Kerala ranks number one in digital literacy; CM to announce on August 21

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala has become the first fully digitally literate state in the country. The official announcement of this achievement, following the successful completion of the “Digi Kerala – Complete Digital Literacy Project,” will be made by the Chief Minister in Thiruvananthapuram on August 21.

Digital literacy was achieved after ensuring that everyone between the ages of 14 and 65 could use smartphones, make digital payments, and access government services online. This success is the result of four years of effort starting in 2022.

A total of 2,57,000 volunteers took part in this project, including Kudumbashree and Literacy Mission workers, SC/ST promoters, MGNREGA workers, NSS, NCC, and NYKS volunteers, Library Council members, IEEE, Youth Welfare Board members, voluntary organizations, and students. The project began in Pullampara, Thiruvananthapuram- the first panchayat in the country to be declared fully digitally literate- and was later expanded statewide under the name “Digi Kerala.”

Digi Kerala – Three Phases

The project was carried out in three stages:

1. Data Collection – A survey to identify people without digital knowledge.

2. Training – Simple training modules to teach smartphone use, internet browsing, and accessing government services online.

3. Evaluation – Assessing the digital literacy of those who completed the training.

Digital Literacy means:

The ability to use smartphones, browse the internet, access online government services, use mobile apps and web portals, and carry out digital transactions.

Kerala’s achievements:

• 99.98% of people aged 14–65 are now digitally literate.
• Out of 1034 local bodies, 1005 achieved full digital literacy through “Digi Kerala” and 29 through other projects.
• Out of 1,50,82,536 people under the age of 65 in 83,45,879 families, 21,88,398 were found to lack digital literacy — all of them were trained.
• The Department of Economics and Statistics confirmed full digital literacy through evaluation.
• A total of 2,57,000 volunteers provided digital literacy training under the Digi Kerala project.