Lok Sabha Question No. 3004 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-11
Subject: Digital Skilling Initiatives for Expansion of Digital Access and Employability
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Vishnu Datt Sharma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3004

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 11.03.2026

## DIGITAL SKILLING INITIATIVES FOR EXPANSION OF DIGITAL ACCESS AND EMPLOYABILITY

## 3004.  SHRI VISHNU DATT SHARMA:

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

- (a) whether the Government is implementing Digital India, BharatNet, PM-WANI and MeitY digitalskilling initiatives to expand digital access and employability;
- (b) whether BharatNet fibre, last-mile Wi-Fi, Common Service Centres (CSCs) and digital-literacy programmes are operational in the districts of Katni, Panna and town of Khajuraho in the Khajuraho Lok Sabha region and if so, the number of persons trained during the last three years;
- (c) the measures taken by the Government to enable farmers, women, Self Help Groups (SHGs) and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to access digital payments, e-markets, e-governance and tele-services;
- (d) if digital inclusion and usage remain low, the key barriers identified and corrective steps planned; and
- (e) the strategy to link MeitY skilling, CSC operations and start-up support with local job creation and micro-enterprise opportunities in these districts?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (e): Government of India launched Digital India programme in July 2015. It was launched to further the Prime Minister's vision of democratising technology and ensuring that its benefits reach all sections of society.

Key initiatives under the programme are as follows:

## 1. Common Services Centres

CSCs  offer  government  and  business  services  in  digital  mode,  thereby  enhancing  last-mile connectivity in rural areas through Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs). Over 800 services are being delivered through CSCs.

As on January, 2026, 5.54 lakh CSCs are functional across the country (in rural and urban areas), out of which 4.32 lakh CSCs are functional at the Gram Panchayat level (rural).

40,954 CSCs are functional in the state of Madhya Pradesh, including 941 CSCs in Katni, 633 CSCs in Panna and 1567 CSCs in Chhatarpur district (includes Khajuraho region).

State/UT wise and district wise details of CSCs are available at https://csc.gov.in/ and list of services is available at https://csc.gov.in/.

2. Digital Skilling: Government has taken several steps for providing digital skills to the youth and runs programs for skilling/upskilling in the latest technologies. The key initiatives are:

(i) PMGDISHA: Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) was launched in  2017  to  ensure  digital  literacy.  The  scheme  was  implemented  through  CSC  e-Governance services India limited and The scheme concluded on 31st March 2024.

The Scheme emerged as one of the world's largest digital literacy initiatives with over 6.39 Crore persons getting trained nationwide (against the target of 6 Crore).

In the state of Madhya Pradesh, a total of 56,92,467 candidates from the rural households were enrolled, and 50,69,449 candidates were trained under the Scheme.

This  included  92,755  candidates  from  Katni  and  94,679  candidates  from  Panna  and  137205 candidates from Chhatarpur district (includes Khajuraho region).

(ii) FutureSkills  Prime: It  is  a  collaborative  initiative  of  MeitY  and  National  Association  of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) aimed at making India a cutting-edge digital talent nation. Key features are:

- Provides  skilling,  reskilling,  and  upskilling  in  emerging  technologies  such  as  Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics, Internet of Things (IoTs), Cyber Security, Blockchain, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR), etc.
- Courses are developed in the consultation with industry to align with actual employment needs.
- Portal can be accessed online at https://futureskillsprime.in/ to earn skill certificates in line with their aptitude and aspirations.

Under the programme, so far, more than 27.53+ lakh candidates have registered on the portal, out of which there have been 17.24+ lakh candidates enrolled/trained in various courses.

In the state of Madhya Pradesh, a total of more than 50,000 candidates have enrolled/trained in various courses

## (iii) National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT)

NIELIT provides digital literacy courses such as Awareness in Computer Concept (ACC), Course on  Computer  Concepts  (CCC)  etc.  It  has  trained  43  lakh+  candidates  under  various  courses, including digital literacy and cyber security awareness.

Training is delivered through a wide network of 56 NIELIT Centres and 9000+ Accredited Training Partners/Facilitation Centres.

NIELIT has more than 350 Facilitation Centres spread across the State of Madhya Pradesh, out of which  nearly  15  centres  are  located  in  the  districts  of  Katni  and  Panna  for  promoting  Digital Literacy Courses (DLC).

Between 2020 and 2025, a total of 66,404 candidates applied for Digital Literacy courses in the State of Madhya Pradesh.

In addition, the NIELIT Digital University (NDU) Platform has been launched by Government of India to deliver online and blended skill- based courses in emerging technology areas.

This  Platform  is  designed  to  offer  future-ready,  industry-  aligned  programs  in  emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, and other frontier domains.

This platform also features built-in virtual labs for real-time experimentation in Semiconductor Design, cybersecurity, Cyber Forensics, Industry 4.0, and other emerging domains.

