Over 100-year-olds Adopt Digital Era in State

The 103 -year -old Karunakara Panicker, who is not far away, sits with his 74 -year -old son Rajan. Once hesitated to touch a touch screen, the duo now watch the news on your mobile phones and stay up to date through WhatsApp groups.

Social media for 64 -year -old Padmini is a new name. “I’ve always scolded my daughter for being on the phone before. Now it makes me angry because I’m doing the same thing,” he laughs.

Ma Abdullah Maulavi Bafaqi approaches 105, digitalizes, and shares the joy of being a digital literacy on his phone at his house in Odabavoor in Perumbavoor. Until recently, Abdullah’s telephone information has never gone beyond calling in the small Nokia handset. This changed when the government’s Digikerala volunteers reached him. During the months, his digital dream became reality and Youtube is now his favorite entertainment.

Until recently, they were all digital illiterate. Today, it is among the 21.87 Lakh Keralites trained under the ‘Digi Kerala’ program of the LSG department, which is an ambitious success that will be officially declared on August 21st.

The story began in 2022 in Pulambapara, a calm gram of Panchayat near Thiruvananthapuram. During the Covid locking, old women under the Mgnreg program were at risk and spending money only to check their bank accounts. At that time, the Deputy Director of Rural Development, the region of women’s welfare officer Sajina Sathar proposed a simple but radical idea.

“During the locking, women put their health at risk and only spent money to control bank loans. I thought they could control a bank balance on a smartphone, life will be easier. We prepared a basic digital literacy report for Panchayat and was born like this.” He said.

The thing that started as a small pilot to make each house in Pullippara’s digital literacy, soon made a snowball as a ‘Digi Kerala’, a state -wide task that led by the Local Specialization Department (LSGD). The project rapidly expanded from basic skills such as calling, WhatsApp messaging and online banking to use e-management portals.

After India was first declared Panchayat in India, the state government decided to take the model throughout the state. In only 18 months, Kerala trained more than 21.88 Lakh’s digitally illiterate citizens. A mammoth survey covering 83.45 Lakh households has successfully completed the training and passed the evaluation tests.

Speaking with the moment, LSG Minister MB Rajesh said, “If the pulley can do this, why not all the time? Initially we targeted citizens under 65 years, but finally more than 15,000 new literate participants provided digital literacy for the whole of Kerala. This success has become a knowledge -based economy.”

The power behind this success was a powerful volunteer army that teaching Kudumbashree members, NSS and NCC students, the mission of literacy, library activists and youth organizations, in homes, libraries, mgnregs hearing and neighboring groups to digital foundations.

Training modules include smartphone use, WhatsApp communication, internet banking, access to e-management services and secure digital applications. While offline sessions were provided in poorly connected areas, third -party assessments by the Statistics Department provided accuracy and reliability. Attentionally, more than 15,000 students were over 90 years of age and proved that Kerala’s digital revolution did not leave anyone behind.

Training took place in homes, libraries, mgnads construction site, Kudumbashree groups and even in the neighborhood corners. The evaluation showed 99.98 percent success by the Statistics Department with third -party verification.

LSGD Chief Director Geromic George IAS, the state is already planning the Digi Kerala Phase II, he said. “Our next step is to digitize the identity documents of every citizen, such as Aadhaar and to raise awareness against cyber fraud, especially the safe use of the UPI and payment network passages.

What makes this success history is his inclusiveness. Kerala was not just to create digital natives among young people; He strengthened his elderly, women and workers – they often left the technology speech. Sarasu, Karunarakara Panicker, Padmini, and the journey of millions of people, from being digital illiterate to digital citizens, tells the story that covers the digital division of a society.

What begins as a simple idea in a village is now a model for India, a society in which even centuries are digitally affiliated. On August 21, Prime Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will officially declare Kerala as the first digital literate state in India.