Now Reading: West Bengal renames Sabuj Sathi scheme to Sarathi
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West Bengal renames Sabuj Sathi scheme to Sarathi
The Story in Brief
West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, announced the renaming of the state's bicycle distribution scheme from Sabuj Sathi to Sarathi. Speaking at a cycle distribution programme at a school in Howrah, he said 12.59 lakh students would receive bicycles under the new name during the current academic year. The state has allocated Rs 300 crore as a composite grant for schools under Sarathi.
Adhikari alleged the previous TMC government had procured 'substandard' bicycles under the old scheme and provided scholarships to a particular community as 'appeasement politics'. He said every community would now get scholarships. The government will not provide Rs 10,000 for smartphones to higher secondary students but a higher amount for learning materials, he said. Adhikari also said he had spoken to defence minister Rajnath Singh about reviving NCC units in schools.
Separately, BusinessLine reports Adhikari indicated the state may replace the mobile phone grant with grants for education-related tablets, citing 'irreparable damage' from mobile phone use by students. He said he has asked the state education secretary to start thinking about providing tablets instead.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Times of India leads with the scheme renaming and the 12.59 lakh figure, framing the event as a straightforward government announcement. BusinessLine, while covering the same event, foregrounds Adhikari's concern over mobile phone use and the possible shift to tablets, giving the story a policy-change angle rather than a political-rebranding one. Both outlets quote Adhikari's criticism of the previous government but neither adds independent verification of the 'substandard' allegation. The coverage is uniform in reporting the Rs 300 crore grant and the NCC revival plan, the difference is in which part of the speech each outlet treats as the lead.
BusinessLine notes this is not the first time Adhikari has criticised mobile phone use by students, recalling his Teachers' Day remarks. The next concrete step is Adhikari's instruction to the state education secretary to begin considering the tablet proposal.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report), thehindubusinessline.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
Update, 2 October 2026: this story now draws on 2 sources.
