Dell empowers 2 mn Indians in digital skills, to expand further

New Delhi : Dell Technologies on Tuesday announced that it has met its target of positively impacting two million beneficiaries in India through the Mobile Solar Community Hubs launched last year and is set to expand the programme further.

These mobile hubs are technology-enabled and equipped with requisite devices, including laptops, television screens for broadcasting messages, solar panels to power devices, 4G internet hotspot facility and self-paced learning content, to help the community access online services.

"Partnering with the government over the years in various activities has helped drive transformational change and address the digital divide," Alok Ohrie, president and managing director, Dell Technologies India, said in a statement.

In partnership with the Common Service Centres Scheme (CSC), Dell and Learning Links Foundation have successfully deployed solar-powered hubs in six aspirational districts as identified by the government. Key beneficiaries include students, youth, and women who were supported with training in digital and financial literacy, technical skills, entrepreneurship, career guidance and revenue-generating services.

Dell is now extending the reach of the Mobile Solar Community Hubs to five additional districts -- Pauri Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Ramgarh (Jharkhand), Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh), Pathankot (Punjab), and Gurugram (Haryana).

"Our collaboration is driven by the goal to support underrepresented communities to achieve digital equity, where they find themselves equipped with the technology capacity needed for full participation in the society and economy," said Archana Sahay, regional giving manager, Asia Pacific & Japan at Dell Technologies.

Additionally, the programme aims to upskill and digitally empower 200 ex-servicemen/retiring junior-ranked personnel of the Indian Armed Forces.

The hubs will also assist wards of military personnel or 4,000 students at Defence schools, by introducing them to digital skills such as coding and block-programming, the company said.

"The expansion plan will be critical in transforming the lives of rural underrepresented communities, and ex-servicemen and retiring junior-ranked personnel from the Indian Armed Forces," said Nuriya Ansari of Learning Links Foundation.

"These dedicated individuals face difficulties transitioning to civilian life due to a lack of opportunities for skill acquisition and learning during their military service," she added.