Common Services Center partners with WhatsApp to deliver digital literacy services

Muniyappa said the government has made arrangements to directly deposit the amount into the beneficiaries’ accounts.Muniyappa said the government has made arrangements to directly deposit the amount into the beneficiaries’ accounts.

The Common Services Centers (CSC) on Thursday launched a WhatsApp chatbot for citizens to receive a range of digital literacy services and resources with an aim to bridge the digital divide and spur rural entrepreneurship.

People can send a 'Namaste' at CSC Academy’s official WhatsApp account [phone], to access details and course modules of flagship programs like the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) and the Digital Beti initiative in English, Hindi and seven other regional languages.

With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, education and skill development initiatives across the country have been disrupted and this partnership will serve the dual purpose of empowering rural communities by providing digital skills at their doorstep in addition to creating livelihood through promotion of rural entrepreneurship.

Speaking on the launch of CSC’s WhatsApp chatbot, CEO, CSC Dinesh Tyagi said, “ The ability to deliver digital literacy modules through WhatsApp will help us in extension of the programme to those still unreached in rural as well as urban areas. The partnership will redefine the delivery model of education and skill-related content, especially for rural India.”

To date, over 500 unique users have accessed CSC’s WhatsApp chatbot and it is expected to be used by 10 million beneficiaries by August 2021. The Digital Beti initiative aims to train 5,000 rural entrepreneurs on digital literacy in over 3,000 villages across 10 Indian states, while the PMGDisha initiative focuses on making at least 40% of rural households digitally literate.
Elaborating on the partnership, Head of Public Policy, WhatsApp India, Shivnath Thukral said,