Rajasthan Indira Gandhi Smartphone Scheme (IGSY)

What was the Indira Gandhi Smartphone Scheme?

Rajasthan Indira Gandhi Smartphone Scheme, usually written as IGSY and known in Hindi as the Indira Gandhi Smartphone Yojana or simply the free mobile yojana, was a state programme that gave a free 4G smartphone together with three years of internet connectivity to women heads of families covered by the Chiranjeevi health scheme. The Government of Rajasthan launched it on 10 August 2023 at a large distribution event in Jaipur.

The stated purpose was digital access rather than the handset itself. Rajasthan had by then put most of its citizen services online; Jan Soochna, e-Mitra, Chiranjeevi, Jan Aadhaar, school and scholarship portals, and a household without a smartphone effectively could not reach them. IGSY was the state's attempt to place an internet-capable device in the hands of the woman recorded as the head of the family in the Jan Aadhaar database.

How the scheme worked in practice

• Beneficiaries were identified automatically from the Jan Aadhaar and Chiranjeevi records. There was no application form at any stage.
• Selected women received an SMS asking them to attend a distribution camp set up at the district, block or panchayat samiti level.
• At the camp the woman completed Aadhaar e-KYC, chose a handset from the empanelled models, received a SIM, and walked out with the phone activated.
• The device came with pre-loaded state government apps so that Jan Soochna, e-Mitra and Chiranjeevi services were reachable from the first day.

What is the current status of the scheme?

Rajasthan suspended distribution in December 2023, immediately after the change of state government. The new administration announced that IGSY would be reviewed before any decision on continuing it, and phase-two camps, which had been planned for the remaining beneficiaries; were not held.

The scale of what was completed matters if you are checking whether you missed out:

• The announced overall target was in the region of 1.35 crore women.
• Phase one targeted 40 lakh beneficiaries across the three priority groups.
• Roughly 24.5 lakh handsets were actually distributed before camps stopped.

So a very large majority of the women named in the original announcement never received a phone, and no fresh camp schedule has been published since. Anyone being told today that they can "register for the free mobile" should treat that as a warning sign, not an opportunity.

Who was eligible for the free smartphone?

Women who could receive a handset:

• The woman recorded as head of the family in a Chiranjeevi-covered household, as per the Jan Aadhaar record.
• Widow and single-woman pensioners drawing a state social security pension.
• Women whose families had completed 100 days of work under MGNREGA in the qualifying year, or 125 days under the Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme.
• Girl students enrolled in classes 9 to 12 in a government school, and students of government colleges, ITIs and polytechnics, these were reached through their institutions.
• Residence in Rajasthan with a valid Jan Aadhaar family ID in all cases.

Who could not apply / was not eligible:

• Men, including male heads of family. IGSY was restricted to women and girl students by design.
• Families with no Jan Aadhaar registration, because selection was drawn entirely from that database.
• Families outside the Chiranjeevi cover and outside the three priority groups.
• Anyone hoping to self-nominate. Individuals could not apply; there was no form, no online registration and no fee. Every list was generated by the state.
• More than one woman in the same family. The benefit was one handset per family, given to the recorded head.

What documents were needed at the camp?

1. Jan Aadhaar card, the primary identifier and the basis of the camp slip.
2. Aadhaar card in original, for biometric or OTP e-KYC before issue.
3. PPO / pension order, for widow and single-woman pensioners.
4. MGNREGA job card, for the 100-days category, showing completed days.
5. Enrolment proof: school ID, college ID or ITI enrolment slip for students.
6. Passport photograph, asked for at some camps.

How the distribution process worked; step by step

Even though no new camps are running, the sequence is worth recording because it is the process that would be revived if the scheme restarted:

1. Selection from the database. Rajasthan generated the beneficiary list from Jan Aadhaar plus Chiranjeevi records, filtered by the three priority categories. No citizen action was involved.
2. SMS invitation. The selected woman received a message on her Jan Aadhaar-registered mobile with the camp date, venue and a reference slip number.
3. Attend the camp with originals. The woman attended in person with her Jan Aadhaar card and Aadhaar card. A representative was not accepted, because e-KYC needed the beneficiary herself.
4. e-KYC and verification. Camp staff verified identity against Aadhaar and confirmed the category (pension, MGNREGA days or student enrolment).
5. Choose the handset and collect the SIM. The beneficiary picked from the empanelled 4G models, the SIM was issued and activated on the spot, and government apps were installed.
6. Acknowledge receipt. A receipt and warranty documentation were issued in the beneficiary's name: worth keeping for any later warranty claim.

How to check whether you were on the list

• igsy.rajasthan.gov.in was the scheme's own portal, carrying beneficiary search and camp details by Jan Aadhaar number. It has been intermittently unreachable since distribution stopped.
• Jan Soochna Portal (jansoochna.rajasthan.gov.in) remains the reliable state route for checking scheme-wise beneficiary data against a Jan Aadhaar number.
• Your Jan Aadhaar record; if the woman shown as head of family is not the woman expecting the phone, the selection would never have matched. That was one of the most common reasons for a missing SMS.

Common problems reported with IGSY

• No SMS received. Usually because the mobile number in the Jan Aadhaar record was wrong or belonged to another family member.
• Category not recognised at the camp. MGNREGA days recorded under a different job card number, or a pension record not linked to the Jan Aadhaar ID.
• Head-of-family mismatch. The Jan Aadhaar head was a male member, so no woman in the family was picked up.
• Camp ended before the turn came. For most families in this position the scheme's suspension means the turn never came at all.
• Handset fault after collection. Warranty runs with the manufacturer, not the state, the receipt issued at the camp is the proof of purchase.

Where to raise a complaint

• Women Helpline 181. The Rajasthan women's helpline, which handled IGSY queries alongside other Women and Child Development matters.
• District Collectorate; camps were organised district-wise, so the collectorate holds the local records.
• Rajasthan Sampark, the state grievance portal, for a written complaint with a tracking number.
• e-Mitra kiosk, for correcting the Jan Aadhaar record itself, including the head of family and the registered mobile number.

A final caution. Because the scheme is suspended rather than formally closed, several private websites still advertise "free mobile yojana registration" for Rajasthan. Rajasthan never ran a registration window for IGSY, and no fee was ever payable. Any site or agent asking for money to enrol you is not connected to the Government of Rajasthan.