The government scheme of distributing free laptops to students took off with the good intention of making the younger generation tech-savvy and help them when they take up higher studies.
But, sadly, many of these priceless assets are finding their way to the laptop grey market in western districts. The free laptops are being sold mostly by rural corporation school students – some for as low as Rs 1,000.

“There is great demand for free laptops among sales executives and also the common man,” said a salesman, as they pay only Rs 12,000 for a laptop that sells for Rs  26,000 in the retail market.
It is not a hopeless situation, says a principal, as some school students joining colleges use them regularly in the classrooms.
Coimbatore collector M. Karunagaran told DC there was a committee to monitor the sale of government-issued laptops available in the open market.  

‘Free’ market

For a poll promise, it was swiftly fulfilled. The government scheme of distributing free laptops to students started off with the good intention of making the younger generation tech-savvy and enhance their faculties when they take up higher studies.But it is a sad state of affairs that many of these priceless assets are finding their way to the laptop grey market.When this correspondent approached a shop at Gandhipuram, shopkeeper Murthy (name changed) promised to sell a government laptop for Rs 12,000.“It is a dual core processor laptop with 2 GB ram, 120 hard disk with WiFi facility. The original cost of the free laptop in the retail market is approximately Rs 26,000,” he informed.Ramu (name changed), another computer vendor at Ganapathy, said mostly corporation school students sold him their free laptops. He said they purchase the free laptop for Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 and sell them for Rs 12,000 to customers, he added.“There is a great demand for free laptops among sales executives and also the common man,” said a salesman.The computer shop-keepers act as middlemen, buying and selling the laptops. Also, the computer service engineers who go to schools and colleges create a network among students and make them sell the free laptops for ready cash, said a student, who had sold his laptop.Poverty and ignorance are the reasons driving these students to sell their laptops.Laptops from corporation school students in the rural areas like Pollachi, Thudiyalur, Valparai and Madukarai find their way to the market.Some parents have a reason to sell the laptops. For instance, a resident of Nallampalayam, Mr Mahendran, said the configuration of the free laptops would not be adequate for higher studies in engineering.“Since, it may not be that useful, we sold it out for a price and would like to go for an updated version with higher configuration,” he remarked.However, RTI activist Manoj said they had already petitioned the collector that the free laptops were being misused and sold in the grey market.“We got the tip-off a few months ago about the free laptops being available in the open market. We are going to file a petition under RTI to know the status of laptop distribution,” he added.Collector M. Karunagaran told DC there was a committee to monitor the sale of government-issued laptops available in the open market. “The committee will inspect the matter and report. Based on it, we will see what  can be done,” he said.