The Tamil Nadu government introduced the “Ulagam Ungal Kaiyil” scheme on January 5, 2026 in Chennai under initiatives of empowering students and improving digital education. In this initiative, 20 lakh laptops will be allocated to the final year of college students in government and aided universities and other university/college-aged students who are in education of various technical and engineering, arts, medicine and more fields.
Every laptop that is also included under the scheme has the latest Intel i3 or AMD Ryzen 3 processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB solid-state drive, Windows 11 or BOSS Linux operating system and also modern design compatibility. Furthermore, these devices are equipped with Microsoft Office and a six-month subscription to Perplexity Pro AI to enhance students’ productivity and learning capabilities.
The initial series of 10 lakh laptops are prepared for distribution within the current fiscal year, with the government funding ₹2,000 crore in this phase. This program picks up a tradition similar to the free laptop distribution that was halted in 2021. Most people embrace it as a good idea- it’ll surely bring much-needed help in the way of supporting students’ studies and prospects-while detractors suggest that the plan is part of the government strategy for the April-May 2026 elections.
This notwithstanding, students have had the chance to customise their new laptop already -which demonstrates they are very much engaged and motivated with the programme. The 'Ulagam Ungal Kaiyil' scheme would be the next stage towards digital inclusion of Tamil Nadu higher education and would bring up to learn the tools for academia and practice.
