National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM) in India

(S. NAGARAJU, Librarian, Auroras scientific technological & research academy, Bandlaguda, Hyderabad

Dr. S. YADAGIRI, I/C, University Librarian, Osmania University, Hyderabad)

Abstract: Today, with most correspondence happening through E- Mail, and the comfort of

making payments and settling bills or booking movie tickets from home, internet chatting using

messenger, Digital Literacy proves not just as advantage but is slowly becoming a necessity for

everyone. DLM will be an ecosystem of digital literacy awareness, education and training that

will help India take a lead in the global digital economy and help us maintain the

competitiveness and also shape a technologically empowered society. DLM is an effort to extend

(National Optical Fiber Network) NOFN objectives to empower rural citizens by making them

digitally literate.

Digital literacy Introduction:

Given how quickly and frequently our media world is evolving, developing and maintaining

one’s digital literacy is a lifelong process. The specific skills that are needed will vary from

person to person depending on their needs and circumstances – which can range from basic

awareness and training to more sophisticated and complex applications.

In general, digital literacy means the ability to locate, evaluate, and use digital information. The

digitally literate can efficiently find the information they seek, evaluate that information, and use

that information effectively. The ability to recognize what information is needed and when to use

it are additional components of digital literacy. Digital literacy also includes the ability to

effectively use a range of technologies (e.g., computers, mobile devices) and Internet-enabled

services (e.g., Blogs,Twitter, Facebook, YouTube). These different components of digital

literacy are of equal significance. Without access, people cannot develop digital literacy; without

digital literacy, they cannot gain maximum benefit from online resources.(ALA)

Competencies for digital literacy can be classified according to three main principles: Use,

Understand and Create.

Use represents the technical fluency that’s needed to engage with computers and the Internet.

Skills and competencies that fall under “use” range from basic technical know-how --  using

computer programs such as word processors, web browsers, email, and other communication

tools -- to the more sophisticated abilities for accessing and using knowledge resources, such as

search engines and online databases, and emerging technologies such as cloud computing.

Understand is that critical piece – it’s the set of skills that help us comprehend, contextualize,

and critically evaluate digital media, so that we can make informed decisions about what we do

and encounter online. These are the essential skills that we need to start teaching our kids as soon

as they go online. Understand includes recognizing how networked technology affects our

behavior and our perceptions, beliefs and feelings about the world around us. Understand also

prepares us for a knowledge economy as we develop – individually and collectively –

information management skills for finding, evaluating and effectively using information to

communicate, collaborate and solve problems.

Create is the ability to produce content and effectively communicate through a variety of digital

media tools. Creation with digital media is more than knowing how to use a word processor or

write an email: it includes being able to adapt what we produce for various contexts and

audiences; to create and communicate using rich media such as images, video and sound; and to

effectively and responsibly engage with Web 2.0 user-generated content such as blogs and

discussion forums, video and photo sharing, social gaming and other forms of social media.

Digital Literacy Mission components:

The components of DLM are media literacy, technology literacy, information literacy, visual

literacy, communication literacy and social literacy.

Media literacy: With its expanded notion of ‘text’ that includes images, audio and digital media,

media literacy is closely associated with digital literacy. Media literacy reflects our ability to

access, analyze, evaluate and produce media through understanding and appreciation.

Technology literacy: Proficiency with technology is most often associated with digital

literacy. This ranges from basic computer skills to more complex tasks like editing a digital film

or writing computer code.

Information literacy:This is another important aspect of being digitally literate that includes the

ability to assess what information is needed, to know how to find it online and how to critically

evaluate and apply it. Originally developed for library use, this literacy translates well into the

digital domain where, in a sea of unfiltered online information, knowing how to think critically

about sources and content is essential.

Visual literacy:At its most basic, visual literacy reflects our ability to understand and produce

visual messages, whether through objects, actions or symbols. Visual literacy is essential to both

learning and communication in modern society.

Communication literacy:These competencies form the foundation for thinking, organizing and

connecting with others in a networked society. In particular, today’s youth need not only to

understand how to integrate knowledge from multiple sources such as music, video, online

databases, and other media[6]; they also need to know how to use multiple sources to disseminate

and share knowledge.

Social literacy:Social competencies are also needed for full participation in digital society, which

media scholar Henry Jenkins describes as a “participatory culture” that is developed through

collaboration and networking.

Digital Literacy Mission in India:

In order to provide urban amenities in rural areas for coherent knowledge and resources

distribution across the country , three types of connectivity have been envisioned by the past

President of India A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. These are physical connectivity by providing roads in

rural areas, electronic connectivity by providing reliable communication network and knowledge

connectivity by establishing more professional institutions and vocational training centers. While

National Informatics Centers (NIC) which essentially facilitates e-governance, Village

Knowledge Centers (VKC), e-Chaupals (www.echoupals.com) , ect are some of the information

centers which deliver programmes to the common citizens useful for their livelihood. These

initiatives also deliver information literacy training to the users of information kiosks, where

learners know how to use information resources available within the respective initiative’s

portal, intranet and Internet, and how this information can be used in solving the problems of

individuals in their vocational (e.g. agricultural know how), personal (e.g. getting a certificate)

and social (e.g. sanitation) life.

The vision of Digital Literacy Mission (DLM) is to create multi-stakeholder, consortium and

work with government and their various schemes and agendas to showcase in some of those

panchayats constituencies that how making them digitally literate can change the scenario of

governance, empowerment, social inclusion, educational approach and employment.

In India, government institutions share the major responsibility for spreading general literacy

programmes like “Sharva Shiksha Aviyan (SSA)”. Basic literacy through SSA is the primary

requirement for creating a digitally literate nation. This is especially applicable for the poor

people. Along with GOI initiatives, many Non Governmental Organisations (NGO) have taken

up programmes for spreading general as well as digital literacy.

