Lok Sabha Question No. 211 (STARRED), answered on 2022-12-21
Subject: Rural Households covered under the PMGDISHA
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Geetha Viswanath Vanga

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. *211

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 21.12.2022

## RURAL HOUSEHOLDS  COVERED  UNDER THE PMGDISHA

## *211.   SHRIMATI VANGA GEETHA VISWANATH:

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  features    of  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Gramin  Digital  Saksharta  Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) that aims to improve  digital literacy in rural  households  of the country;
- (b) the  details  of  the  progress  made  under  the  said  scheme  including    the  impact  of  the same  thereon, State/UT-wise, gender-wise; and
- (c) the details of other such measures being  taken by the Government to improve digital literacy rates in the country?

## ANSWER

MINISTER FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (c):    A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN THE REPLY TO LOK  SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *211 FOR 21.12.2022 REGARDING   RURAL HOUSEHOLDS   COVERED  UNDER THE PMGDISHA

……..

(a):  To  enhance  digital  adoption,  Government  is  focusing  on  providing  digital  literacy  to  the  citizens across  the  country  especially  in  the  rural  areas.  In  line  with  this,  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Gramin  Digital Saksharta  Abhiyan  (PMGDISHA)  was  approved  in  February  2017  to  usher  in  digital  literacy  in  rural India. The main features of the PMGDISHA scheme are as under:

-  The scheme is being implemented only in rural  areas i.e. Gram  Panchayat/Village  to  cover  6  crore rural households (one person per household).
-  The  beneficiaries  are  provided  with  20  hours  of  training  consisting  of  5  modules  namely  (i) Introduction to Digital Devices, (ii) Operating Digital Devices, (iii) Introduction to the Internet, (iv) Communications using the Internet, (v) Application of the Internet (includes Citizen centric services) and use of financial tools for undertaking digital cashless transactions.
-  The training content is made available in 22 scheduled languages and English. This content is made available on both online and offline mode. In addition, keeping in view the thrust of the government on promoting  cashless  transactions  through  mobile  phones,  the  content  on  digital  wallets,  mobile banking,  Unified  Payments  Interface  (UPI),  Unstructured  Supplementary  Service  Data  (USSD), Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS), and PoS has also been included.
-  After  training  of  the  candidate,  a  third  party  Assessment  of  the  trained  candidates  is  carried  out through  online  mode  remotely  proctored  examination  conducted  by  recognized  Certifying  Agencies namely National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), National Institute of Open  Schooling  (NIOS),  Centre  for  Development  of  Advanced  Computing  (CDAC),  Haryana Knowledge  Corporation  Limited  (HKCL)  and  ICT  Academy  of  Tamil  Nadu  (ICTACT).  Digitally Signed Certificates are issued for all successful candidates and directly uploaded in their Digi-Locker accounts.
-  For  authorised  Training  Centres,  a  minimum  Physical  IT  infrastructure  along  with  a  faculty  at  the training  centre  has  been  prescribed.  Geo-tagging  of  the  training  centres  have  been  implemented. Physical verification/inspection of the training centre is part of the process for training centre approval.
-  State Level and District level committees are set up for effective evaluation and monitoring at the State & District levels.
-  Dashboard  access  to  Central/  State  Govt./State  Implementing  Agency/District  Administration  have been provided for effective management and reporting.
-  Grievances/Complaints Redressal Mechanism have been put in place.

(b): As on 15-12-2022, around 6.62 crore candidates have been enrolled and 5.68 crore have been trained, out of which 4.22 crore candidates have been certified under the PMGDISHA Scheme. The State/UTwise and Gender-wise details are given at Annexure-I .

The PMGDISHA scheme has been assessed by three agencies till date namely  IIT Delhi, Council for Social  Development  (CSD)  and  Indian  Institute  of  Public  Administration  (IIPA).  The  last  Impact Assessment  study  of  the  PMGDISHA  scheme  has  been  conducted  by  the  Indian  Institute  of  Public Administration (IIPA). The findings of the IIPA impact evaluation report of the PMGDISHA Scheme are at Annexure-II.

