passport sized photograph. Officially, this programme will be carried out by Goa Electronics Ltd, a subsidiary of EDC Ltd undertaking by the Government of Goa.

As per the reports, the Government has taken all necessary steps in implementing the scheme from today and Vodafone India has already begun this exercise. The registrations and activations of SIMs are being carried out at all Vodafone India’s retail outlets in Goa. The Government has made provisions for effective monitoring of the scheme by developing a centralized online management system. If there is any misuse then the services will be discontinued to the said beneficiary with an immediate effect.

Digital India Initiative:

This ambitious project was announced by the Chief Minister Mr. Laxmikant Parsekar in the 2016-17 state budget. On October 5, the Government has requested all the major telecom operators for the proposals to offer free benefits. After going through all the formalities including the contract and tendering process, the Goan state cabinet approved the launch of Yuva Samvad Yojan across the state in line with PM Modi’s Digital India Initiative.

Though the states have been figuring out to launch free smartphones, this concept of offering free talk time and free internet data is a unique one and will definitely attract the youth of Goa. The move is highly beneficial as the state youth will be getting used to the online facility and will definitely make Goa India’ first cashless society.