Through the NDU platform, every learner can have access anytime-anywhere to NSQF-aligned courses. So far more than 55,000 candidates have registered through NDU Platform for various courses.

3. Basic communications/ internet services: Internet access across the country, including rural areas, is provided by Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) through wireless mobile and fixed broadband.

Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has undertaken several initiatives to enhance connectivity through expansion of mobile networks and optical fibre infrastructure:

(i) BharatNet: Broadband connectivity is being provided to all Gram Panchayats (GPs) throughout the country.

The network is utilised through leasing of bandwidth and dark fibre, and provision of public Wi-Fi to provide broadband and internet access at public places.

It also supports Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) connectivity for Government institutions (such as schools, health centres, anganwadis, police stations, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, post offices, ration shops), as well as private institutions and households.

So far, a total of 2,14,921 Gram Panchayats have been made service-ready including 115 GPs in Katni, 390 GPS in Panna and 225 GPs in Chhatarpur district (including Khajuraho region).

(ii) Prime  Minister's  Wi -Fi  Access  Network  Interface  (PM-WANI) provides  a  framework allowing Public Data Offices (PDOs) to set up public Wi-Fi hotspots, under the aggregation of Public Data Office Aggregators (PODAs) and Application providers, with minimal regulatory oversight. This framework encourages shopkeepers and small enterprises to participate in digital connectivity and digital transformation.

As on 02.03.2026, the number of PM-WANI Wi-Fi hotspots installed are 76 in Katni, 40 in Panna, and 89 in Chhatarpur.

The Government is also promoting the use of Information Technology to enable farmers, women, Self-Help  Groups  (SHGs),  and  Micro  Small  and  Medium  Enterprises  (MSMEs)  to  access  digital payments, e-markets, e-governance services, and tele-services across states through various initiatives under the Digital India programme. Key initiatives include the following:

(a) DigiLocker: DigiLocker provides all time access to authentic digital documents from original issuer for the common citizen.

More than 67.17+ crore users are registered with DigiLocker availing its services and more than 967.01+ crore documents have been issued from 2456 issuers onboarded on the platform.

(b)  Common Services Centres : CSCs offer government and business services in digital mode, thereby  enhancing  last-mile  connectivity  in  rural  areas  through  Village  Level  Entrepreneurs (VLEs). Over 800 services are being delivered through CSCs.

As on January, 2026, 5.54 lakh CSCs are functional across the country (in rural and urban areas), out of which 4.32 lakh CSCs are functional at the Gram Panchayat level (rural).

(c) Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG): It is a mobile application for all government services. More than 2446 services (Central: 872, State:1,574) are offered on the platform.

(d)  U nified  Payments  Interface  (UPI): UPI  has  enabled  millions  of  individuals  and  small businesses  in  rural  and  remote  areas  to  make  fast,  secure  and  low-cost  digital  payments, significantly advancing financial inclusion.

UPI serves 6.5 crore merchants, and connects 685 banks on one platform, making it the world's largest digital payment system. It powers 81% of India's digital payments and nearly 49% of global real-time digital payments.

(e) LokOS application: It  has  been  developed to enable end-to-end digitization of Self-Help Group (SHG) networks across the country.

More than 93 lakh Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are registered on the platform including 5.58 lakh Village Organisations (VOs). Over 10.11 crore households mobilised through these CommunityBased Organisations (CBOs) have been linked on LokOS.

(f) Poshan Tracker: It is an i mportant tool for women & child development and last mile delivery of nutritional services. It Provides real-time monitoring and tracking of beneficiaries and duty bearers and is Linked with Education and Health Programmes for proactive service delivery.

Nutritional  services  have  been  delivered  to  8.90  crore  beneficiaries,  with  last-mile  service delivery  by  13.36  Lakh  Anganwadi  Workers  being  digitally  tracked  to  ensure  effective implementation and monitoring.

(g) eSanjeevani - National Telemedicine Service of India is a step towards digital health equity to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC). eSanjeevani facilitates quick and easy access to doctors and medical specialists from smartphones.

Over 45.43  Crore  patients  at  over  138,300+  Health  &  Wellness  Centers  (as  spokes)  through 18,500+ hubs serviced by more than 230,800+ doctors, medical specialists, super-specialists and health workers as telemedicine practitioners.

(h) Government e-Marketplace (GeM): GeM facilitates online procurement of common use Goods & Services required by various Government Departments / Organisations / PSUs.

Currently, 135,800+ Primary Buyers and 208,400+ Secondary Buyers are onboarded on GeM. 10,700+ product categories and 355 service categories have been listed on GeM.

(i) National Agriculture Market (eNAM): e-NAM provides access to markets, real-time price information, facilitates quality assaying of agri-produce and provides infrastructure for cleaning, grading, sorting and packaging.

So far, 1.79 crore farmers are registered on e-NAM platform, including small holder farmers and 1522 mandis are integrated with e-NAM across 23 States & 4 Union Territories.

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