Lok Sabha Question No. 2726 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-08-07
Subject: Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA)
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Smt. Delkar Kalaben Mohanbhai, Shri Raju Bista, Shri Mahendra Singh Solanky, Dr. Vinod Kumar Bind, Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Shri Anurag Sharma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2726

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 07.08.2024

## PRADHAN MANTRI GRAMIN DIGITAL SAKSHARTA ABHIYAN (PMGDISHA)

## 2726.  SHRI MAHENDRA SINGH SOLANKY:

SHRI RAJU BISTA:

DR. VINOD KUMAR BIND:

SHRI ANURAG SHARMA:

SHRI PRATAP CHANDRA SARANGI:

SMT. DELKAR KALABEN MOHANBHAI:

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

- (a) whether  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Gramin  Digital  Saksharta  Abhiyaan  (PMGDISHA)  scheme  is still functional, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the details of the training centres under the scheme, State-wise along with the funds allocated for digital literacy programs in the current financial year;
- (c) whether  the  PMGDISHA  scheme  has  been  extended  in  Uttar  Pradesh,  Odisha,  Madhya Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu;
- (d) whether the Government has taken any steps to assess the impact and effectiveness of these digital literacy initiatives in rural areas particularly in West Bengal; and
- (e) whether the Government has arranged to take classes from the training of the certified centres since Covid 19 pandemic?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA)

(a)  to  (e):  The  Government  of  India  had  initiated  Pradhan  Mantri  Gramin  Digital  Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) Scheme in the year 2017, to usher in Digital Literacy in rural India (one person per household), which was implemented up to 31.03.2024.

The PMGDISHA Scheme was implemented in 2,52,100 Gram Panchayats spread throughout the country including the States/UTs of Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu. Under the Scheme, around 7.35 crore candidates were enrolled and 6.39  crore  were  trained,  out  of  which  4.78  crore  candidates  were  certified.The  States/UTswise achievements under the PMGDISHA  Scheme are given at Annexure-I . Further, the States/UTswise details of the training centres under the said Scheme are given at Annexure-II .In the  current  financial  year,  an  amount  of  Rs.  31.40  crore  (approx.)  has  been  recommended  for release to the implementing agency.

The PMGDISHA scheme was assessed across the country by three agencies namely IIT Delhi, Council for Social Development (CSD) and Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), New Delhi.The last Impact Assessment study of the PMGDISHA scheme was conducted by the Indian Institute  of  Public  Administration  (IIPA),  New  Delhi.Thekey  findings  of  the  IIPA  impact evaluation report of the PMGDISHA Scheme are at Annexure-III.

During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Training Centres were not operational in line with the guidelines/directives issued by the respective Central/State/District Administration. Once the pandemic  started  receding,  the  Centres  were  made  operational  in  a  graded  fashion  to  conduct training classes in line with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Annexure-I States/UT'swise achievements under the PMGDISHA Scheme

