National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM) is a campaign that aims to digitally educate at least one member of every family in rural areas. From 2014 to 2016, two Schemes titled ‘National Digital Literacy Mission’ (NDLM) and ‘Digital Saksharta Abhiyan’ (DISHA) were implemented by the Government of India with a target to train 52.50 lakh candidates in digital literacy across the country.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology launched the ‘Digital India’ programme in 2015 with the vision to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge-based economy by ensuring digital access, digital inclusion, digital empowerment and bridging the digital divide. To achieve these objectives, particularly in rural, tribal and remote areas, the Ministry of Education offers high quality educational programmes through DTH channels as well as web platforms under the aegis of PM e-Vidya.

In 2017, a scheme titled ‘Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA)’ was approved by Union Cabinet to usher in digital literacy in rural India by covering 6 crore rural households (one person per household).

Despite all these, digital literacy is still inadequate among the rural and underprivileged sections in India, the ratio of girls, women and elderly people being even sadder. The digital education gap in urban and rural areas is far from being bridged. However, MNCs operating in India as well as Indian corporates are working to bridge this gap across the country through various CSR initiatives. The CSR Journal takes a look at the top CSR activities boosting digital literacy among the underprivileged in India.

CSR Initiative equips 700+ youths with AI skills

Capgemini in collaboration with the Nasscom Foundation recently announced that they have successfully skilled and certified more than 700 disadvantaged youths through their AI for Skilling programme. Capgemini and the Nasscom Foundation partnership plays a key role in helping to meet this demand by equipping the youth with advanced skills in generative AI, robotics, fintech, and more.

Implemented in Delhi NCR and Bengaluru, the programme is designed to provide comprehensive 200-hour training, comprising over 140 hours of technical training and more than 60 hours of soft skills development. The initiative builds on Capgemini Digital Academy programme, which trains thousands of youths across India in high-demand digital skills, creating opportunities for careers in technology.

Digital Skills Drive to Train Andhra Pradesh Students for Tech Careers

Oracle and Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) have announced a collaboration to provide skills development training to 400,000 students across the state to enhance their employability and help advance their careers.

Through this collaboration, 400,000 students at different stages of their learning and professional goals will gain access to digital training material and foundational certifications to prepare them for jobs of the future. This includes access to over 300 hours of learning programs on several technologies such as Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), Oracle AI services, OCI Generative AI, OCI Data Science, Oracle APEX, OCI DevOps, and Oracle Security, along with complete structured learning paths.

CSR initiative to Empower Young Innovators by Setting up STEM Labs in Bengaluru

Rockwell Automation has partnered with the India STEM Foundation to establish Science Labs, Robo Siksha Kendra, and Atal Tinkering Labs at two schools in Bengaluru: Government High School, Cox Town, and VKO Government School, Shivaji Nagar.

The Robo Siksha Kendra and Tinkering Lab are equipped with the latest technologies to promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) learning and communicate core STEM concepts to students in grades 7-10. Students engage in hands-on activities, plan and conduct simple experiments, build, test, and evaluate projects, and explore ideas to solve real-world problems using technology, reasoning, design thinking, conflict resolution, and collaboration under the mentorship of our qualified engineer facilitators.

Digital Empowerment Program for the underserved in Faridabad, Haryana

NIIT Foundation, together with Ciena, a networking systems, services, and software company, has launched an initiative called the “Digital Empowerment Program through the Digital Transformation Vehicle (DTV)” initiative in Faridabad, Haryana. This mobile education and training program aims to provide digital literacy and skills to underserved and remote communities, with the goal of narrowing the digital divide.

The initiative features a mobile training facility equipped with 16 computers, internet connectivity, and comprehensive training materials. Certified trainers, including an IT trainer and a mobilizer, who encourages individuals to enrol in the program, travel with the vehicle to provide hands-on support. The program offers customizable courses tailored to community needs, covering digital literacy, financial literacy, and vocational skills.

The initiative has successfully installed 12 Hole in the Wall Learning Stations across various locations from August 2023 to March 2024, promoting digital literacy and self-directed learning, as per an announcement made by the foundation.

CSR collaboration for digital classrooms in government schools

Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Limited (Arcil) announced its collaboration with Studeasy Bharat Foundation (SBF), Navi Mumbai, to provide digital classrooms to 30 government schools across Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Goa this week. This initiative is one of the key component of Arcil’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts aimed at enhancing the quality and accessibility of education for underprivileged students and equipping them with the skills necessary for a future in the digital economy.

