Mamata Banerjee led West Bengal government on Tuesday decided to transfer Rs 10,000 to the account of each of 9.5 lakh Class XII students studying in government, government-aided, and madrasa schools to procure tab or smartphone. The students can use the money to buy tablets or smartphones for "seamless online education", the West Bengal government added.

The decision was taken in the cabinet meeting chaired by CM Mamata Banerjee.

"We floated tenders but no one could ensure to supply the huge volume of tabs. Since the central government has imposed restrictions on the products made in China, we have to depend on other brands. So, we have decided to transfer the money directly to the account of the students within three weeks," Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said at a press conference in state secretariat Nabanna.

Earlier, the West Bengal had planned to gift tabs to examinees so that they could prepare amid the pandemic through online tutorials. "But after the tendering process was started, it was found that vendors could hardly supply around 1.5 lakh tabs. The requirement is 9.5 lakh tabs, so we decided to provide Rs 10,000 directly to their bank accounts as there is a shortage of tabs in the market. We have formed a committee headed by chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay for this," the CM said.Referring to the embargo on purchase of Chinese goods, she added: "For this reason, we are not buying any Chinese tabs. Students will get Rs 10,000 so that they can buy a tab or a smartphone that will serve their purpose."

(With inputs from agencies)