(c):  In  addition  to  PMGDISHA  Scheme,  National  Institute  of  Electronics  &  information  Technology (NIELIT), a skill  development  agency  of  MeitY,  is  also  conducting  training  in  various  digital  literacy courses of different durations through its 47 centres and 4178 facilitation centres. In the last 10 years, more than 75 lakh candidates have been trained/assessed in such courses.

*******

## Annexure-I

| State/UT wise status under PMGDISHA scheme   | State/UT wise status under PMGDISHA scheme   | State/UT wise status under PMGDISHA scheme   | State/UT wise status under PMGDISHA scheme   | State/UT wise status under PMGDISHA scheme   |
|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|
| S.N.                                         | State                                        | Registered                                   | Trained                                      | Certified                                    |
| 1                                            | Andaman &Nicobar Isl.                        | 3,872                                        | 1,769                                        | 1,002                                        |
| 2                                            | Andhra Pradesh                               | 18,49,896                                    | 14,80,939                                    | 10,44,064                                    |
| 3                                            | Arunachal Pradesh                            | 7,357                                        | 5,031                                        | 3,317                                        |
| 4                                            | Assam                                        | 26,69,088                                    | 23,20,423                                    | 18,46,571                                    |
| 5                                            | Bihar                                        | 72,10,212                                    | 63,78,337                                    | 46,57,885                                    |
| 6                                            | Chhattisgarh                                 | 25,20,462                                    | 21,70,624                                    | 16,37,669                                    |
| 7                                            | Dadra And Nagar Haveli                       | 5,851                                        | 4,078                                        | 2,890                                        |
| 8                                            | Daman And Diu                                | 4,000                                        | 3,224                                        | 2,439                                        |
| 9                                            | Delhi                                        | 7,028                                        | 5,648                                        | 3,988                                        |
| 10                                           | Goa                                          | 55,837                                       | 50,721                                       | 37,377                                       |
| 11                                           | Gujarat                                      | 27,62,587                                    | 24,16,473                                    | 17,74,737                                    |
| 12                                           | Haryana                                      | 18,70,129                                    | 15,87,779                                    | 11,99,270                                    |
| 13                                           | Himachal Pradesh                             | 4,82,964                                     | 3,63,524                                     | 2,65,696                                     |
| 14                                           | Jammu And Kashmir                            | 7,01,385                                     | 5,47,550                                     | 3,95,751                                     |
| 15                                           | Jharkhand                                    | 24,67,451                                    | 20,02,277                                    | 14,65,641                                    |
| 16                                           | Karnataka                                    | 12,70,400                                    | 9,51,706                                     | 6,16,924                                     |
| 17                                           | Kerala                                       | 56,448                                       | 27,153                                       | 21,418                                       |
| 18                                           | Lakshadweep                                  | 136                                          | 35                                           | -                                            |
| 19                                           | Madhya Pradesh                               | 55,30,748                                    | 48,98,827                                    | 36,21,753                                    |
| 20                                           | Maharashtra                                  | 55,86,975                                    | 47,82,195                                    | 34,42,143                                    |
| 21                                           | Manipur                                      | 19,415                                       | 9,003                                        | 5,660                                        |
| 22                                           | Meghalaya                                    | 1,45,789                                     | 1,00,733                                     | 67,557                                       |
| 23                                           | Mizoram                                      | 26,832                                       | 20,161                                       | 12,326                                       |
| 24                                           | Nagaland                                     | 6,624                                        | 4,614                                        | 3,187                                        |
| 25                                           | Odisha                                       | 32,22,299                                    | 26,85,398                                    | 20,27,683                                    |
| 26                                           | Puducherry                                   | 17,732                                       | 11,814                                       | 7,867                                        |
| 27                                           | Punjab                                       | 16,84,286                                    | 14,49,583                                    | 11,11,147                                    |
| 28                                           | Rajasthan                                    | 38,87,394                                    | 33,49,142                                    | 24,44,090                                    |
| 29                                           | Sikkim                                       | 24,589                                       | 21,256                                       | 15,629                                       |
| 30                                           | Tamil Nadu                                   | 14,16,049                                    | 11,28,107                                    | 8,22,761                                     |
| 31                                           | Telangana                                    | 10,87,847                                    | 8,60,890                                     | 5,84,986                                     |
| 32                                           | Tripura                                      | 3,25,000                                     | 2,64,762                                     | 2,15,688                                     |
| 33                                           | Uttarakhand                                  | 7,56,000                                     | 6,40,848                                     | 4,75,243                                     |
| 34                                           | Uttar Pradesh                                | 1,60,48,688                                  | 1,42,53,557                                  | 1,07,80,708                                  |
| 35                                           | West Bengal                                  | 24,67,194                                    | 20,35,832                                    | 15,83,015                                    |
| 36                                           | Ladakh                                       | 24,669                                       | 21,888                                       | 17,316                                       |
| Total                                        | Total                                        | 6,62,23,233                                  | 5,68,55,901                                  | 4,22,15,398                                  |

