Free Mobile Data Package for Youth — Mauritius's Nationwide Connectivity Subsidy for 18-25-Year-Olds

In the 2024-2025 Budget Speech, Mauritius's government announced a free mobile data package for citizens aged 18 to 25, which took effect on 1 September 2024. Eligible young people register on the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) website using their National Identity Card number and mobile phone details, then receive a renewable monthly package of 200GB of 4G/5G data from one of the country's three mobile operators (My.t Mobile, Emtel or Chili Mauritius), plus access to the country's network of more than 350 public Wi-Fi hotspots.
The scheme is explicitly framed as digital-inclusion policy: officials described it as preparing the next generation for the country's digital economy rather than as a pure telecoms subsidy, and it sits alongside the government's wider 'Assisted Digital Access' agenda and Digital Mauritius 2030 strategy. Independent telecoms press put the target population at roughly 100,000 young people.
The programme was not a one-off: under Budget 2026/2027 the government renewed the free monthly data package for citizens aged 18-25 for the period July 2026 to June 2027, indicating budgetary continuity beyond the initial year. No independently published evaluation of take-up rates, actual usage patterns, or downstream digital-skills or employment outcomes was found at the time of writing, so the evidence base remains programme description and renewal rather than measured impact.

Read the full analysis: https://www.mra.mu/eservices1/financial-assistance/free-mobile-data-package