Kerala - Pathanamthitta   

Pathanamthitta all set to launch e-literacy drive

Radhakrishnan Kuttoor

130 Akshaya centres to be opened

PATHANAMTHITTA: The Central Travancore district is all set to launch an e-literacy campaign as part of Akshaya, the Information and Computer Technology (ICT) project of the State Government in July. Three lakh families in the district will be benefited by the project.

The project will be launched by the IT Mission in association with the local bodies and FRIENDS (Fast, Reliable, Instant, Efficient Network for Disbursement of Services). The Science, Technology and Entrepreneurship Development (STED) Board attached to the Union Ministry of Science and Technology and the Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (C-DIT) are taking part in the project.

Talking to The Hindu, the District Planning Officer here K.P. Babu, who is also the district project co-ordinator, said the project would be implemented in two phases — e-literacy phase and product launch phase. He said 130 Akshaya centres would be established with the help of entrepreneurs in the 54 grama panchayats and three municipalities in the district.

The campaign aims at bridging the digital divide in society and removing the `fear of the unknown,' which the common people have about new technologies. One member of each family will be provided with basic functional e-literacy at Akshaya centres. The selection of the members will be made by the families. They will be given training in using the Internet, sending e-mails, chatting, browsing, etc.

There will be at least two Akshaya centres in each panchayat and seven in each municipality, Mr. Babu said.

The master trainer of the project, R. Ajithkumar, said each Akshaya centre would impart training to not fewer than 2,000 people in the district during the six-month-long programme.

Once the common people are introduced to the information technology, the Akshaya units will be attached to the FRIENDS centres, facilitating people-Government interface in the village itself, he said.

The Town Planning Department has already identified the locations for the Akshaya units in different parts of the district. The IT Mission has received over 500 applications from private entrepreneurs for establishing 130 Akshaya centres in the district. At least 3,500 computer professionals will get employment at these centres in the district, he said.

The Akshaya centres will also have the phone-in facility using web camera so that the customers can interact with their relatives using the Internet facility.

The local bodies will issue birth and death certificates, besides collecting bills, taxes, etc., through the Akshaya centres, Mr. Ajithkumar said.

The District Collector, Rabeendra Kumar Agarwal, is the chief co-ordinator of the project in the district, while N. Raveendran Pillai and P. Sangeetha are the assistant district co-ordinator and co-ordinator respectively.

The IT Mission has conducted awareness programmes for the panchayat presidents, members, NGOs, and other social organisations in the district as a prelude to the campaign.

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