Government’s initiatives to make Information Technology accessible to citizens residing in rural, hilly and remote areas of the country

Ministry of Electronics & IT Government’s initiatives to make Information Technology accessible to citizens residing in rural, hilly and remote areas of the country Digital India programme bridging the urban-rural divide प्रव तथ: 12 DEC 2025 2:54PM by PIB Delhi In line with Hon’ble Prime Minister's vision to democratise technology and empower citizens, the Government of India had launched the Digital India programme in July, 2015. The overall goal is to ensure that digital technologies improve the life of every citizen, expand India’s digital economy, and create investment and employment opportunities in India. At its core, the programme promotes three interconnected goals: strengthening digital infrastructure, delivering government services digitally, and empowering citizens through digital literacy and employment. From expanding internet access in remote villages to revolutionising public service delivery through digital platforms, the country has bridged the urban-rural divide like never before. Digital India includes many flagship programmes that cut across sectors: DigiLocker for secure document access, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for cashless transactions, Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) for accessing digital services through mobile App, CoWIN for vaccine management, and Government e-Marketplace (GeM) for procurement transparency. Details of some of the key initiatives taken by the Government to make Information Technology accessible to citizens residing in rural, hilly and remote areas of the country including state of Assam and entire Northeast region are as follows: Common Services Centres – CSCs are offering government and business services in digital mode enhancing last-mile connectivity in rural areas through Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs). Over 800 services are being delivered through CSCs. As on October, 2025, 5.67 lakh CSCs are functional across the country (in rural and urban areas), out of which 4.41 lakh CSCs are functional at the Gram Panchayat level (rural). Details of CSCs in North East region (including Assam) is as below: Sl. No. State Functional CSCs (Urban+Rural) Functional CSCs at GP level 1 Arunachal Pradesh 240 181 2 Assam 15511 141833 Manipur 966 794 4 Meghalaya 1166 1054 5 Mizoram 642 485 6 Nagaland 615 426 7 Sikkim 245 215 8 Tripura 1967 1585 PMGDISHA: The Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) was initiated to make digital literacy reach 6 crore rural households (one person per household) nationwide. 6.39 crore individuals were trained across the country, making it one of the world’s largest digital literacy initiatives. The Scheme has concluded on 31.03.2024. Details of achievements in North East region (including Assam) is as below: Sl. No. State Trained Candidates 1 Arunachal Pradesh 11,615 2 Assam 23,60,195 3 Manipur 18,286 4 Meghalaya 1,06,063 5 Mizoram 23,125 6 Nagaland 8,968 7 Sikkim 23,122 8 Tripura 2,64,186 BharatNet-Linking Villages to the Internet: Department of Telecommunications is implementing BharatNet project to provide broadband connectivity to all the Gram Panchayats (GPs) and villages. The infrastructure created under BharatNet project is a national asset, accessible on a non- discriminatory basis to the Service Providers, and the same can be utilized to provide broadband services, such as Wi-Fi Hotspots, Fibre to the Home (FTTH) connections, leased lines, etc. As of October 2025; 2,14,843 Gram Panchayats (GPs) have been made service-ready under the BharatNet project. Status of BharatNet in North East region (including Assam) is as below:S. State Service ready on Service ready on Total Service ready (OFC + No. OFC Satellite Satellite) 1 Arunachal 77 1047 1124 Pradesh 2 Assam 1502 5 1507 3 Manipur 315 1160 1475 4 Meghalaya 122 576 698 5 Mizoram 41 499 540 6 Nagaland 116 120 236 7 Sikkim 26 9 35 8 Tripura 598 142 740 FutureSkills PRIME: To bridge the industry skill gap, MeitY has initiated the ‘FutureSkills PRIME’ programme in collaboration with the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM). The initiative focuses on skilling, reskilling, and upskilling individuals in new and emerging technologies. Under the FutureSkills Prime program, there are over 500+ courses & 2000+ digital fluency pathways offered on the platform. So far, more than 15.78 lakh candidates have been enrolled in various courses comprising of approximately 41% women learners and 85% candidates from tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Digital India also actively advocates and works with State Governments for development of technology & entrepreneurship in various Tier-2 & Tier-3 towns of India led by organizations like Software Technology Park of India (STPI) & National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT). Further, National Informatics Centre (NIC), an attached office of Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), has its State Centres at State level and District level all over India. These State and District Centres continuously guide and assist various State & District level Government Offices in developing and implementing various ICT applications. Common Service Centres have been established up to the Gram Panchayat level in all the States to provide information technology services. This information was submitted by Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Shri Jitin Prasada in Rajya Sabha on 12.12.2025. *** MSZ(रलीज़ आईडी: 2202905) आगंतुक पटल : 1157 इस वज्ञ को इन भाषाओ ंम पढ़: Urdu , ही