Odisha commits ₹393.62 crore to campus Wi-Fi across 601 colleges

By Daniel Okafor

Odisha's Cabinet has approved ₹393.62 crore — roughly $47 million — to put free Wi-Fi into 601 government and aided colleges over three years. The scheme, named Odisha Shikshanet, runs across financial years 2026-27 to 2028-29, according to the state Information and Public Relations Department.

That works out to about ₹65 lakh (roughly $78,000) per college, covering three years of connectivity. The Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, cleared the proposal among 13 policy and developmental decisions on the same agenda.

What do students actually get?

Each authenticated student receives up to 1 GB of free high-speed internet data per day on campus. The state projects more than 600,000 students and faculty will benefit, with access to digital learning platforms, e-libraries and online academic resources.

The 1 GB cap deserves scrutiny. One hour of standard-definition video streaming consumes roughly that amount. A student attending online lectures could exhaust the daily allowance quickly. The state did not specify what counts as "high-speed," who authenticates users, or what happens when a campus uplink fails.

The announcement also lacks procurement details. The state named no network vendor, no bandwidth specification per institution and no maintenance contract terms. Those omissions matter. Three-year total cost of ownership — equipment refresh, support staffing, egress bandwidth — often exceeds initial hardware outlay.

What else did the Cabinet decide?

The 13 approvals targeted education, governance and public infrastructure, the department said, without publishing a full itemized list. Separately, the state made its urban governance agenda explicit.

Speaking at the state-level Local Self Government Day programme in Bhubaneswar, Majhi said local self-government "has deep roots in India's culture and democratic traditions." He noted Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) have grown from 115 to 143.

Majhi projected about 40% of Odisha's population will live in urban areas by 2036, and nearly 60% by 2047. He tied the national 'Viksit Bharat' vision to a 'Samruddha Odisha' dependent on what he called prosperous, safe, clean, inclusive and economically vibrant cities — a long-horizon promise with no attached budget figures.

He urged Mayors, Chairpersons, Vice-Chairpersons, Corporators and Councillors to stay in close contact with citizens, listen to their concerns and coordinate with officials for timely solutions.

Which partnerships and systems were announced?

The state listed four memoranda of understanding:

• Odisha Urban Academy with Sri Sri University
• CRUT (the Capital Region Urban Transport agency) with Sri Sri University
• Odisha Urban Academy with the Indian School of Business
• Odisha Urban Academy with the National Institute of Urban Affairs

The stated purpose is enhanced knowledge, research and capacity in urban planning. No financial terms were disclosed for any of the four agreements.

Majhi also launched the OSWAN Video Conferencing facility in 115 ULBs — notably fewer than the 143 ULBs he cited, leaving 28 bodies outside the rollout without explanation. OSWAN is the state's wide-area network. He inaugurated the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana–Bandhu housing programme on the same occasion.

What remains unanswered?

The Wi-Fi scheme's per-college rollout sequence is undefined. The state did not say whether institutions receive deployments in waves or simultaneously, nor how it will measure uptake among the projected 600,000 users. Until a vendor, a bandwidth standard and an audit mechanism appear, the ₹393.62 crore remains a budget line, not a delivered network.