Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have accelerated economic growth and propelled a wave of engagements that have touched human lives; changing the way communities interact, increasing opportunities for livelihood and crossing the barriers of inequitable growth. ICTs have taken up such pre-eminence in our everyday lives, that we now have access to a bank of knowledge & services at our fingertips. As a result, people in tune with ICTs are no longer isolated and are part of the fast changing global platform. However, there are still millions who are yet to gain access to the ICT platforms for knowledge and opportunities.
On August 22, 2012 at a forum in New Delhi Honourable Minister of State for Communications and IT, Shri Sachin Pilot, launched the National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM), bringing together several ecosystem players like Intel, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, & NIIT, with the common goal of increasing Digital Literacy in the country.
Mumbai First, NASSCOM Foundation and Pratham InfoTech Foundation (PIF) have come together in partnership to take this mission ahead in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
The goal of the project is to set up National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM) centres in MMR region in partnership with Deutsche Bank to make approx.800 people per centre per year digitally literate. Each NDLM (Community Information and Training centre) centre will be housed in a unique community, and the objective is to impart digital literacy to at least one member per household in the community.
The program aims to expose people to various digital tools and technologies and sensitize them about its applicability in day to day lives. Assuming approximately 1600-2000 households per community, this amounts to digital literacy for at least 16000-20000 households across 100 communities in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
