Google, Tata Trusts roll out bicycles to teach internet to rural women

Target is to train about five lakh Indian women in next 18 months

Google India has joined hands with Tata Trusts, the charity arm of Tata Group to educate rural women about Internet by sending 1,000 specially designed bicycles equipped with internet devices into remote villages.

Each of these bicycles will be operated by “Internet Saathis” trained by Google and the target is to train about 500,000 Indian women in next 18 months as the internet mogul is terming the initiative a step towards the Digital India vision of the country.

“While women are making rapid progress on adoption of Internet in urban areas, women in rural areas are getting left behind. Today only 12 per cent of Internet users in rural India are women while in urban areas it is 50 per cent. We need to come together to address this challenge and empower women in rural India through trainings and programs that can truly transform their lives,” said Rajan Anandan, managing director of Google Southeast Asia and India at the launching ceremony.

The initiative will kick off from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Jharkhand and will be rolled out across the country eventually reaching out to over 4,500 villages and 500,000 women across rural India over the next eighteen months.

The Internet cart would be available in a village for a minimum of two days every week for over a period of four to six months.Once the cart has completed the training in a cluster of three villages, it will be moved to the adjoining cluster for completion of a similar cycle.

Google had launched similar program last year in several villages through a tricycle cart modelled after icecream carts. However, since it faced difficulties in terms of steering the heavily loaded cart and maintaining it, it changed the cart into bicycle and has teamed up with Tata Trusts, which will manage the on ground rollout with its partners whereas Google will invest in providing bicycles and training content.

Tata Trusts chairman Ratan Tata said it is a privilege to associate with Google.

“In addition to access, the Internet has brought dignity and self respect to poor people. I am delighted that the Prime Minister of India is putting on that India needs to digitised. Google as a company has digitized the world and it’s a privilege to work with them towards bringing women online,” he said at the launching program.

Photograph, courtesy: Business Standard