Background

On July 1, 2015, ‘Digital India’ campaign was launched by Govt. of India under the visionary leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi to build holistic capabilities across Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure, software delivery platforms and enhance IT skill sets and job creation.

The availability of ICTs and network-based services offer a number of advantages for the society in general. ICT applications, such as e-Government, e-Commerce, e-Education, e-Health and e- Environment, are considered as enablers for socio-economic development, particularly due to their ability to deliver a wide range of basic services in remote and rural areas. ICT services in schools help students gain digital skills knowledge and improve overall education standard of schools across India. Having ICT devices in schools is not enough; students must have access to those devices, which is often not the case because teachers share the belief that children will mishandle the device.

This as well is a result of lack of digital literacy among teachers who also need to be introduced to the best practices, in order to impart digital education among children. Overall reform in the education system is required to promote ICT skills among the youth of India.

To improve the situation, the government has implemented flagship schemes like “Bharat Net Project” and with the support of NGOs is looking at better ways to reach remote, rural India.

Problem Statement

Difficulties in accessing technology resulting from inadequate technical means are faced much more by the rural communities as digital resources are unevenly distributed. Presence of high-speed internet is limited to towns and cities, while many villages struggle to get a stable signal on their mobile phones. Lack of Skilled Teacher and Infrastructure and access to tools are far dream of rural Youth and Children. In addition, the availability of broadband is almost negligible in rural areas. Rural communities in India are often the ones to be affected by the changing nature of jobs as a result of increasing automation & digitalization. They lack skills to handle the technical aspects of the jobs requiring technology skills.

Research study by scholars of IIM–Tiruchirappalli shows that though mobile phone penetration has grown significantly in India, there remain sharp disparities in how the phones are used. For digital India to succeed, access to mobile phones is not enough because of the significant differences that exist in usage of the mobile phone features. For instance, many people in rural India use only the voice call feature in their phones.

Value Proposition

It aims to bridge the digital divide, specifically targeting the rural population including the marginalized sections of society, Below Poverty Line (BPL), women and differently-abled persons and minorities. This project emphasis on implementation of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) programs & its reach to every door step at minimal cost, time & energy.

Mobile e-literacy education for all is a first of its kind of project to reach thousands of rural people. The project’s key approach involves developing skill trained teachers, enable access to Information and communication technology (ICT) education and related life skills at people’s door step through the concept of “Knowledge, Skills and Ability” (KSA). The goal of this project is rural development, productivity, empowerment & eradication of unemployment and poverty.

Our Projects:

Women Empowerment	Dharani Mahila credit Co-operative Sangham (DMCCS) – A micro credit assistance – Women Development Project
Skill Development	Dharani International Skills Training Centre (DISTC) – A commitment to e-literacy & e-learning education (Mobile & Formal) and a Computer Training & Development Centre
Livelihood	Dharani  Krishi  Vigyan  Kendra (DKVK) A micro credit assistance for Rural Farmers Development Bank
Capacity Building	Networking project under the title of “DHARANI Voluntary Networking Associations (DHAVNA)”, a state-wide networking to promote and develop sustainability of organizations

Objectives of the Project:

• To introduce early e-literacy learning to play school children’s of rural communities.
• To train children’s in the age-group of 6-14 years in computer typing , MS-Word, Paint, MS- Excel, Power Point, Internet knowledge.
• To train Youth and Adolescent girls in the age group of 14-18 years in MS Office package, DTP, accounts package and hardware training.
• Impart e-teachers training to 10+2 (Intermediate) / Graduates.
• To train Youth and Women in Communication Skills, Leadership development, Personality development, Spoken English and special courses like Fashion Designing, Web Designing, Multimedia courses etc. based on the need of the community assessment from time to time.
• To train & impart awareness session on importance of ICT & e-schemes to SHG women functionaries and community members in each village in Telangana State

Expected SROI (Social Return on Investment):

• It enables attendees (Children, Youth & SHG women) learn basic computer skills (training at Mandal headquarter) & Awareness among mass community members of respective villages about the programs at their doorstep.
• It will provide access to ICT tools and Internet facility to all rural people irrespective of age, gender & social status.
• It will provide access to allied knowledge, skills, vocational training programmes and communication skills at ease access. (Training at Mandal headquarter)
• It will provide access to various ICT applications such as e-learning, e-commerce etc.
• It will provide access to promote Information Management Center (IMC) at village level (create a village site), promote & enable documentation and resource sharing of indigenous knowledge information, use and applicability. The Taluqa level center shall facilitate need assessments, capacity building of the Mandal level to Government and Nationally.
• It will provide access to e-teacher training programmes within the Mandal level to maximize efficiency & impart Quality Education (SDG-4) to help them get employment locally within their jurisdiction

Implementation strategy/methodology:

Target Beneficiary Population & why they were chosen?

25 villages in Hayathnagar Mandal, Rangareddy District (formerly Hyderabad Rural), Telangana. The district headquarters is located at Shamshabad. Geographically, it occupies an area of approximately 7,500 square kilometres (2,900 sq mi).

Consecutively for the year 2015 & 2016, Rangareddy district was listed among the backward areas by the Ministry of Finance [Ref: Deccan Chronicle]. Another article published in Deccan Chronicle from July 2020 shows the plight of Government schools in Rural Telangana in imparting online classes amidst the Covid19 lockdown. In view of such instances & survey reports, we considered villages in Hayathnagar Mandal, Rangareddy district as our target beneficiary population.

Methodology:

Following main activities are undertaken through a concept to impart e-education at every doorstep:

• e-literacy play schools – Anganwadi centres. (below 6 years age group).
• Basic training courses for 6–14 years age group.
• Awareness campaigns for youth & special training programs for SHG  Women.
• e-literacy training programes for Youth & Adolescent Girls (14-18 years age group).
• e-Literacy teachers training programmes (18 + age groups).
• Job / Vocational / Skills training programmes.

Sustainability:

The e-Literacy project is designed to be self-sustainable over a period of 3-4 years. The project ensures that, after its capacity building, the beneficiary communities have the capacity to sustain it on their own. Particular attention will be put on beneficiary ownership as it remains a key element of sustainability. Local experts will receive adequate training and will be encouraged to share the acquired knowledge with their peers having not participated in the capacity building training sessions (train-the-trainer approach).

Board Members of the society: (w.e.f.01.07.2022)

Name	Designation
Mr. Atchula Muralidhar	Secretary & Chief Functionary
Mrs Baby Jyothi Sree. Y.	President
Mrs.T.L. Vara Lakshmi	Vice-President
Mr.K.S.L.V.S. Raju	Joint Secretary
Mr. V.Gurumurthy	Treasurer