दिशाभूल: Students to get free smartphones from the Indian government amid the COVID-19 crisis.

The Punjab Government is giving free smartphones to the Class XII government school students, but the central government has not rolled out any plans.A message claiming that the Indian government is giving away free smartphones during the COVID-19 crisis is doing the rounds on social media. The post stated that since schools and colleges are closed, the government offers free smartphones to all students across India, to help them attend online classes. The central government has not made such announcements, but the state government of Punjab had distributed smartphones to students through the Punjab Smart Connect Scheme. Amarinder Singh, the Chief Minister of Punjab, said that students of Class XII government schools would be given smartphones to access their online classes amid the COVID-19. The Punjab Smart Connect Scheme had been launched by video conference for those boys and girls who do not have smartphones. The state cabinet has planned to distribute 1,73,823 smartphones by November. The state government received the first consignment of 50,000 and launched the scheme on the International Youth Day(August 12). The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.