Digital Literacy Mission (DLM) aims to progressively remove digital divide in India by

spreading general as well as computer literacy using Information & Communication Technology

(ICT). The DLM is a Technology Driven Social Entrepreneurship Programme.

The National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM):

National Digital Literacy Mission Programme is a dynamic and integrated platform of digital

literacy awareness, education and capacity programmes that will help rural communities to take

lead in the global digital economy and help them in maintaining the competitiveness and also

shape a technologically empowered society. NDLM is an effort to complement the objectives of

National Optic Fibre Netowrk (NOFN) plan to transform one from each household as digitally

literate. Under NDLM, we pledge to work with multi-stakeholder to Digitally Literate at least

One adult from each of 147 million rural household of India.

As per the NSSO Level and Pattern of Consumer Expenditure Report 2011, only 3.5 households

in 1000 rural households in rural India had internet connectivity at home in 2009-2010. And

there are close to 90,000 rural info kiosks (Common Service Centres, Community Information

Resource Centres and others) in India, and around 5452 CSCs are located in the state. However,

these kiosks lack internet connectivity and services to delivery at people’s doorsteps. To make

India digitally literate, it is important 3.5 million people to be digitally literate.

For this purpose, the Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF) has established Bharat

Broadband Network Ltd. (BBNL) to roll out the National Optical Fiber Network (NOFN) plan.

BBNL will lay out the optic fiber cable terminating in each of the 250,000 gram panchayats in

the country, providing 100 MBPs link to be used as information highway to be utilized diversely

by all kind of stakeholders to ensure that digital inclusion has reached in all villages across the

country. For this, BBNL has identified three pilot blocks – Arain (Rajasthan); Naogang (North

Tripura) and Pravada (Visakhapatnam) where the fiber connectivity would be reached and the

same would be available for usage free for a month and later on do costing of the project.

The initiative, part of the National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM), complements the

government's efforts in making at least one person per household, e-literate.

In our country with more than 6,50,000 villages, where more than half of its population live in

rural areas and off-the-map villages. Most are remote and too isolated to benefit from the

country’s impressive economic progress. Yet there’s a growing desire among people in rural

India to be part of its modernization process. But, the last-mile delivery has always been a

challenge for India. Increasingly the government with the support of NGOs is looking at better

ways to reach remote, rural India.

With a hope and desire to light up the rural communities and to complement the objectives of

NOFN plan, Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) supported by with Intel Corporation as a

part of the National Digital Literacy Mission has launched Follow the Fiber Programme (FtF) to

help rural communities conquer this challenge of digital illiteracy.

The National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM) is an industry initiative led by Intel that aims to

increase digital literacy in India, showcase the impact of technology on livelihood, and drive the

Government and industry to accelerate the adoption of technology.

The NDLM was launched at Digital Literacy – Keeping India Ahead in the Information Age, a

conclave held in New Delhi on August 22, 2012, which brought together representatives from

government, industry and the media to deliberate upon and support the Government of India’s

vision of making one person in each household in the country digitally literate by 2020. Mr

Sachin Pilot, Hon’ble Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology,

Government of India, was present at the launch of this unique initiative, which was jointly

organised by Hindustan Times and Intel, and supported by NASSCOM.

With the common goal of increasing Digital Literacy in the country, NASSCOM Foundation

along with Google, Intel organized a week long volunteering initiative called Digital Literacy

Week observed from 9th – 13th December, 2013. The event was organized at 9 locations in pan

India spanning from New Delhi – NCR region, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune,

Puducherry, Kolkata & Lucknow. The main objective of the event to mobilize employees of

various IT companies to volunteer & teach / train people in basic digital literacy from under

developed communities across these locations.

421 volunteers participated from companies like Acer, Google, IBM, Intel, Dell, Ericsson, HP,

Lenovo, Microsoft, NIIT, RBS, Wipro, Randstad and TE.These volunteers took time out of their

busy schedules make out time to deliver a 3 hour session to urban people who are not digitally

literate. NASSCOM Foundation organized about 50 training venues where participants from

respective local communities were trained on basic Digital Literacy with the aim of:

To empower rural communities with capacity building & training programmes and make

them digitally literate

To facilitate deployment of rural citizen services through digital means

To create a digital data house at every rural community level to make them economically

viable

To generate social, cultural and economic advantages for rural communities with two

information and content gateway

Conclusion:

In order to be literate in today’s media-rich environments, young people need to develop

knowledge, values and a whole range of critical thinking, communication and information

management skills for the digital age. As increasing numbers of businesses, services and even

democratic processes migrate online, citizens who lack digital literacy skills risk being

disadvantaged when it comes to accessing healthcare and government services and opportunities

for employment, education and civic participation. The challenge for India, it was felt, lay in

unleashing the power of technology to connect, and transform the lives of her citizens and

employing digital literacy as a tool for inclusion..

References:

1. S.B. Ghosh and A.K. Das, Information literacy initiatives in India with special reference to emerging knowledge economy, Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Literacy (ICIL 2006), June 14-15, 2006; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Hosted by Faculty of Information Management, Universitiy Technology MARA with the Librarians Association of Malaysia.

2. Digital Literacy Mission (DLM), https://sites.google.com/site/dlmindia11/3. Active Citizens, http://activecitizens.britishcouncil.org/ 4. Digital Literacy mission, An e-hope, Dr. Mita Tarafder1*, Ms. Pankhuri Sinha1 and Ms. Rini

Tarafder, 5. India Literacy Projects, http://www.ilpnet.org/6. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Address to the nation by the President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

on the eve of 56th Republic Day [Online], www.presidentofindia.nic.in7. Digital Literacy Mission (DLM), https://sites.google.com/site/dlmindia11/