Dera Baba Nanak (Punjab), Sep 19 (IANS): The Punjab Cabinet on Thursday approved modalities for distribution of smartphones among girl students of class XI and XII, to pave the way for implementation of the scheme from December.

This decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh here in Gurdaspur district.

The vendor to implement the scheme would be selected through an open bidding process and the tender document would be floated by Punjab Information Technology Corporation Ltd, a government statement said.

The vendor would be on board within a period of about two months, and the first batch of phones is expected to be distributed in December.

Giving details, an official spokesperson said in the first phase, the mobile phones would be distributed to girl students who do not own a smartphone and are studying in government schools in this fiscal.

The phones would have various smart features such as touch screen, camera and applications to access social media.

The state had announced its 'Mobile Phones to the Youth' scheme, in line with its poll promise, in its budget for 2017-18 and the due allocation of funds was made in the Budget for 2018-19.