Rajasthan Free Laptop Scheme (Nishulk Laptop Vitaran Yojana)

What is the Rajasthan Free Laptop Scheme?

Rajasthan Free Laptop Scheme, known officially as the Nishulk Laptop Vitaran Yojana, gives a free laptop to meritorious students of government schools in Rajasthan. The Secondary Education Department under the School Education Department of the Government of Rajasthan runs the scheme, which has been in operation since 2013.

The scheme is unusual among Indian welfare schemes in one important respect: there is nothing to apply for. Selection is made from examination results. After the Board of Secondary Education, Rajasthan declares its Class 10 and Class 12 results, and after Class 8 results are compiled, the department draws up merit lists district by district and state-wide, and laptops are handed to the students on those lists at distribution events.

Scale of distribution

According to the scheme's published figures, roughly 27,900 laptops are distributed each year:

Within each class the pool is divided between state-level merit (about 6,000 students) and district-level merit (about 3,300 students, roughly 100 per district). The district quota is the more important design feature. It ensures a student from Jaisalmer or Pratapgarh who would never appear on a state list still receives a laptop for topping her district, which a purely state-ranked scheme would never deliver.

The purpose stated by the department is to help meritorious students from financially weak families continue studying. A laptop being, in practice, the entry ticket to online coaching, competitive exam preparation, government job applications and higher education admissions.

Who is eligible for the Rajasthan Free Laptop Scheme?

You are considered if:

• You are a permanent resident of Rajasthan.
• You studied in a government school in Rajasthan.
• You are a student of Class 8, Class 10 or Class 12.
• You scored 75 per cent or more and figure on the state-level merit list, or 70 per cent or more and figure on your district-level merit list.
• Your family's annual income does not exceed Rs 1 lakh, the ceiling published for the scheme.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You studied in a private school. The scheme covers government school students only.
• You are not a resident of Rajasthan, since the scheme is state-funded.
• Your family income exceeds the published ceiling.
• You are in a class other than 8, 10 or 12.
• Your marks are above the floor but below your district's actual cut-off. This is the most misunderstood part of the scheme: 70 per cent is a minimum, not a guarantee. With about 100 laptops per district per class, the real cut-off in a competitive district can be far higher.

There is also no separate application to reject, which means the usual advice about deadlines does not apply here. What matters is that your school's record of you, name, class, category, income and Jan Aadhaar linkage, is correct in Shala Darpan before results are declared.

What documents are required?

You do not submit documents to apply, but you will be asked to produce these at verification and distribution:

How to get a laptop under the Rajasthan Free Laptop Scheme

1. Study in a government school in Rajasthan and make sure your enrolment record on Shala Darpan is accurate, correct name spelling, class, category, Jan Aadhaar number and income details. Errors here are what most often knock a genuinely eligible student off a list.
2. Score above the merit threshold in your Class 8, 10 or 12 examination — 75 per cent for state-level merit, 70 per cent for district-level merit, and understand that the district cut-off may be higher.
3. Wait for the department to publish the merit list. No form is filed by the student. The Secondary Education Department prepares the list from result data after the Board of Secondary Education, Rajasthan declares results.
4. Check with your school head whether your name appears in the district list sent to the school, and cross-check the beneficiary lists on the Shala Darpan Beneficiary Scheme Portal and the Jan Soochna portal.
5. Attend the district distribution event on the date your school tells you, carrying your marksheet, Aadhaar, Jan Aadhaar and income certificate in original for verification.
6. Collect the laptop and sign the receipt register, and keep the warranty documentation handed over with the device.

How do I check whether I have been selected?

1. Ask your school head or class teacher. Schools receive the district-wise selected list directly from the department and this is the fastest reliable answer.
2. Open the Shala Darpan Beneficiary Scheme Portal at rajshaladarpan.rajasthan.gov.in and look under the beneficiary scheme listings for your school and class.
3. Check the Jan Soochna portal at jansoochna.rajasthan.gov.in, which publishes eligibility rules and beneficiary information for state schemes.
4. Contact the District Education Officer if your school cannot confirm and the portals show nothing, quoting your roll number and school code.

Why an eligible-looking student misses out

• District cut-off higher than the 70 per cent floor. With about 100 laptops per district per class, the last selected student's percentage is the real bar.
• Income certificate above the ceiling, or no valid income certificate on record at all.
• Private school enrolment. Only government school students qualify.
• Shala Darpan record errors. A wrong class, a wrong category or a missing Jan Aadhaar link, which leave a student out of the data set the merit list is drawn from.
• Name mismatch between the marksheet and Aadhaar, which stalls verification at the distribution event.
• Absence from the distribution event without informing the school. Follow up immediately with the school rather than waiting for a fresh call.

Key dates to know

Rajasthan Free Laptop Scheme has no application window, so there is no last date to miss. The rhythm of the scheme instead follows the examination calendar: Board of Secondary Education results for Classes 10 and 12 are usually declared between May and June, merit lists are compiled after that, and district distribution events are typically held in the following months. The one date a student can control is the point before the examination when the school's Shala Darpan record is verified, because an uncorrected record is unrecoverable later.

Help and grievance redressal

• Jan Soochna portal helpdesk: 18001806127
• School head or principal, for merit list confirmation
• District Education Officer (Secondary), for disputes about selection or non-receipt
• Shala Darpan Beneficiary Scheme Portal at rajshaladarpan.rajasthan.gov.in, for beneficiary listings
• Rajasthan Sampark, the state grievance platform, where a district-level complaint gets no response

The laptop is free. No school, teacher, agent or vendor may charge a student any amount for the device, for "processing" the merit list, or for adding a name. Report any such demand to the District Education Officer.