How the Digital Bus initiative has empowered young adults in remote areas of the country

How the Digital Bus initiative has empowered young adults in remote areas of the country

A four-person team who provide hands-on training and a curated programme in digital and financial literacy, IT skills, and entrepreneurship to around 48,700 young adults and kids across villages in India: this is the Digital Bus initiative, a joint venture between the National Digital India Mission and the NIIT Foundation. Begun in 2017, the programme aims not just to take technology to remote areas but also to foster innovation and offer new opportunities and ensure that every community was able to thrive in the digital age.

Explaining the reason for launching this programme, Sapna Moudgil, CEO, NIIT Foundation, points out that, despite the availability of several schemes and initiatives to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural populations, the lack of awareness of and limited access to resources posed a challenge. Additionally, the constraints placed on women and girls further widened the gap. Thus was born the Digital Bus. These solar-powered, 5G-enabled buses are fully furnished classrooms with computers, Internet, and camera/video capabilities, with preinstalled e-courses, all available free of cost. These courses focus on fundamental functions like using e-mail, the Internet, and applications like MS Office. “While our programme ensures improving digital literacy for all, we aim to focus on women and girls,” says Moudgil. “We also deliver programmes like Financial Literacy and Cyber Security. The programmes align with the NEP 2020 and aim to provide a practical, hands-on approach that allows beneficiaries to develop critical thinking in real-life situations.”

The Digital Bus also offers a career programme to help the beneficiary look for a job in the nearest city of town. Moudgil emphasises that the foundation encourages equal participation from girls and boys. “Through this programme, we have also witnessed a drastic change in the way digital literacy is perceived,” she says, adding that, apart from fundamental functions like browsing the Internet and using emails, students have begun to secure jobs that require digital skills or even manage existing businesses.

An example of this is 19-year-old Mahek Malviya from Bhopal. The B.Com. Taxation student enrolled in the one-month Digital Awareness programme to expand her horizons and found a job as a tele-caller in HDFC Bank’s credit card department. The course, she says, helped enhance her digital skills and hold her position in the bank.

The initiative has so far impacted over three lakh beneficiaries, spread across several states including Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra. With 12 Digital Buses actively operating currently, we aim to add another 8 buses over the next 3 months to reach out to more disadvantages places in India,” says Sapna.