erala becomes first state in India to achieve complete digital literacy, says CM Vijayan

Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala has become the first state in the country to achieve complete digital literacy, according to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

At a grand function held at the Central Stadium here on Thursday, the CM said it was a major achievement that would make every person in Kerala proud, considering that in India only 38 per cent of families have digital literacy.

More than 2.5 lakh volunteers worked tirelessly to help Kerala reach this milestone, which was completed in three stages.

Although initially people aged between 14 and 65 were considered for training, later people of all age groups were included after many expressed interest in joining the learning programme, he said.

One of the highlights was 104-year-old Abdullah Moulavi from Ernakulam district, who became the oldest person in the state to attain digital literacy. The Kerala chief minister spoke with him via video call during the inauguration.

"We were the first to achieve complete literacy and now we are the first to achieve complete digital literacy. We attained complete literacy in April 1991, and the LDF was in power then. As we achieve this feat again, the LDF is in power once more," Vijayan said, adding that such achievements were possible only through the collective effort of the people of the state.

He said Pullampara Panchayat in Thiruvananthapuram was the first to achieve complete digital literacy status and had shown the way for Kerala to follow in its footsteps and achieve state-wide digital literacy.

"Kerala has created another history by becoming the first state in India – and one of the very few in the world – to achieve complete digital literacy. A proud milestone that marks a giant leap in our journey of progress and people's empowerment," Vijayan said in a post on 'X' after the declaration.

In his speech, the CM stressed that gaining digital literacy alone was not enough, adding that access to high-speed internet was also essential to make full use of it.

He recalled that Kerala was the first state to make internet access a legal right and said that the K-Fone project is now providing cost-effective, high-speed internet connections.

The state believes in equal opportunity for all without discrimination, he said, pointing out that even remote tribal hamlets such as Edamalakudi were included in the digital literacy programme.

Vijayan also announced that the second phase of the project would be launched soon, under which all personal documents of the people of Kerala would be made available in DigiLockers, enabling them to access everything online.

He added that Kerala would be the first state to take such an initiative.

"Achieving digital literacy was a challenging task. A survey was conducted among 83 lakh people, and more than 29 lakh were identified as non-digital literates," the CM said.

He added that once the age restriction was lifted, 1,39,668 people between the ages of 75 and 90 were included in the programme.

He also praised the young volunteers who helped others in this initiative, describing it as a shining example of the social commitment of Kerala’s youth.

The CM further said that government administration was also promoting digital services through smart apps, with around 9,000 government services already made available online, in addition to the K-Smart services of the local self-governments.

Local Administration Minister M B Rajesh said that through the coordinated efforts of all, Kerala had achieved complete digital literacy, something once thought unattainable.

He said the project, launched in 2022, was completed within the scheduled time, with 99.99 per cent of people trained passing the final evaluation.