NEW DELHI: Government has taken up projects to speed up digital literacy among tribal youths, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is executing several programmes which have benefitted the tribal population.
The proportion of households having computers during 2014 was around 14 per cent– only 6pc of rural households and 29 pc of urban– in the country, stated Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Alphons Kannanthanan stated in a written reply, quoting the National Sample Survey Office.
The Survey highlighted that more than 15 crore rural households, which is 94 pc of 16.85 crore, do not have computers and a significant number of these are likely to be digitally illiterate. No specific date on tribal youth is indicated in the NSSO report.
The Centre has implemented two schemes on providing digital literacy to the masses– National Digital Literacy Mission and Digital Saksharta Abhiyan– witha cumulative target of 52.5 lakh people (one person from every household) across the country, Mr Kannanthanan informed.
The targets in the two schemes were successfully achieved in December 2016, the Minister shared with the House. The government has also approved a scheme ‘ Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan ‘, covering six crore rural households by March end next year, he said. Besides, National Institutes of Electronics and Information Technology, an autonomous body of MeitY, was implementing various projects for the uplift of ST population in the area of IT and Electronics, the Minister added. Under ‘IT for Masses’ programme, which targets women, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, projects are funded for providing IT training to girls schools and women colleges, he added. (AGENCIES)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
