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Kerala keen to bridge the digital divide

D Jose in Thiruvananthapuram

Keralites, who burnt computers a couple of decades ago saying it would cut jobs, are gearing to tune their fingers to the mouse.

'Akshaya: Bridging the Digital Divide Campaign' that President A P J Abdul Kalam will launch here on November 18 may not take computers to every household in the state, but it would strive to make at least one member in every household e-literate.

Kerala Information Technology Mission that would implement the ambitious programme claims that it would make Kerala the first state in the country to achieve 100 per cent e-literacy.

"If the state can achieve this distinction in literary way back in 80s, 100 per cent e-literary is not a difficult task.

Kerala has all the basic prerequisites to become a knowledge society. People have the basic literacy to adopt computer knowledge. They are fast in learning", said Rajiv Vasudevan, chief executive of the Technopark at Thiruvananthapuram.

"IT in India is confined to the corporate sector. The common people can get the benefit of the information revolution only if they are not made computer literate. The major task in India is not providing physical access alone, but removing the inhibitions in adopting the new technology. The Akshaya programme will go a long way in taking IT to the grassroots", he said.

"There has always been a gap between those people and communities who can make effective use of IT and those who cannot. People without access to the new technology are increasingly being excluded from education, healthcare, good governance and the means to improve their own livelihoods. The Akshaya programme is aimed at bridging this gap", said Kerala IT secretary Aruna Sundrarajan.

She told the rediff.com that the programme would help in developing skill to use computers and unleashing local entrepreneur ability.

She said that the programme was in tune with the government's policy to improve governance and delivery of essential services to citizens, particularly the disadvantaged sections of the society.

"The rapid diffusion of Internet and communication technology to all sections of the Kerala society is fundamental for this new growth strategy. There is an increasing expectation in Kerala, on the prospect of ICT as a growth engine for the region's economic development. This would require a planned intervention in terms of bridging the digital divide in the state as a foundation for a knowledge economy", the IT secretary said.

She said that the project would address the issues on digital divide in the State in an integrated and holistic way. The programme would ensure access to all sections of the people through multi-purpose community technology centres.

About 9,000 centres being set up throughout the state would provide minimum skill to all the people to use IT besides creating relevant local contents to benefit all the interest groups.

Aruna Sundrarajan said that the project would also result in generating massive economic growth, creation of direct employment opportunities and would have a long-standing impact on the socio-political economy of the state.

The multi-purpose community technology centres (Akshaya Centres) set up through private sector initiatives will initially act as the training centres for the IT Literacy campaign, but later would continue to be the IT dissemination nodes and service delivery points for the local population.

"Each Centre will have a catchment of about 600 - 750 households. As the locations of these centres are strategically planned and spatially distributed to cater to the people in all parts of the state and are connected through the internet, they will form a powerful network to guide and support the e-governance initiatives, communication advancements, e-commerce and information dissemination", the IT secretary said.

The focus in training will be functional literacy enabling the trainees to use the computers without fear for common uses in sending e-mails, watching CDs, searching for information from the Internet, etc.

The training module designed in local language is for 15 hours for each person.

The programme to be implemented in association with local bodies and voluntary agencies would lead to increase in the number of Internet users from the present 0.5 per cent to 20 per cent.

An increase up to even 5 per cent will necessitate about 3,00,000 computers and its accessories. This will involve a business of about Rs 10, 000 million and will benefit all sectors of IT industry.

The project will be implemented in two phases. In the first phase, the pilot project will be taken up in Malappuram and Thiruvananthapuram districts.

In Malappuram, the preliminary works are already completed and the project will be taken up from January 2003 to May 2003.

In Thiruvananthapuram district, the preliminary works have been initiated. The entire State will be covered in the 2nd phase from November 2003 to May 2004.

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