About 52 mn trained under digital literacy scheme: MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar

UP has the most beneficiaries, with over 10.3 million candidates certified in the past five years. Bihar and MP come next, with 4.2 million and 3.3 million candidates, respectively

Around 52.4 million candidates have been trained under the rural digital literacy programme, Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA), since the inception of the scheme.

The PMGDISHA scheme was approved by the Union Cabinet in February 2017, to improve digital literacy in rural India. It has been set a target to cover 60 million rural households (one person per household) across the country.

So far, around 61.5 million candidates across the country have registered for the programme, of which 38.9 million have been certified. The targets are likely to be achieved within the approved duration of the scheme i.e. up to March 31, 2023, Minister of State for Electronics & IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.  

The government has been conducting the training at the Common Service Centres (CSCs) or Training Centres with 3-5 computers and a minimum of one teaching faculty. It had approved over 413,000 training centres at a total budget outlay of Rs 2,351.38 crore for the scheme, the minister said.

Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of beneficiaries with over 10.3 million candidates certified in the last five years. It was followed by Bihar and Madhya Pradesh with 4.2 million and 3.3 million certified candidates, respectively.

The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) said the programme would help achieve India’s goal to become a one-trillion-dollar digital economy by 2025.

“Over the next few years, India will emerge as one of the largest digitally-connected and digitally-enabled countries in the world. To help achieve this and to enhance digital adoption, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is focusing on providing digital literacy to citizens across the country, especially in rural areas,” the ministry said in a statement.