Parliament Question: Progress made under PMGDISHA

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 872 TO BE ANSWERED ON: 04.02.2026 PROGRESS MADE UNDER PMGDISHA 872. SHRI RAMASAHAYAM RAGHURAM REDDY: Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state: (a) the details of features of the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) which aims to improve digital literacy in rural households; (b) the progress made under the said abhiyaan, State/UT and Gender-wise along with its impact thereof; and (c) the details of other such measures being taken by the Government to improve digital literacy rates in the country? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA) (a) and (b): The Digital India programme was launched by the Government of India in line with Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision to democratize technology, bridge the digital divide and empower citizens. Under the programme, Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) was launched in 2017 to ensure digital literacy. The scheme concluded on 31st March 2024. Key aspects of the scheme were: • The Scheme was one of the world’s largest digital literacy initiatives • Over 6.39 Crore persons trained nationwide (against the target of 6 Crore) • The States/Union Territories (UTs)- wise status of the scheme is given at Annexure I • The Gender -wise details is given at Annexure-II The training provided under the programme had a significant impact on the adoption of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) and other forms of digital media. It benefited its participants by enabling their access to a wide range of information and services for various purposes, helping reduce the overall digital divide in the country. (c): Other measures adopted by the Government to address the digital literacy in the country include: i. National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT): • NIELIT provides digital literacy courses such as Awareness in Computer Concept (ACC), Course on Computer Concepts (CCC) etc. • NIELIT has trained 43 lakh+ candidates under various courses, including digital literacy and cyber security awareness. • Training is delivered through a wide network of 56 NIELIT Centres and 9000+ Accredited Training Partners/Facilitation Centres.ii. NIELIT Digital University (NDU) Platform: • NIELIT Digital University (NDU) Platform has been launched by NIELIT. • The platform delivers online and blended skill-based industry-aligned courses in emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity etc. • The platform includes built-in virtual labs for hands-on learning in Semiconductor Design, Cybersecurity, Cyber Forensics etc. • Learners get anytime-anywhere access to National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF)- aligned courses. ******** Annexure-I States/UTs-wise achievements under the PMGDISHA Scheme Registered Trained Sl. No. State Name Candidates Candidates 1 Andaman And Nicobar Islands 5564 2931 2 Andhra Pradesh 2301731 1917452 3 Arunachal Pradesh 14949 11615 4 Assam 2721585 2360195 5 Bihar 8240606 7412740 6 Chhattisgarh 2486455 2137064 Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman 7 & Diu 20522 18029 8 Goa 58569 53784 9 Gujarat 3031310 2683286 10 Haryana 1857815 1577109 11 Himachal Pradesh 661922 532976 12 Jammu and Kashmir 870451 706991 13 Jharkhand 2752731 2286356 14 Karnataka 2964726 2440957 15 Kerala 177165 118132 16 Ladakh 24785 22122 17 Lakshadweep 142 35 18 Madhya Pradesh 5692467 5069449 19 Maharashtra 6123970 5323817 20 Manipur 28397 18286 21 Meghalaya 152783 106063 22 Mizoram 30317 23125 23 Nagaland 11990 8968 24 Odisha 3616441 3086143 25 Puducherry 22079 15801 26 Punjab 1746448 1514820 27 Rajasthan 4506184 397069028 Sikkim 27035 23122 29 Tamil Nadu 1704537 1407880 30 Telangana 1456226 1210448 31 Tripura 325000 264186 32 Uttar Pradesh 16314369 14548273 33 Uttarakhand 785978 673306 34 West Bengal 2836714 2395565 Total 7,35,71,963 6,39,41,716 *Chandigarh and Delhi are in urban agglomeration, hence not covered under the scheme. ******* Annexure-II Gender-wise status of PMGDISHA Scheme Sl. No. State FEMALE MALE OTHERS Registered Trained Registered Trained Regist Trained ered 1 Andaman and 2683 1482 2881 1449 0 0 Nicobar Islands 2 Andhra Pradesh 1755778 1495757 545895 421640 58 55 3 Arunachal Pradesh 8601 6885 6347 4730 1 0 4 Assam 1394313 1210515 1326772 1149230 500 450 5 Bihar 4828857 4430595 3411735 2982131 14 14 6 Chhattisgarh 1319158 1150766 1170022 989023 2 2 7 Dadra & Nagar 10517 9450 10005 8579 0 0 Haveli and Daman & Diu 8 Goa 34482 32038 24087 21746 0 0 9 Gujarat 1437953 1294297 1593238 1388872 12 10 10 Haryana 886305 770493 971507 806614 3 2 11 Himachal Pradesh 356752 295431 305169 237544 1 1 12 Jammu and Kashmir 442598 372783 427851 334206 2 2 13 Jharkhand 1648008 1409896 1104711 876450 12 10 14 Karnataka 1952087 1635932 1013012 805406 22 14 15 Kerala 129742 85312 47421 32818 2 2 16 Ladakh 6176 5014 18609 17108 0 0 17 Lakshadweep 81 19 61 16 0 018 Madhya Pradesh 2738928 2478464 2953523 2590971 16 14 19 Maharashtra 3167774 2803877 2956154 2519903 42 37 20 Manipur 15696 10312 12698 7973 3 1 21 Meghalaya 79344 54993 73424 51057 15 13 22 Mizoram 16785 13091 13530 10032 2 2 23 Nagaland 6072 4537 5918 4431 0 0 24 Odisha 2062145 1805224 1554236 1280868 60 51 25 Puducherry 13932 10424 8145 5376 2 1 26 Punjab 925656 818492 820774 696310 18 18 27 Rajasthan 2289933 2071409 2216239 1899271 12 10 28 Sikkim 15782 13767 11253 9355 0 0 29 Tamil Nadu 1209437 1029433 494941 378306 159 141 30 Telangana 890182 763651 566022 446777 22 20 31 Tripura 174647 144918 150344 119261 9 7 32 Uttar Pradesh 8601043 7816896 7713291 6731346 35 31 33 Uttarakhand 414452 363887 371523 309416 3 3 34 West Bengal 1783671 1543518 1053009 852016 34 31 Total 4,06,19,570 3,59,53,558 3,29,54,347 2,79,90,231 1,061 942 *Chandigarh and Delhi are in urban agglomeration, hence not covered under the scheme. *******