
PMGDISHA as a digital literacy Programme
The biggest change in the 21st century has and will be in regard to the upcoming
advancements in digitisation and automation. From consuming information to creating,
collaborating and socialising, the use of technology has become an integral part in our
everyday lives. Familiarity with the working of these technologies has therefore, become
a valuable learning tool for our society to move forward. Recognising the need and
importance of digital literacy in today’s world, various agencies and organisations
around the world have taken steps towards the introduction of these skills in different
parts of the world. India with its growing population, has, emerged as both a consumer
and producer of different digital tools. This growth, however, has been limited to only a
fraction of its population- much of which belongs to the urban areas of the country. The
rural parts on the contrary see a very limited use and adoption of different digital
technologies and advances. A major reason for this problem has been identified as the
lack of knowledge as well as awareness about the understanding and benefits of
various digital tools and applications. This has created a digital divide between the
urban and rural spaces within the country. This gap or digital divide has become more
apparent as the country moves towards the adoption of a faster and more secure ways
of faceless, cashless, contactless and paperless governance through the medium of
digital technologies. The government policies today, rely heavily on digital operations in
different sectors like education, healthcare, economy and governance. Citizen
participation using digital technologies in this context emerges as an essential requisite.
It is thus important that they aim to create an engaging, collaborative and agile
framework for all.
The Government of India recognising this need for digital literacy in our country and
decided to launch PMGDISHA in February 2017. The scheme aimed at making 6 crore
people in the rural areas across different states and UTs digitally literate over the course
of three years. It envisioned to reach around 40% of the rural population by covering
one member from every eligible household to transform India into a knowledge
economy and society. PMGDISHA as a digital literacy programme has the potential to
not only bridge the digital divide in the country but also facilitate citizen participation
into the process of governance at the grassroot level.
With the PMGDISHA scheme about to complete its initial time frame, Indian Institute of
Public Administration (IIPA), New Delhi was entrusted the task to undertake the impact
assessment analysis at this current phase of the scheme. To do so, IIPA proposed a
conceptual framework to analyse the development, progress and impact of the scheme
based on five essential parameters viz. Technical, Economy, Legal, Operational and
Social, which were triangulated and validated with the management and beneficiary
perspectives. The scheme was then further assessed in regards to its proposed vision
and targets, its achievements and strategy towards the inclusion of different target
groups, such as SC/ST, BPL, minorities, women, differently abled etc., the scheme
infrastructure and quality of trainers and finally the impact of the training on the target
beneficiaries. To accomplish this, IIPA not only referred to the available documents,
official reports including Detailed Project Report (DPR), expenditure reports, state-wise
targets, registrations and certification of the scheme but also conducted multiple
structured/semi-structured interviews with PMGDISHA team and experts. This was
followed by a detailed primary study with a Questionnaire Survey for the CSC VLEs and
the beneficiaries of the scheme. This data from the online survey was then validated
with the help of the Field Survey that the team carried out at 10 CSC centres in different
parts of the country. This field survey cum workshop also allowed us get an insight into
the actual working and ground realities of the scheme as well as understand the some
of the problems faced by the largest stakeholders within the programme- the
Beneficiaries and the VLEs.
After this comprehensive and methodological evaluation, IIPA concluded that
PMGDISHA as a digital literacy programme plays an indispensable part in not only
bridging the digital gap in the country but also transforming it into a knowledge
economy and society. Observing the vital contribution of PMGDISHA, IIPA lauds its
potential and recommends the continuation of PMGDISHA.
IIPA has also recommended that PMGDISHA in its next phase should work towards
keeping its curriculum dynamic, incorporating certain basic elements as well as the
development and advances in the field. The programme in its next phase should also
embody the digital needs and aspirations of beneficiaries in different areas of the
country. Furthermore, it should seek to advance more innovative ways for content
delivery so that the scheme can have an even greater reach beyond the intended target
beneficiaries. PMGDISHA, by effectively creating a digital ecosystem in can increase this
section’s active participation in the process of growth and development within the
country.