Odisha’s cabinet has approved a Rs 393.62 crore free Wi-Fi scheme for 601 government and aided colleges, giving students access to up to 1GB of internet data a day on campus from 2026-27. The three-year Odisha Shikshanet programme is intended to support academic work, research and skill development while expanding digital access in higher education.
The scheme, formally called ‘Odisha Shikshanet: Empowering Students through a Free Wi-Fi Internet Facility to All Colleges and Universities’, will cover the installation of Wi-Fi infrastructure, bandwidth provisioning, network management, cybersecurity and operation and maintenance support. The state government said the programme would benefit more than six lakh students and faculty members across the covered institutions.
Chief secretary Anu Garg said the initiative would build on an earlier phase that provided Wi-Fi facilities at 130 colleges. The new approval expands the programme to a much larger network of government and aided colleges across Odisha, including institutions serving students in rural and remote areas.
Under the scheme, students will receive up to 1GB of free internet data each day while on campus. The government said the facility is intended to help students access academic resources, conduct research and use online material for skill development. It also identified students from economically weaker sections as key beneficiaries of the programme.
The project includes a centralised monitoring dashboard to track service delivery, network security, uptime and usage. This places network performance and cybersecurity within the implementation framework rather than treating campus connectivity as a one-time installation exercise. The scheme also provides for continuing operation and maintenance support during its three-year implementation period.
The approval comes as higher education institutions increasingly depend on online academic material, digital research resources and internet-based skill development. However, the government did not disclose institution-wise allocations, the proposed implementation agency, bandwidth specifications or the timetable for connecting individual colleges in the information supplied for the announcement.
The state has not indicated whether the 1GB daily limit will apply uniformly across all covered campuses or how usage will be authenticated and monitored. Those operational details, along with the rollout schedule for the 601 colleges, will determine how the approved infrastructure is delivered to students and faculty members.
Implementation of Odisha Shikshanet is scheduled to begin from the 2026-27 financial year and continue for three years. The next milestones are the rollout of Wi-Fi infrastructure, bandwidth provisioning and the establishment of the centralised monitoring system across the covered colleges.
