Bihar seems keen on adopting digital literacy with open arms as the certification numbers are high in the state. People from near and far are coming to the centres to appear for the PMGDISHA examinations. VLEs across the State of Bihar have been proactive in bringing more and more people for PMGDISHA examination. With the sudden boost and encouragement in certification numbers, Bihar has set an example to other states in terms of digital literacy.
Taking the digital literacy movement another step forward, PMGDISHA took to mobile van to reach out to people in Patna. People were being provided training in the van, while local citizens seemed enthusiastic about the new mobile PMGDISHA training camp. CSC is looking forward to introducing more such innovative and effective options to promote digital literacy in India.
Alka Rani has taken it upon herself to raise the digital literacy standards of villagers in general and women in specific in her small village Dubli in Ambala.
She is supported by gram panchayat officials and CSC for the endeavour for transforming the lives of people at the grass-root level. Alka introduced Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan and she conducted the number of awareness drives to familiarize people with the scheme and the benefits. Following the awareness drives, the villagers queued up at the CSC centre located in the village and enrolled themselves for the scheme. She has completed registering 250 candidates and 238 beneficiaries have been certified.
“Technology makes people self-reliant and motivates one to move on in life. That is what prompted me to introduce PMGDISHA in the village. Apart from the basic training suggested in the curriculum, I always advise my students to move ahead and explore to become financially independent and push them to innovate,” said Alka.
PMGDISHA camp at Block Sundargarh in gram panchayat Kutra, district Sundargarh, Odisha was held by VLE Anjali Chourasia at her CSC. A huge number of people were witnessed at the centre. VLE Anjali seemed optimistic and remained proactive in PMGDISHA registration. She expressed, “The camp here was a success. This shows that people at Sundargarh are serious about digital literacy. PMGDISHA is a ray of light for the rural people as they are the last to witness any digital or technological development.”
PMGDISHA Certification Day was observed across all the states on 26th and 27th of September 2019. The purpose of the day was to PMGDISHA has been able to benefit over 2.5 crore rural people and enhance their livelihood. Through the CSC centres, the digitally illiterate people get a chance to learn IT skills which will help them participate in the democratic and developmental process of the country. The PMGDISHA initiative is part of the Digital India programme which aims to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.
On PMGDISHA Certification Day, VLEs from across the state, right from Uttar Pradesh to Tamil Nadu, from Gujarat to Meghalaya, proactively pitched in to conduct PMGDISHA examinations. Uttar Pradesh continued to top the charts with the maximum number of certifications while Madhya Pradesh followed next. Bihar, Assam and Odisha also made it to the top five states in a number of certifications.
In Thrissur, Kerala, a number of women are getting trained under PMGDISHA. VLE Glanto Andrews took a lot of efforts in promoting the PMGDISHA project in the whole village through the door to door campaigning and spreading awareness.
Training of these students went on in full speed and examination too was conducted recently. Young women seemed very happy to be a part of the project and also stated that the CSC has extended huge support towards the Candidates giving PMGDISHA examination at VLE Glanto Andrews’ CSC in Kanjani, Thrissur.
VLE Suneesh from Kannur had organised PMGDISHA awareness class for students of PRM Kolavallur Higher Secondary School on August 21. Suneesh said that it is very important to apprise today's generation about not only the uses but also the misuses of digital space. Suneesh interacted with the students on gadgets, computers and the internet. Students were very excited to enrol for PMGDISHA. The very next day, August 22, was the registration drive held which received a huge response as many students enrolled for PMGDISHA.
National PMGDISHA Day was observed on 5th September, 2019. The purpose was to encourage Digital Literacy and to reach 10 lakh registrations in a single day. VLEs at every level pitched-in to get maximum registrations. Moreover, with a view to continuing the drive even at night, VLEs organised ‘Raatri Choupal’ (night camps) to facilitate the registration process in the night hours. People kept visiting the Raatri Choupals till late in the night. This proves the weightage of the program and keenness among the masses for Digital Literacy.
Kaberi Das is a student who belongs to a low-income family from Jagatsinghpur in Odisha. The technology was always of interest for Kaberi since childhood but she was unable to learn computers because of the financial condition of her family. She says that the scheme Pradhan Mantri Garmin Digital Shakshyarta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) had brought some hope for her and was a great opportunity for her to know about computers.
Kaberi expresses her gratitude towards the Government of India as PMGDISHA is charges no fee to enrol. It was her dream to become a digitally literate person and PMGDISHA made it possible. She pointed out that the Prime Minister had said that when he talks about 'Digital India', he is not referring to the rich, but to the poor.
Kaberi says that PMGDISHA has changed her life as the purpose of the scheme say to provide quality technical and digital training in both theoretically and practically to a large number of youth from the backward or rural areas. “PMGDISHA has made me digitally educated and has created create economic, social and cultural opportunities for me,” says Kaberi. When Kaberi learned about the scheme, she enrolled for it to know about computers, its operations and uses. After the successful completion of the 10-day training programme, her life has changed 360 degrees. “Now I use Smartphone even for her my day-to-day requirements including mobile recharge, bill payments, etc. I have also started using digital payment services and stopped the frequent visit to the banks. As internet is loaded with information, it has become easy to learn and understand. PMGDISHA has helped me become independent. I also got a job at a cyber centre and get a salary of Rs 6,000 every month,” says a confident Kaberi. With a smile on her face, she added, “Today, me and my family feel proud of my growth.”
