Digital drive boosts SC/ST inclusion via CSCs, PMGDISHA, and BharatNet

The Government of India launched a project to set up Common Services Centres (CSCs) to provide citizen-centric services.

Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) are empowered to set up CSCs.

As of date, a total of 2.92 Lakh CSCs have been set up in the Scheduled Caste (SC) / Scheduled Tribe (ST) dominated areas. Further, approximately 10 per cent CSCs in these SC/ST dominated areas are being managed by women, according to a release Ministry of Electronics and IT.

The government launched the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) in 2017 to promote digital literacy. Against the target of training 6 crore individuals, a total of 6.39 crore individuals were trained across the country.

It was ensured that marginalized sections of society such as Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) were specifically covered under the scheme. More than 1.17 crore individuals belonging to the ST community, over 56 Lakh people from the ST community, and more than 2.55 crore individuals from the OBC community were trained.

Under the Skill India Programme, more than 2.29 Lakh individuals belonging to the OBC community, over 89,000 SC candidates, and more than 38,000 ST candidates have been trained.