Will the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology be pleased to state:
(a) the digital literacy rate in the country;
(b) whether the Government has conducted any survey to estimate the digital literacy level in the country and if so, the details and the outcomes thereof;
(c) if not, the time by which such survey is likely to be done; and
(d) whether the Government has undertaken any measures to educate the public about the benefits of digital literacy and if so, the details thereof ?
(a) to (c): National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) has published the 71st Round Survey Report titled ''Social Consumption - Education Survey 2014'', which inter-alia covers IT Literacy. As per this report, the proportion of households in the Country having computer was around 14% (only 6% of rural households and 29% of urban households possessed computer). Among people in the age group of 14-29 years in rural India, only 18% were able to operate a computer. Similarly, in the age group of 30-45 years, the percentage dropped further to 4%. In the age group of 46-60 years, the percentage was just more than 1%. This highlighted that more than 15 crore rural households (94% of 16.85 crore households) did not have computers and a significant number of these households were likely to be digitally illiterate.
(d): The various measures taken by the Government to educate the public about the benefits of digital literacy in the country are as under:
i. In the years 2014 to 2016, two Schemes entitled “National Digital Literacy Mission” (NDLM) and “Digital Saksharta Abhiyan” (DISHA) were implemented by the Government with a target to train 52.50 lakh candidates in digital literacy across the country including rural India. Under these two schemes, a total of 53.67 lakh beneficiaries were trained, out of which around 42% candidates were from rural India.
ii. In February 2017, the Government of India approved a scheme titled “Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA)” to usher in digital literacy in rural India by covering 6 crore rural households (one person per household). Special focus of the said Scheme is on training the beneficiaries on use of Electronic Payment System. So far, more than 3.46 crore candidates have been enrolled and around 2.81 crore have been trained, out of which more than 2.06 crore candidates have been certified under the PMGDISHA Scheme.
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