Lok Sabha Question No. 2904 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-15
Subject: PMGDISHA Centres
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: P.P. Chaudhary

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2904

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 15.12.2021

## PMGDISHA  CENTRES

## 2904.  SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY:

Will the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology be pleased to state:

- (a). the State-wise details of number of PMGDISHA centres currently operational;
- (b). whether the training has not been operational due to COVID and if so, the steps taken by the Government to resume the training centres; and
- (c). the details of measures taken by the Government to ensure the employment opportunities and quality of training under PMGDISHA?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a). Under the PMGDISHA scheme, more than 2.32 lakh training centres are currently operational at the Gram Panchayat level. The State-wise details of these centres are at Annexure .
- (b). During the peak of Covid-19 pandemic, the Training Centres were not operational in line with the guidelines/directives issued by the respective Central/State/District Administration. In  line  with  the  relaxation  provided  by  these  authorities  in  the  lockdown  conditions,  the Centres have been made operational in a graded fashion by the implementing agency.

Following measures were taken by the Implementing Agency to resume the training:

- Standard  Operating  Procedures  (SOPs)  in-line  with  the  Covid-19  protocols  were created and shared with all Training Centres for training and examination.
- Virtual sessions and workshops were conducted with the Training Centres to motivate them to re-start their activities
- Refresher training were provided to registered/ trained candidates, who were unable to appear for training and/or certification.
- A Chatbot was created with basic information on PMGDISHA portal which was made available in both in Hindi and English languages.
- Training Centres were encouraged to join groups on popular social media platforms and share relevant training material through these groups.
- PMGDISHA content was uploaded on the DigiShala channel so that candidates could refer  to  these  on  their  own  and  become  ready  for  registration  and  assessment  after minor training/revision.
- (c). The  scheme  is  aimed  at  imparting  basic  digital  literacy  skills  to  the  digitally  illiterate population  in  rural  India  through  a  20  hour  training  programme.  The  trained  persons  are expected to be able to operate computers/digital access devices (like tablets, smartphones, etc.), send and receive emails, browse the internet, access Government Services, search for information,  undertake  cashless  transactions,  etc.  However,  as  the  Scheme  is  aimed  at providing  digital  literacy  to  the  rural  citizens,  it  enables  them  for  further  employment opportunities especially for the younger beneficiaries.

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## Annexure

|   S.N. | State                       | Operational Training Centres under PMGDISHA as on 9.12.2021   |
|--------|-----------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|
|      1 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 29                                                            |
|      2 | Andhra Pradesh              | 12,013                                                        |
|      3 | Arunachal Pradesh           | 190                                                           |
|      4 | Assam                       | 2,569                                                         |
|      5 | Bihar                       | 7,784                                                         |
|      6 | Chhattisgarh                | 10,700                                                        |
|      7 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli      | 17                                                            |
|      8 | Daman and Diu               | 16                                                            |
|      9 | Goa                         | 92                                                            |
|     10 | Gujarat                     | 11,870                                                        |
|     11 | Haryana                     | 5,876                                                         |
|     12 | Himachal Pradesh            | 2,556                                                         |
|     13 | Jammu and Kashmir           | 3,560                                                         |
|     14 | Jharkhand                   | 3,742                                                         |
|     15 | Karnataka                   | 5,374                                                         |
|     16 | Kerala                      | 923                                                           |
|     17 | Ladakh                      | 56                                                            |
|     18 | Lakshadweep                 | 3                                                             |
|     19 | Madhya Pradesh              | 22,046                                                        |
|     20 | Maharashtra                 | 27,000                                                        |
|     21 | Manipur                     | 190                                                           |
|     22 | Meghalaya                   | 548                                                           |
|     23 | Mizoram                     | 202                                                           |
|     24 | Nagaland                    | 136                                                           |
|     25 | Odisha                      | 7,066                                                         |
|     26 | Puducherry                  | 92                                                            |
|     27 | Punjab                      | 12,931                                                        |
|     28 | Rajasthan                   | 8,834                                                         |
|     29 | Sikkim                      | 34                                                            |

| 30    | Tamil Nadu    | 12,105   |
|-------|---------------|----------|
| 31    | Telangana     | 7,486    |
| 32    | Tripura       | 1,004    |
| 33    | Uttar Pradesh | 54,550   |
| 34    | Uttarakhand   | 7,707    |
| 35    | West Bengal   | 3,137    |
| Total | Total         | 2,32,438 |

*Chandigarh and Delhi are in Urban agglomeration, hence not covered under the Scheme.

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