| Sl. No.   | State Name                         | Registered Candidates   | Trained Candidates   | Certified Candidates   |
|-----------|------------------------------------|-------------------------|----------------------|------------------------|
| 1.        | Andaman and Nicobar Islands        | 5,564                   | 2,931                | 1,813                  |
| 2.        | Andhra Pradesh                     | 23,01,731               | 19,17,452            | 13,90,142              |
| 3.        | Arunachal Pradesh                  | 14,949                  | 11,615               | 6,615                  |
| 4.        | Assam                              | 27,21,585               | 23,60,195            | 18,75,452              |
| 5.        | Bihar                              | 82,40,606               | 74,12,740            | 54,62,848              |
| 6.        | Chhattisgarh                       | 24,86,455               | 21,37,064            | 16,06,777              |
| 7.        | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu | 20,522                  | 18,029               | 13,938                 |
| 8.        | Goa                                | 58,569                  | 53,784               | 40,005                 |
| 9.        | Gujarat                            | 30,31,310               | 26,83,286            | 19,84,049              |
| 10.       | Haryana                            | 18,57,815               | 15,77,109            | 11,90,337              |
| 11.       | Himachal Pradesh                   | 6,61,922                | 5,32,976             | 3,98,166               |
| 12.       | Jammu and Kashmir                  | 8,70,451                | 7,06,991             | 5,17,436               |
| 13.       | Jharkhand                          | 27,52,731               | 22,86,356            | 16,87,611              |
| 14.       | Karnataka                          | 29,64,726               | 24,40,957            | 18,33,519              |
| 15.       | Kerala                             | 1,77,165                | 1,18,132             | 85,352                 |
| 16.       | Ladakh                             | 24,785                  | 22,122               | 17,377                 |
| 17.       | Lakshadweep                        | 142                     | 35                   | -                      |
| 18.       | Madhya Pradesh                     | 56,92,467               | 50,69,449            | 37,58,313              |
| 19.       | Maharashtra                        | 61,23,970               | 53,23,817            | 38,53,643              |
| 20.       | Manipur                            | 28,397                  | 18,286               | 11,989                 |
| 21.       | Meghalaya                          | 1,52,783                | 1,06,063             | 71,301                 |
| 22.       | Mizoram                            | 30,317                  | 23,125               | 14,357                 |
| 23.       | Nagaland                           | 11,990                  | 8,968                | 6,332                  |
| 24.       | Odisha                             | 36,16,441               | 30,86,143            | 23,46,795              |
| 25.       | Puducherry                         | 22,079                  | 15,801               | 10,883                 |
| 26.       | Punjab                             | 17,46,448               | 15,14,820            | 11,65,692              |
| 27.       | Rajasthan                          | 45,06,184               | 39,70,690            | 29,27,166              |
| 28.       | Sikkim                             | 27,035                  | 23,122               | 16,480                 |
| 29.       | Tamil Nadu                         | 17,04,537               | 14,07,880            | 10,55,235              |
| 30.       | Telangana                          | 14,56,226               | 12,10,448            | 8,64,871               |
| 31.       | Tripura                            | 3,25,000                | 2,64,186             | 2,15,688               |
| 32.       | Uttar Pradesh                      | 1,63,14,369             | 1,45,48,273          | 1,10,25,560            |
| 33.       | Uttarakhand                        | 7,85,978                | 6,73,306             | 5,04,730               |
| 34.       | West Bengal                        | 28,36,714               | 23,95,565            | 18,75,716              |
|           | Total                              | 7,35,71,965             | 6,39,41,718          | 4,78,36,188            |

*Chandigarh  and  Delhi  are  urban  agglomerations,  hence  not  covered  under  the scheme.

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Annexure-II States/UTs-wise details of the training centres under the PMGDISHA Scheme

| Sl. No.     | State/UT Name                      | Training Centre   |
|-------------|------------------------------------|-------------------|
| 1           | Andaman and Nicobar Islands        | 103               |
| 2           | Andhra Pradesh                     | 18,033            |
| 3           | Arunachal Pradesh                  | 267               |
| 4           | Assam                              | 6,445             |
| 5           | Bihar                              | 19,646            |
| 6           | Chhattisgarh                       | 12,258            |
| 7           | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu | 90                |
| 8           | Goa                                | 307               |
| 9           | Gujarat                            | 17,587            |
| 10          | Haryana                            | 9,969             |
| 11          | Himachal Pradesh                   | 4,620             |
| 12          | Jammu And Kashmir                  | 5,921             |
| 13          | Jharkhand                          | 9,261             |
| 14          | Karnataka                          | 16,957            |
| 15          | Kerala                             | 2,080             |
| 16          | Ladakh                             | 123               |
| 17          | Lakshadweep                        | 5                 |
| 18          | Madhya Pradesh                     | 30,956            |
| 19          | Maharashtra                        | 46,105            |
| 20          | Manipur                            | 408               |
| 21          | Meghalaya                          | 1,140             |
| 22          | Mizoram                            | 421               |
| 23          | Nagaland                           | 271               |
| 24          | Odisha                             | 12,219            |
| 25          | Puducherry                         | 151               |
| 26          | Punjab                             | 15,953            |
| 27          | Rajasthan                          | 19,884            |
| 28          | Sikkim                             | 145               |
| 29          | Tamil Nadu                         | 15,952            |
| 30          | Telangana                          | 9,972             |
| 31          | Tripura                            | 1,408             |
| 32          | Uttar Pradesh                      | 80,809            |
| 33          | Uttarakhand                        | 9,503             |
| 34          | West Bengal                        | 7,558             |
| Grand Total | Grand Total                        | 3,76,527          |

*Chandigarh  and  Delhi  are  urban  agglomerations,  hence  not  covered  under  the scheme.

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PMGDISHA Scheme : Key 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.
-  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.

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