Scheme Primer
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ngo-practitioners
PM Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan — Making Rural India Digitally Literate
Last verified: May 2026 · 5 min read · JaBaSu Knowledge Commons
At a Glance
| Parameter |
Detail |
| Full Name |
Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) |
| Launched |
February 2017 |
| Nodal Ministry |
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) |
| Implementing Agency |
CSC e-Governance Services India Limited (CSC SPV) |
| Status |
Active — continued; Phase II and Jan Sahyog extensions ongoing |
| Target (original) |
6 crore rural households made digitally literate |
| Achievement |
6 crore+ trained and certified (original target met) |
| Continued under |
Jan Sahyog — Digital Literacy extension through CSC network |
| Course duration |
20 hours minimum (flexible delivery — 5 days to 3 weeks) |
| Certification |
National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM) certificate |
| Cost to beneficiary |
Free |
| Official portal |
pmgdisha.in |
| Training delivery |
CSCs (Common Service Centres) and empanelled training partners |
What Is It?
Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan is India's rural digital literacy programme — designed to train at least one member of every rural household in basic digital skills so they can navigate the digital services, DBT systems, and government portals that increasingly govern access to welfare benefits.
The programme matters enormously for NGOs working in Odisha's tribal and rural communities because the entire government scheme architecture — PMJDY bank accounts, DBT transfers, PMJJBY and PMSBY insurance, Subhadra Yojana eKYC, PMFBY crop insurance registration, PM POSHAN SMDC monitoring, JJM Jal Jeevan app, the MPAS millet procurement app, the Awaas+ PMAY survey app, and dozens more — requires a digitally functional citizen to access. A person who cannot use a smartphone, cannot enter a password, and cannot recognise a QR code is effectively excluded from the entire digital welfare architecture.
PMGDISHA provides a 20-hour training covering exactly these foundational skills — not programming or advanced computing, but the practical digital literacy needed to navigate the government-citizen interface in 2025.
What the Training Covers
The 20-hour PMGDISHA curriculum covers:
Module 1 — Introduction to Digital Devices
Understanding smartphones, tablets, and computers. Basic navigation. On/off, keyboard, touch screen. Charging and maintenance.
Module 2 — Internet and World Wide Web
What the internet is. How to connect (WiFi, mobile data). How to open a browser. How to search on Google. Understanding URLs. Email basics.
Module 3 — Government Services Online
Accessing government portals: DigiLocker, UMANG, e-Aadhaar download, MyGov. Finding and using myscheme.gov.in. Accessing scholarship portals. Checking Aadhaar status.
Module 4 — Financial Literacy and Digital Payments
UPI (Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm). Bank account management online. DBT status checking. How to check PMJDY balance. How to use BHIM app.
Module 5 — Digital Security
Recognising scams and fraud. PIN safety. Password management. OTP (One-Time Password) — what it is, why not to share it.
What NGOs Need to Know — the Practical Reality
1
6 crore national achievement ≠ rural Odisha digital literacy. The national target was met — but the distribution is uneven. Odisha's tribal districts show some of the lowest digital literacy rates in the country. The women who need to complete Subhadra Yojana eKYC, the farmer who needs to register on MPAS, and the mother who needs to track her MAMATA installment — these are the specific people PMGDISHA should reach, and many have not.
2
CSC access in remote tribal areas is the bottleneck. PMGDISHA training is delivered through CSCs (Common Service Centres) — but CSC density in Odisha's tribal blocks is insufficient. Many eligible beneficiaries live more than 10 km from the nearest functional CSC. NGOs with community presence can work as satellite training points through the CSC SPV's empanelled training partner pathway.
3
The certificate matters for scholarship and government applications. The NDLM certificate issued after PMGDISHA training is increasingly recognised as a digital literacy credential for scholarship applications, government employment documents, and SHG registration processes. Training beneficiaries to apply for and download their NDLM certificate is as important as the training itself.
4
Digital financial fraud is a specific risk for newly-literate users. Tribal communities newly introduced to smartphone banking are among the most targeted by fraud — OTP phishing, fake government scheme calls, UPI scams. The digital security module of PMGDISHA is the most important module for these communities, and it is often rushed or skipped in 5-day delivery models. NGOs facilitating PMGDISHA should specifically ensure the security module is delivered fully.
5
The PMGDISHA certificate is the gateway to the Jan Sahyog programme. Jan Sahyog — the continuation programme for PMGDISHA — enables certified digital literacy graduates to become community digital assistants (Sahyog Mitr) who help others access government services digitally. This is the highest-value outcome of PMGDISHA: creating a community-level digital helper infrastructure that persists after the training programme ends.
How JaBaSu Helps NGOs Connect Their Communities
CSC partnership facilitation
JaBaSu helps partner NGOs register as empanelled PMGDISHA training partners through the CSC SPV — enabling them to deliver training in remote areas outside the normal CSC coverage footprint.
Digital literacy + JAM chain linkage
JaBaSu integrates PMGDISHA training with bank account Aadhaar linking, PMJDY account activation, PMJJBY/PMSBY enrolment, and eKYC completion — making the 20 hours of digital literacy immediately functional for accessing welfare benefits.
Jan Sahyog Sahyog Mitr pathway
JaBaSu facilitates the selection and training of Jan Sahyog Sahyog Mitrs from PMGDISHA-trained communities — creating a sustainable digital literacy support infrastructure.