Lok Sabha Question No. 872 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-04
Subject: Progress made under PMGDISHA
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Ramasahayam Raghuram Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 872

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 04.02.2026

## PROGRESS MADE UNDER PMGDISHA

## 872. SHRI RAMASAHAYAM RAGHURAM REDDY:

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) which aims to improve digital literacy in rural households;
- (b) the progress made under the said abhiyaan, State/UT and Gender-wise along with its impact thereof; and
- (c) the details of other such measures being taken by the Government to improve digital literacy rates in the country?

## ANSWER

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

(a) and (b): The Digital India programme was launched by the Government of India in line with Hon'ble Prime  Minister's  vision  to  democratize  technology,  bridge  the  digital  divide  and  empower  citizens. Under the programme, Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) was launched in 2017 to ensure digital literacy. The scheme concluded on 31 st March 2024. Key aspects of the scheme were:

- The Scheme was one of the world's largest digital literacy initiatives
- Over 6.39 Crore persons trained nationwide (against the target of 6 Crore)
- The States/Union Territories (UTs)- wise status of the scheme is given at Annexure I
- The Gender -wise details is given at Annexure-II

The training provided under the programme had a significant impact on the adoption of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) and other forms of digital media. It  benefited  its  participants  by enabling their access to a wide range of information and services for various purposes, helping reduce the overall digital divide in the country.

(c):  Other measures adopted by the Government to address the digital literacy in the country include:

- i. 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.
- NIELIT 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.

## ii. NIELIT Digital University (NDU) Platform:

- NIELIT Digital University (NDU) Platform has been launched by NIELIT.
- The platform delivers online and blended skill-based industry-aligned courses in emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity etc.
- The platform includes built-in virtual labs for hands-on learning in Semiconductor Design, Cybersecurity, Cyber Forensics etc.
- Learners get anytime-anywhere access to National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF)aligned courses.

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Annexure-I

## States/UTs-wise achievements under the PMGDISHA Scheme

|   Sl. No. | State Name                         |   Registered Candidates |   Trained Candidates |
|-----------|------------------------------------|-------------------------|----------------------|
|         1 | Andaman And Nicobar Islands        |                    5564 |                 2931 |
|         2 | Andhra Pradesh                     |                 2301731 |              1917452 |
|         3 | Arunachal Pradesh                  |                   14949 |                11615 |
|         4 | Assam                              |                 2721585 |              2360195 |
|         5 | Bihar                              |                 8240606 |              7412740 |
|         6 | Chhattisgarh                       |                 2486455 |              2137064 |
|         7 | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu |                   20522 |                18029 |
|         8 | Goa                                |                   58569 |                53784 |
|         9 | Gujarat                            |                 3031310 |              2683286 |
|        10 | Haryana                            |                 1857815 |              1577109 |
|        11 | Himachal Pradesh                   |                  661922 |               532976 |
|        12 | Jammu and Kashmir                  |                  870451 |               706991 |
|        13 | Jharkhand                          |                 2752731 |              2286356 |
|        14 | Karnataka                          |                 2964726 |              2440957 |
|        15 | Kerala                             |                  177165 |               118132 |
|        16 | Ladakh                             |                   24785 |                22122 |
|        17 | Lakshadweep                        |                     142 |                   35 |
|        18 | Madhya Pradesh                     |                 5692467 |              5069449 |
|        19 | Maharashtra                        |                 6123970 |              5323817 |
|        20 | Manipur                            |                   28397 |                18286 |
|        21 | Meghalaya                          |                  152783 |               106063 |
|        22 | Mizoram                            |                   30317 |                23125 |
|        23 | Nagaland                           |                   11990 |                 8968 |
|        24 | Odisha                             |                 3616441 |              3086143 |
|        25 | Puducherry                         |                   22079 |                15801 |
|        26 | Punjab                             |                 1746448 |              1514820 |
|        27 | Rajasthan                          |                 4506184 |              3970690 |

| 28   | Sikkim        | 27035       | 23122       |
|------|---------------|-------------|-------------|
| 29   | Tamil Nadu    | 1704537     | 1407880     |
| 30   | Telangana     | 1456226     | 1210448     |
| 31   | Tripura       | 325000      | 264186      |
| 32   | Uttar Pradesh | 16314369    | 14548273    |
| 33   | Uttarakhand   | 785978      | 673306      |
| 34   | West Bengal   | 2836714     | 2395565     |
|      | Total         | 7,35,71,963 | 6,39,41,716 |

