Continuing its digital literacy initiative aimed at empowering women in rural India, Google India and Tata Trusts announced the expansion of its ‘Internet Saathi’ program in the state of Tamil Nadu.
Google India and the Tamil Nadu government also announced other initiatives to support the digitisation efforts in the state. Google India will facilitate the provision of Google Cloud credits and access through its affiliate for eligible startups engaged with the government’s startup initiative. Google India will also, through its Developer Relations team, provide technical mentorship and advisory support to various startups.
Other initiatives as part of the announcement include: working together to make all government sites mobile friendly, introduce joint programs to help local small and medium businesses get online, and internet safety education for children to stay safe online.
Launched as a pilot in Rajasthan in July 2015 along with Tata Trusts, Google had announced the ambitious plans to scale the Internet Saathi program, to cover 300,000 villages across India in December 2015. In Tamil Nadu, the program has already started to roll out and will be covering over 4000 villages across 6 districts.
