Sanchar Kranti Yojana (SKY)

What was Sanchar Kranti Yojana?

Sanchar Kranti Yojana, usually shortened to SKY, was the Government of Chhattisgarh's free smartphone distribution programme. It was launched in 2018 and was implemented by the Chhattisgarh Infotech Promotion Society (CHiPS) under the state's Electronics and Information Technology Department. In Hindi it is written Sanchar Kranti Yojana, literally "communication revolution scheme".

Chhattisgarh had among the lowest mobile and internet penetration figures in the country at the time, particularly in its rural and tribal districts. SKY was designed to change that in one step, by handing out data-capable smartphones at scale rather than subsidising tariffs or building demand slowly. The state also paired the distribution with expansion of mobile tower coverage, on the reasoning that a handset without a signal solves nothing.

Scale of the programme, as reported

• Phase 1: roughly 46.14 lakh rural and urban poor families, plus about 4.01 lakh college students
• Phase 2: about 5.89 lakh additional handsets
• Distribution was done at camps organised through gram panchayats, urban wards and educational institutions

Who was eligible for a free smartphone under SKY?

A person qualified if:

• She was the woman head of a rural household identified from the Socio-Economic and Caste Census 2011 data for Chhattisgarh.
• She was the woman head of an urban household appearing on the BPL 2007 list for her town.
• The person was a college student in Chhattisgarh, in a graduate, postgraduate, diploma or certificate course, applying through the institution.
• The person was a resident of Chhattisgarh with an Aadhaar card.

A person could not apply if:

• The household did not appear on the SECC 2011 or BPL 2007 lists used to generate the beneficiary roll. There was no route to add yourself by filing an application.
• The household had already received a handset through another member. One phone was issued per eligible household.
• The person was a man in the household rather than the woman head, outside the student stream. The design deliberately routed the handset to women.
• The person was not a resident of Chhattisgarh.

How were smartphones applied for and given out?

1. Beneficiary lists were generated centrally by the state from SECC 2011 and BPL 2007 data rather than from citizen applications. Rural identification was handled by the Panchayat and Rural Development Department, urban identification by the Urban Administration and Development Department, and the student stream by the Higher Education Department.
2. Lists were displayed at the gram panchayat, the urban ward office or the college so that people could check whether their name appeared.
3. College students submitted a form at their institution, which verified enrolment and forwarded the list.
4. Distribution camps were organised at panchayat, ward and college level, on dates announced locally.
5. Beneficiaries attended the camp with an Aadhaar card and the ration or BPL card, and collected the handset against a signature in the distribution register.

There was never an online application form for SKY. This matters today, because websites offering "SKY smartphone registration" continue to circulate.

What is the current status of the scheme?

Sanchar Kranti Yojana ran its distribution phases in 2018 and 2019. Since then no fresh distribution round has been announced, and accounts of the scheme describe the Chhattisgarh free smartphone programme as closed, with the state government not distributing handsets under any scheme currently.

Because of that, the practical advice for a reader in 2026 is narrow and worth stating plainly:

• Do not pay anyone to "register" for a free Chhattisgarh smartphone. No government scheme currently accepts such registrations, and no legitimate scheme has ever charged a registration fee.
• Do not share your Aadhaar number or an OTP with a caller promising a handset under SKY.
• If a new round is ever announced, it will appear on Chhattisgarh government portals and be distributed through the gram panchayat or ward, exactly as before, not through a private website.

What replaced it for students?

For students specifically, Chhattisgarh has separately run device support under the banner of a youth information technology initiative covering laptops and tablets for students in state institutions. That stream is distinct from SKY, which was a handset programme aimed primarily at poor households. Students should check with their own institution and the Higher Education Department for what is currently sanctioned, rather than assuming SKY eligibility carries over.

Where to verify anything about SKY

• Chhattisgarh Infotech Promotion Society (CHiPS) at chips.gov.in, the implementing agency for the state's IT programmes.
• Your gram panchayat secretary or ward office — held the original distribution registers and can confirm whether a household was on the list.
• Your college administration, for anything relating to the student stream.

If a household name was on the SKY list but the handset was never collected, the panchayat or ward record is the only document that will show it. Records of a completed 2018-19 distribution do not create an entitlement today, and no state notification currently reopens the scheme.