Bhubaneswar: The Odisha cabinet, chaired by chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, on Monday approved a Rs 393.62-crore scheme to provide free high-speed Wi-Fi at 601 govt and aided colleges across the state, with students getting up to 1GB of free internet data a day on campus.The flagship scheme, Odisha Shikshanet: Empowering Students through a Free Wi-Fi Internet Facility to All Colleges and Universities, will be implemented over three years from 2026-27 to 2028-29.Chief secretary Anu Garg said the scheme would build on the first phase, under which Wi-Fi facilities were provided at 130 colleges. Every authenticated student will be entitled to up to 1GB of free internet data per day on campus for academic, research and skill-development purposes.The project will cover installation of Wi-Fi infrastructure, bandwidth provisioning, network management, cybersecurity and operation and maintenance support. A centralised monitoring dashboard will track service delivery, network security, uptime and usage.The facility will enable students to access e-books, digital libraries, virtual classrooms, SWAYAM and other MOOCs, research databases, competitive examination resources and digital skill-development platforms. It will also facilitate access to e-governance services, including SAMS, HIMS and scholarship portals.The govt said the initiative is expected to benefit more than six lakh students and faculty members, particularly those from rural and remote areas and economically weaker sections, by helping bridge the digital divide in higher education.The scheme is aligned with National Education Policy 2020, Digital India, Sustainable Development Goals 4, 9 and 10, and Odisha Vision 2036, govt said.