Nidhi Bhasin, CEO, Nasscom Foundation, is of the firm belief that India is on the cusp of an unprecedented transition and technology has the power to accelerate this change in an equitable and sustainable manner. Nasscom Foundation, which is part of the Nasscom ecosystem, aspires to impact over 100 million lives through its various programmes by 2026. “Our initiatives are designed to take technology to the last mile, empowering communities and bridging the digital divide. From digital literacy and skilling and employability to promoting women entrepreneurship, we are committed to using technology for social good,” said Bhasin.
The non-profit agency has been working towards taking digital literacy to the last mile. “While our journey started from urban to rural last year, we have now ventured into tier II and III cities and rural areas. We have recently launched a digital literacy and e-governance programme across the aspirational districts of India and have already covered 47 districts across 20 states. The ideology behind this initiative is to make people digitally literate and help them access government schemes,” said Bhasin.
To strengthen the government’s Aspirational Districts Programme, Nasscom Foundation launched its Aspirational Districts Programme in December 2022. The core objectives are twofold. First, to achieve a digitally empowered society by prioritising digital literacy. Second, to bridge the skilling gap at the grassroots level.
Bhasin said that under the first ambit, the focus was to empower local marginalised communities with digital tools to enhance their knowledge, bridging information gaps, livelihood creation and ease access to welfare to ensure overall wellbeing.
“We have identified 55 districts across 23 states to set up digital resource centres. These resource centres are equipped with digital assets to promote digital literacy and build awareness around appropriate government schemes and e-governance services. Around 47 digital resource centres have already been established and operational in 47 aspirational districts across 20 states,” she informed.
On the other hand, through the skill-building initiative, Nasscom Foundation aims to empower India’s young minds with future-ready skill sets. With a specific emphasis on tier II & tier III cities and rural areas, young students have been trained in advanced technical courses and soft skills to enhance their employability skills. Apart from this, these students are also being provided with job placement assistance.
Nasscom Foundation’s Women Entrepreneurship Programme has helped over 1,00,000 women to leverage YouTube, Pinterest, WhatsApp Business and other social media platforms in promoting their products and accessing relevant government schemes, and reaching out to a wider audience.
Women Wizards Rule Tech (W2RT) is another programme which seeks to provide opportunities for women to advance in the tech industry, regardless of their domain expertise, aligning with India’s digital skilling mission. It focuses on building tech capabilities in emerging technologies, such as Big Data analytics, AI, RPA, cybersecurity, blockchain, IoT, and cloud computing through a holistic learning experience comprising tech webinars, Gurukul sessions, corporate skilling sessions, and deep mentoring sessions.
