Lok Sabha Question No. 1895 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-09
Subject: ICT Index
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: RODMAL NAGAR

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1895 TO BE ANSWERED ON 9 TH  MARCH,  2016

## ICT INDEX

1895. SHRI NAGAR RODMAL:

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

- (a) whether the International Telecommunication Union has developed a composite index called ICT development index;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  Government  plans  to  enhance  digital  literacy  through  capacity building programmes in regional languages;
- (d) if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the intiatives taken by the Government for improvement in the ICT development index?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

- (a) & (b) Yes.  The  International  Telecommunication  Union(ITU)  measures  ICTs penetration  globally  through  a  composite  index  called  'ICT  Development  Index  (IDI)'. The index takes three aspects into consideration namely, ICT Access, ICT Usage and ICT Skill using 11 (eleven) parameters as detailed below:

|   S.No. | Item                                                          | Sub-category   |
|---------|---------------------------------------------------------------|----------------|
|       1 | Fixed Telephone lines per 100 inhabitants                     | Access         |
|       2 | Mobile cellular telephone subscriptions per 100 inhabitants   | Access         |
|       3 | International Internet bandwidth (bit/s) per internet user    | Access         |
|       4 | Percentage of households with a computer                      | Access         |
|       5 | Percentage of households with Internet access at home         | Access         |
|       6 | Percentage of Internet users per 100 inhabitants              | Usage          |
|       7 | Fixed broadband (BB) Internet subscribers per 100 inhabitants | Usage          |
|       8 | Mobile broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants              | Usage          |
|       9 | Adult literacy rate                                           | Skills         |
|      10 | Secondary gross enrolment ratio                               | Skills         |
|      11 | Tertiary gross enrolment ratio                                | Skills         |

Contd…….2/-

(c ) & (d) Department  of    Electronics  &  Information  Technology  (DeitY)   has approved two Schemes  for providing Digital Literacy to the masses:

- (i) A scheme entitled 'National Digital Literacy Mission' to train 10 lakh persons in digital literacy was approved in March 2014.
- (ii)      Subsequently,  a  scheme  entitled  'Digital  Saksharta  Abhiyan'  (DISHA)  to train  42.5  lakh  persons  in  digital  literacy  throughout  the  country  was approved on 09.12.2014 under Digital India.

Both these Schemes are being run concurrently. So far, under the NDLM/DISHA schemes,  around  50.55  lakh  candidates  have  been  registered,  a  total  of  39.11  lakh students have been trained and approximately 16.13 lakh students have been certified. A  total  of  about  1,900  organizations  are  working  as  Training  Partners  under  these schemes.

(e) Several measures are being taken which may result in the improvement of the ICT  Development  Index.    The  Digital  India  is  an  umbrella  program  driving  several initiatives  such  as,  among  others,  Bharat  Net  (Broadband  highways  to  2,50,000 panchayats),  Public  Internet  Access  Program,  ICT  Skill  Development  and  eKranti (Electronic delivery of services)

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