Through this partnership, Arcil is supporting the implementation of a digital Classroom infrastructure, a powerful integration of low-cost, hyper-scalable technologies, designed to offer students in government schools a better learning experience. The project, which includes the installation of 55” Smart TVs in classrooms with an access to customised software that allows for the seamless delivery of educational content both in school and at home through SBF’s Blended-Class Program. This unique model enables students from Classes 5-10 to access state-syllabi-based lectures, assessments, and educational videos in vernacular languages, ensuring an inclusive approach to learning.

CSR Initiative to Boost Digital Literacy Among Nursing Students

PNB Housing Finance, a leading housing finance company in India, has inaugurated Pehel Computer Labs in collaboration with Niramay Charitable Trust through its CSR arm, Pehel Foundation. The state-of-the-art computer labs, established in the Government Nursing College Ahmedabad and Surat, aim to enhance digital literacy among nursing students and faculty. The facilities will help more than 1000 students and faculties across both the colleges with online study material, references, assignments, and projects to promote nursing education and research.

The labs are equipped with latest technology and devices like computers, printers and high-speed internet connections, along with modern infrastructure, to offer a conducive learning environment and significantly promote nursing education and research.

L&T Finance Ltd’s Digital Sakhi programme

Leading Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) L&T Finance Ltd. is empowering communities through its ‘Digital Sakhi’ CSR programme. The aim of the programme is to create awareness on Digital and Financial Literacy amongst the rural population.

As per a recent announcement by L&T Finance Ltd., the  Corporate Social Responsibility initiative has empowered over 42 lakh community members so far. The programme which was initiated in 2017 has expanded its geographical footprint in 7 states namely, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Odisha, Karnataka and Kerala with a cadre of 1,370 trained Digital Sakhis over the years.

In FY 2023-24, under the programme, LTF has empanelled 400 Sakhis in Uttar Pradesh (Gorakhpur), Bihar (Supaul), Tamil Nadu (Madurai), and West Bengal (Murshidabad). In FY24, Digital Sakhis have helped empower over 11 lakh rural communities by promoting digital financial inclusion, providing impetus to 2,400 women entrepreneurs, as per a statement by the company. They further claim that across existing and new programme locations of Digital Sakhis, there has been a 12 percent increase in the adoption of digital payments among the community members, promoting a cashless economy and enhancing financial inclusion.

Mankind Pharma’s ‘Digital Smart Class’ initiative

Leading pharmaceutical company Mankind Pharma is working to enhance the quality of education in remote areas through its ‘Digital Smart Class’ initiative. Under their CSR arm, this comprehensive programme has established 220 smart classrooms across government schools in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh.

The Digital Smart Class initiative is a strategic effort to bridge the digital divide in education and provide underprivileged students with access to modern learning resources. The smart classrooms are equipped with integrated teaching devices, the Kyan system, which can convert any surface to an interactive board and multimedia playing surface, enabling a more engaging and immersive learning experience.

The initiative spans across 170 schools in 23 clusters, benefiting thousands of students in remote areas. Mankind Pharma has collaborated closely with local authorities and educational institutions to ensure the successful implementation and sustainability of the smart classrooms.

Key highlights of the Digital Smart Class initiative:

– Establishment of 220 smart classrooms across Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh.

– Provision of integrated teaching devices and multimedia content for interactive learning.

– Comprehensive teacher training programmes to ensure effective utilisation of the smart classroom technology.

– Three-year project management and maintenance support to ensure sustainability.

CSR of Coal India for digital literacy in Jharkhand

In an announcement made earlier this month, world’s single largest coal producer Coal India Limited is taking its commitment towards quality education a step further by commissioning smart classrooms in 70 Government schools. This is in continuation of a similar initiative launched for 11 districts of Jharkhand in January this year.

The project worth Rs. 2.42 crore will be executed by EdCIL (India) Limited, a PSU. The initiative is expected to improve the learning outcomes among students as well as reduce the digital divide that exists between students of government and private schools.

BridgeIT programme – CSR of TCS

BridgeIT is a unique initiative created to bridge the digital divide that places socially and economically underprivileged communities at a disadvantage. The programme creates digital entrepreneurs who use IT to help local citizens avail essential digital services in education, adult literacy, unemployment and social discrimination. It attempts to address prevailing social inequities in India by proactively reaching out to women, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) communities.