*******

| Gender-wise certified candidates status under PMGDISHA scheme   | Gender-wise certified candidates status under PMGDISHA scheme   | Gender-wise certified candidates status under PMGDISHA scheme   | Gender-wise certified candidates status under PMGDISHA scheme   | Gender-wise certified candidates status under PMGDISHA scheme   |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| S.N.                                                            | State                                                           | Female                                                          | Male                                                            | Transgender                                                     |
| 1                                                               | Andaman &Nicobar Isl.                                           | 560                                                             | 442                                                             | 0                                                               |
| 2                                                               | Andhra Pradesh                                                  | 8,00,476                                                        | 2,43,562                                                        | 26                                                              |
| 3                                                               | Arunachal Pradesh                                               | 1,885                                                           | 1,432                                                           | 0                                                               |
| 4                                                               | Assam                                                           | 9,53,122                                                        | 8,93,094                                                        | 355                                                             |
| 5                                                               | Bihar                                                           | 28,88,915                                                       | 17,68,963                                                       | 7                                                               |
| 6                                                               | Chhattisgarh                                                    | 9,03,922                                                        | 7,33,745                                                        | 2                                                               |
| 7                                                               | Dadra &Nagar Haveli                                             | 1,587                                                           | 1,303                                                           | 0                                                               |
| 8                                                               | Daman &Diu                                                      | 1,487                                                           | 952                                                             | 0                                                               |
| 9                                                               | Delhi                                                           | 1,876                                                           | 2,112                                                           | 0                                                               |
| 10                                                              | Goa                                                             | 23,453                                                          | 13,924                                                          | 0                                                               |
| 11                                                              | Gujarat                                                         | 8,68,700                                                        | 9,06,035                                                        | 2                                                               |
| 12                                                              | Haryana                                                         | 6,03,538                                                        | 5,95,730                                                        | 2                                                               |
| 13                                                              | Himachal Pradesh                                                | 1,49,528                                                        | 1,16,167                                                        | 1                                                               |
| 14                                                              | Jammu And Kashmir                                               | 2,07,743                                                        | 1,88,007                                                        | 1                                                               |
| 15                                                              | Jharkhand                                                       | 9,15,317                                                        | 5,50,319                                                        | 5                                                               |
| 16                                                              | Karnataka                                                       | 3,30,337                                                        | 2,86,585                                                        | 2                                                               |
| 17                                                              | Kerala                                                          | 16,166                                                          | 5,251                                                           | 1                                                               |
| 18                                                              | Ladakh                                                          | 3,288                                                           | 14,028                                                          | 0                                                               |
| 19                                                              | Lakshadweep                                                     | -                                                               | -                                                               | 0                                                               |
| 20                                                              | Madhya Pradesh                                                  | 18,09,246                                                       | 18,12,502                                                       | 6                                                               |
| 21                                                              | Maharashtra                                                     | 18,50,591                                                       | 15,91,531                                                       | 22                                                              |
| 22                                                              | Manipur                                                         | 3,043                                                           | 2,617                                                           | 0                                                               |
| 23                                                              | Meghalaya                                                       | 34,283                                                          | 33,269                                                          | 5                                                               |
| 24                                                              | Mizoram                                                         | 7,130                                                           | 5,194                                                           | 2                                                               |
| 25                                                              | Nagaland                                                        | 1,611                                                           | 1,576                                                           | 0                                                               |
| 26                                                              | Odisha                                                          | 12,19,589                                                       | 8,08,061                                                        | 32                                                              |
| 27                                                              | Puducherry                                                      | 4,829                                                           | 3,038                                                           | 0                                                               |
| 28                                                              | Punjab                                                          | 6,14,383                                                        | 4,96,750                                                        | 14                                                              |
| 29                                                              | Rajasthan                                                       | 12,79,993                                                       | 11,64,092                                                       | 5                                                               |
| 30                                                              | Sikkim                                                          | 9,918                                                           | 5,711                                                           | 0                                                               |
| 31                                                              | Tamil Nadu                                                      | 6,09,239                                                        | 2,13,486                                                        | 35                                                              |
| 32                                                              | Telangana                                                       | 3,46,946                                                        | 2,38,033                                                        | 7                                                               |
| 33                                                              | Tripura                                                         | 1,21,201                                                        | 94,480                                                          | 7                                                               |
| 34                                                              | Uttar Pradesh                                                   | 60,04,546                                                       | 47,76,140                                                       | 22                                                              |
| 35                                                              | Uttarakhand                                                     | 2,63,876                                                        | 2,11,365                                                        | 2                                                               |
| 36                                                              | West Bengal                                                     | 10,27,548                                                       | 5,55,448                                                        | 19                                                              |
| Total                                                           | Total                                                           | 2,38,79,872                                                     | 1,83,34,944                                                     | 582                                                             |

