The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, C. Joseph Vijay, has directed the implementation of a free laptop scheme for college students. The scheme has been named the ‘Vetri Laptop Scheme’. The TBK government has also allocated a budget of ₹2,000 crore for this initiative. This scheme was announced in the budget for the 2026-27 financial year.
According to reports, the TBK government, led by Vijay, stated on Saturday that a high-level committee—under the leadership of the Chief Minister—will be formed to oversee the implementation of this free laptop scheme, which was announced in the 2026-27 budget. In an official notification, the government has stated that students in their first and second years of Undergraduate (UG) and diploma-level courses—enrolled in government or state-aided colleges across fields such as medicine, agriculture, and law—will be eligible for the benefits of this free laptop scheme.
The scheme covers students pursuing courses in Arts, Science, Engineering, Medicine, Veterinary Science, Agriculture, Fisheries, and Law. Additionally, students enrolled in Polytechnic and ITI institutions will also be eligible for these benefits. Furthermore, the government has decided to include students who did not receive the benefits of the free laptop scheme during the 2025-26 academic year. Students pursuing professional courses in their third or fourth year at government or government-aided institutions will also be provided with laptops.
Keeping the requirements of engineering students in mind, the Tamil Nadu government has made a special arrangement for them. These students will be provided with laptops equipped with an Intel Core i5 processor or one with equivalent performance. Furthermore, the responsibility for procuring these laptops has been entrusted to the state-owned company, ELCOT. Administrative approval for this has also been granted.
