Odisha’s cabinet has approved a Rs 393.62-crore free Wi-Fi scheme for 601 government and aided colleges, giving authenticated students up to 1GB of internet data a day on campus from 2026-27 to 2028-29.
The Odisha Shikshanet scheme was approved at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. The state government said the programme will provide high-speed Wi-Fi infrastructure, bandwidth, network management, cybersecurity and operation and maintenance support across the participating colleges.
Chief Secretary Anu Garg said the scheme would build on an earlier phase that provided Wi-Fi facilities at 130 colleges. The next phase will expand the service to 601 institutions over three years, with the government expecting the facility to benefit more than six lakh students and faculty members.
Under the scheme, every authenticated student will be eligible for up to 1GB of free internet data per day while on campus. The government said the connectivity will support academic and research work, skill development and access to digital learning resources, including e-books, digital libraries, virtual classrooms, SWAYAM and other massive open online courses.
Students will also be able to use research databases, competitive examination resources and digital skill-development platforms. The service is intended to support access to e-governance facilities linked to higher education, including the Student Academic Management System, the Higher Education Management Information System and scholarship portals.
The scheme will include a centralised monitoring dashboard to track service delivery, network security, uptime and usage. These functions will be part of the state’s operational framework for monitoring whether the Wi-Fi facilities remain available and secure across the participating institutions.
The government said the programme would particularly help students from rural and remote areas and economically weaker sections by improving access to digital resources on college campuses. It described the initiative as a measure to bridge the digital divide in higher education.
Odisha has aligned the scheme with the National Education Policy 2020, the Digital India programme, Sustainable Development Goals 4, 9 and 10, and Odisha Vision 2036. Implementation is scheduled to continue through the 2026-27, 2027-28 and 2028-29 financial years.
