All meritorious girl students in Uttar Pradesh are set to get free two-wheelers maximum by January-end under the state government’s ambitious Rani Lakshmi Bai Scooty Scheme.
The CM confirmed the timeline ahead of Raksha Bandhan as a major initiative to promote women’s empowerment and ease access to higher education. The higher education department has floated a tender on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal for procurement of 40,000 scooties at an estimated cost of ₹ 320 crore. The selected company will have to supply all the two-wheelers within 100 days, with the government aiming to complete the purchase process by September end, officials of higher education directorate shared. Confirming the move, higher education director Monika Singh said the online meeting with scooty vendors would be held on September 21. The scheme was one of the key promises made by the BJP during the 2022 assembly elections. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had referred to the scheme during International Women’s Day celebrations on March 8, emphasising early distribution of scooties to meritorious girl students. The state government had earmarked ₹ 400 crore for the scheme in its Budget presented on February 20, 2025. To finalise the eligibility criteria, selection process and technical specifications of the scooties, two separate committees were constituted on March 11, 2025. The distribution of 50,000 free scooties to eligible female undergraduate students is officially scheduled to begin in October–November. Meritorious girl students, who graduated during the 2025–26 academic session from state, private, or affiliated government/aided colleges across UP, will be eligible provided they are among the top 5% of female graduates from each university or college merit list.
However, the scheme could not make significant progress last year.
