The Tamil Nadu government has secured lower procurement prices for the free bicycles it supplies to Class XI students in government and government-aided schools, cutting the unit cost by 27.29% for boys and 31.38% for girls after negotiations with manufacturer Hero Cycles. The revised contract covers 5.32 lakh students for the 2026–27 academic year. The supply was announced during the Backward Classes Welfare Department’s demand for grants under the TVK-led government of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay. The bicycles are to be modern models equipped with helmets and water bottles, at a total outlay of ₹277 crore.
The procurement process began with a tender floated last August, which drew participation from three major bicycle manufacturers. Hero Cycles initially offered a boy’s bicycle, including a helmet and water bottle, at ₹6,820. With tax of ₹415.10, the total came to ₹7,235.10 per unit. For girls, the company quoted ₹7,050, which came to ₹7,476.60 after adding tax of ₹426.60. The initial per-unit costs were therefore above ₹7,000.
The quoted rates drew criticism because they were significantly higher than the cost of bicycles distributed to government school students in neighbouring Puducherry. In response, an 11-member committee headed by the Secretary of the Backward Classes Welfare Department was formed to hold price-reduction talks with the company. After nine rounds of negotiations, the manufacturer agreed to supply bicycles for boys at ₹5,260 and for girls at ₹5,130. Officials said on Saturday that the authorities concerned had negotiated a steep reduction from the initial level of more than ₹7,000 per unit. The price for a boy’s bicycle falls from ₹7,235.10 to ₹5,260, while the price for a girl’s bicycle falls from ₹7,476.60 to ₹5,130.
Under the revised pricing for boys, the base price is ₹4,369.00, GST at 5% is ₹218.45, the helmet costs ₹560.50 including GST and the water bottle costs ₹112.10 including GST. For girls, the base price is ₹4,245.30 and GST at 5% is ₹212.27, with the helmet and water bottle priced identically at ₹560.50 and ₹112.10 respectively. The negotiations reduce the price of a boy’s bicycle by ₹1,975.10 per unit and a girl’s bicycle by ₹2,346.60 per unit. The formal contract to manufacture and supply the bicycles at the reduced rates has been awarded to the company.
The free bicycle scheme for government school students was introduced in 2001 during the AIADMK regime and is implemented by the Backward Classes Welfare Department. It initially covered only Adi Dravidar and Scheduled Tribe students studying in Class XI in government schools. In 2006, the scheme was expanded to benefit all Class XI students in both government and government-aided schools.