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

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Annexure-II Gender-wise status of PMGDISHA Scheme

| No.   | State                              | FEMALE     | FEMALE   | MALE       | MALE    | OTHERS      | OTHERS   |
|-------|------------------------------------|------------|----------|------------|---------|-------------|----------|
| No.   | State                              | Registered | Trained  | Registered | Trained | Regist ered | Trained  |
| 1     | Andaman and Nicobar Islands        | 2683       | 1482     | 2881       | 1449    | 0           | 0        |
| 2     | Andhra Pradesh                     | 1755778    | 1495757  | 545895     | 421640  | 58          | 55       |
| 3     | Arunachal Pradesh                  | 8601       | 6885     | 6347       | 4730    | 1           | 0        |
| 4     | Assam                              | 1394313    | 1210515  | 1326772    | 1149230 | 500         | 450      |
| 5     | Bihar                              | 4828857    | 4430595  | 3411735    | 2982131 | 14          | 14       |
| 6     | Chhattisgarh                       | 1319158    | 1150766  | 1170022    | 989023  | 2           | 2        |
| 7     | Dadra &Nagar Haveli and Daman &Diu | 10517      | 9450     | 10005      | 8579    | 0           | 0        |
| 8     | Goa                                | 34482      | 32038    | 24087      | 21746   | 0           | 0        |
| 9     | Gujarat                            | 1437953    | 1294297  | 1593238    | 1388872 | 12          | 10       |
| 10    | Haryana                            | 886305     | 770493   | 971507     | 806614  | 3           | 2        |
| 11    | Himachal Pradesh                   | 356752     | 295431   | 305169     | 237544  | 1           | 1        |
| 12    | Jammu and Kashmir                  | 442598     | 372783   | 427851     | 334206  | 2           | 2        |
| 13    | Jharkhand                          | 1648008    | 1409896  | 1104711    | 876450  | 12          | 10       |
| 14    | Karnataka                          | 1952087    | 1635932  | 1013012    | 805406  | 22          | 14       |
| 15    | Kerala                             | 129742     | 85312    | 47421      | 32818   | 2           | 2        |
| 16    | Ladakh                             | 6176       | 5014     | 18609      | 17108   | 0           | 0        |
| 17    | Lakshadweep                        | 81         | 19       | 61         | 16      | 0           | 0        |

| 18   | Madhya Pradesh   | 2738928     | 2478464     | 2953523     | 2590971     | 16    |   14 |
|------|------------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------|------|
| 19   | Maharashtra      | 3167774     | 2803877     | 2956154     | 2519903     | 42    |   37 |
| 20   | Manipur          | 15696       | 10312       | 12698       | 7973        | 3     |    1 |
| 21   | Meghalaya        | 79344       | 54993       | 73424       | 51057       | 15    |   13 |
| 22   | Mizoram          | 16785       | 13091       | 13530       | 10032       | 2     |    2 |
| 23   | Nagaland         | 6072        | 4537        | 5918        | 4431        | 0     |    0 |
| 24   | Odisha           | 2062145     | 1805224     | 1554236     | 1280868     | 60    |   51 |
| 25   | Puducherry       | 13932       | 10424       | 8145        | 5376        | 2     |    1 |
| 26   | Punjab           | 925656      | 818492      | 820774      | 696310      | 18    |   18 |
| 27   | Rajasthan        | 2289933     | 2071409     | 2216239     | 1899271     | 12    |   10 |
| 28   | Sikkim           | 15782       | 13767       | 11253       | 9355        | 0     |    0 |
| 29   | Tamil Nadu       | 1209437     | 1029433     | 494941      | 378306      | 159   |  141 |
| 30   | Telangana        | 890182      | 763651      | 566022      | 446777      | 22    |   20 |
| 31   | Tripura          | 174647      | 144918      | 150344      | 119261      | 9     |    7 |
| 32   | Uttar Pradesh    | 8601043     | 7816896     | 7713291     | 6731346     | 35    |   31 |
| 33   | Uttarakhand      | 414452      | 363887      | 371523      | 309416      | 3     |    3 |
| 34   | West Bengal      | 1783671     | 1543518     | 1053009     | 852016      | 34    |   31 |
|      | Total            | 4,06,19,570 | 3,59,53,558 | 3,29,54,347 | 2,79,90,231 | 1,061 |  942 |

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

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