Launched in 2014, BridgeIT has a footprint across 30 districts in 10 states. The programme offers budding entrepreneurs the skills, mentoring, technology, tools and resources required to set up a Digital Service Centre from where they can provide services such as generating and updating documents (such as Aadhar cards, Pan cards, and voters ID), enrolling for different government schemes, filling in online forms and cash withdrawals/deposits from the bank to fellow villagers.

In FY 2023, the programme had 347 active digital entrepreneurs with 146 of these being women.

VAHDAM’s Digital Learning Centre in Darjeeling

VAHDAM India inaugurated 3 digital learning centres in Darjeeling in June 2023 under its flagship CSR initiative, TEACH Me where the company directs a minimum of 1% of its revenue towards the education of its children across the country.

VAHDAM India partnered with BYJUs amid COVID in October 2020 to provide top-quality digital learning to children in remote tea gardens absolutely free of cost owing to the lockdown and schools remaining shut. This ensured that children could access and continue with digital learning at par with the best in the country.

The first digital learning center was inaugurated at Miriam School, Darjeeling. The second learning centre was inaugurated at the Badamtam High School where BYJU smart TVs and android boxes were installed to support the digital infrastructure and learning. The third learning centre was inaugurated at the Risheehat High School.

CSR of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages for financial and digital literacy of women

On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2024, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages announced the successful completion of its multi-state women’s empowerment initiative to provide financial and digital literacy training to 25,000 women. This monumental achievement marks a significant leap forward in narrowing the gender divide in financial inclusion and digital adoption, resonating with HCCB’s pledge for women’s empowerment announced in August of last year.

The initiative was conducted in partnership with the Y4D foundation. Spanning across the diverse landscape of 12 Indian states including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, and Odisha, the program adopted a dynamic classroom-based methodology. It was designed to cater to the varied needs, interests, and proficiency levels of women from different backgrounds, enabling them to harness the power of finance and technology.

The curriculum was designed to cover a broad spectrum of vital skills crucial for thriving in the new economy. From the fundamentals of banking and account setup to navigating the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), from savvy investment strategies to leveraging online banking, the program also spotlighted government initiatives aimed at supporting women such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Sukanya Sam Riddhi Yojana, and Nari Shakti. The digital literacy component was equally comprehensive, encompassing Mobile Banking, Digital Market Linkage, and Cyber Security. Thus, paving the way for participants to secure a robust livelihood and contribute significantly to household economics.

CSR of Infosys in Manipur

The Education Department of Manipur signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Infosys Ltd. in the presence of Former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and Education Minister Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh in November 2022. The MoU was signed for implementation of Infosys Springboard Platform across government schools in the state.

‘Infosys Springboard’ is a free online platform powered by Infosys Wingspan that democratises the fundamentals of these skills with modular learning that is focused on digital literacy, competency and proficiency. It is a flagship intervention which aims to empower people, communities, and society. Through this initiative, Infosys plans to empower over 10 million learners with digital and life skills by 2025. The reach will include students across India in the age group of 10-22 years as well as lifelong learners. The content hosted on this platform is aligned with New Education Policy 2020. It helps the learners get access to a variety of topics that also include professional and vocational skills.

Vi Foundation and Ericsson’s Robotic Lab in Pune

With the objective of building a future ready talent force from the school level onwards, Vi Foundation, the CSR arm of Vi, in partnership with Ericsson India set up a state-of-the-art Robotic Lab in Sayajinath Maharaj Vidyalaya and Jr. College, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune in January 2023.

This is the first among the ten labs to be set up by Vi Foundation in the six states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Gujarat.

At the event, Vi Foundation also inaugurated a library, and felicitated select students from its vocational training centre. Equipped with robotic kits, 3D printer, laptops and a projector, the Digital Lab is designed to assist students of standard 6th to 9th through their first experience of the world of programming and new technologies. It aims to improve the students’ education and employment prospects across Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) by providing an exciting learning experience and developing skills such as teamwork, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking.

Mirae Asset Foundation’s initiative for BMC schools in Mumbai

Mirae Asset Foundation (MAF), the CSR arm of Mirae Asset’s businesses in India under its Educational Infrastructure Support Program (MAF EISP) in collaboration with Extramarks Education Foundation, Noida, announced in January that it has installed seven new digital classrooms with smart interactive panels in four BMC schools in Mumbai’s Andheri and Vile Parle. This collaborative initiative, part of the Infrastructure Support Program of the Foundation is aimed to benefit more than 2000 students.

The seven new digital classrooms are equipped with LED-based Interactive flat panels. These seven smart interactive panels, with integrated Extramarks Educational Content are aligned with the New Education Policy (NEP) Guidelines 2020.