## PMGDISHA Scheme : The findings of IIPA impact evaluation report are given below:

-  PMGDISHA  is  an  unique  scheme  due  to  its  mass  scale  and  use  of  remotely  proctored examination.
-  18% fund used in SCSP, 12% for TSP and 11% for NER have made sure the empowerment of weaker sections.
-  Women participation is very large and their inclusion at the rural level will open up the path for the learning of the whole family.
-  More  than  55%  of  respondents  cited  a  direct  benefit  to  their  livelihoods  after  PMGDISHA training.
-  Almost 50% respondents stated that PMGDISHA helped them get a better Job.
-  More  than  40%  of  respondents  empowered  1-5  people,  22.8%  were  able  to  help  6-10  people, 12.9% were able to help 10-20 people with the knowledge from PMGDISHA.
-  PMGDISHA training has had a formidable impact on the use of ICT and other forms of digital media.
-  PMGDISHA  has  served  the  beneficiaries  by  facilitating  their  access  to  a  wide  range  of information points and services for multitude of purposes.  It has helped to decrease the overall digital divide in the country.
-  COVID 19 has put an unprecedented situation of uncertainty even in rural India. Digital initiatives have made a lot of things function even in the time of complete lockdown. Right from the banking systems,  e-governance  systems  and  PDS  were  aided  immensely  because  of  the  availability  of online processes. People in the rural areas have continued with their livelihood with the help of digital systems helping procure their produce, doorstep financial services, information gathering among other thing using digital technologies. The need of programs like PMGDISHA has become a necessity in times of such paradigm shifts in new environments. Understanding digital tools & ICT  and  using  them  effectively  is  the  need  of  the  hour  and  has  proved  as  the  saviour  for  the current crisis in supporting economic and social activities.

*******