Lok Sabha Question No. 66 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-18
Subject: Meta in Odisha
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Sarmistha Sethi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 66

TO BE ANSWERED ON- 18/07/2022

## META IN ODISHA

## 66. SHRIMATI SARMISTHA SETHI:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  there  is  any  proposal  to  collaborate  with  Meta  (formerly  Facebook)  for providing digital skill training to tribal youth and women;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the number of tribal youth and women from Odisha that will be given training under this project; and
- (d) whether there has been any discussion with State Governments in this regard and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SMT. RENUKA SINGH SARUTA)

- (a) and (b): GOAL (Going Online as Leaders) is a joint initiative of Ministry of Tribal Affairs  and  Meta  (formerly  Facebook),  which  aims  at  digital  empowerment  of  tribal youth and women through concept of mentor and mentee.

The first phase of the GOAL programme was launched as a pilot project in May 2020 and it  was completed by Dec 2021. The mentees in the first-phase were provided with 40+ hours  of  training  across  three  course  pillars:  (1)  Communication  &  Life  Skills;  (2) Enabling  Digital  Presence,  and  (3)  Leadership  &  Entrepreneurship.  The  programme  is fully funded by Meta (Facebook India).  As part of the phase 1 of GOAL program, 176 tribal  youth  from  23  States  across  India  were  selected  through  an  online  application process.    The  mentees  were  also  given  a  smart  phone  and  Internet  Connectivity  by

Facebook.  The  programme  is  fully  funded  by  Meta  (Facebook  India)  and  Ministry  of Tribal Affairs has not incurred any expenditure or provided any funds for implementation of the program.

The second phase of the GOAL Programme (GOAL 2.0) was launched on 28 th June, 2022 with an aim to digitally upskill tribal youth by promoting entrepreneurship and opening up opportunities for them using digital technology.

In  Phase-I,  the  digital  mentorship  was  provided  online  by  attaching  one  mentor  to  2 mentees.    Based  on  learnings  from  Phase-I,  there  is  change  in  the  design  in  Phase-II. Rather than inviting applications to become mentees under the scheme, Goal 2 program would be open to all people from tribal communities. The program aims to upskill and digitally  enable  tribal  youth  via  Facebook  live  sessions  and  Meta  Business  Coach,  a digital learning tool.  There will be special focus on more than 10 lakh members of 50000 Vandhan Self Help Groups.  They will be digitally trained with regard to market demand, packaging,  branding  and  marketing  of  their  products.    The  GOAL  2  will  enable maximum participation and percolation of benefits of the training within the tribal youth with provision of Chatbot, need based on line sessions from Industry experts in different fields as per requirements from the mentees.

(c) and (d): The Going Online as Leaders (GOAL) is a pan-India program and there are no state-specific targets.  Goal 2 program would be open to all people across all States including Odisha.During the first-phase, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs organized consultations  for  the  Program  with  officers  from  the  state  Tribal  Welfare  Departments and Tribal Research Institutes to brief them on the program for awareness.

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