Google, Tata Trusts launch ‘Internet Saathi’ initiative in West Bengal

The initiative will roll out from Purulia District and will focus on training women and larger communities in the state to learn and explore the various uses and benefits of the Internet. Launched in July 2015, the program has successfully trained and benefitted over 200,000 women across villages in states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

As a start the program will be rolled out to cover over 400 villages in Purulia district with an objective to reach 100,000 women. Tata Trusts will play the crucial role of training women master trainers identified from Self Help Groups and Women’s federations which they oversee and facilitate through their on ground partners.

These master trainers are called “Saathis” who then train more women in their own and neighboring villages. Google provides the mobile and tablet devices, the training material and also trains the master trainers. In order to drive broader access and continuity in usage after the training, Internet enabled devices like tablets and smartphones are also made available within the school premises, community centres, self-help group meeting places, agriculture centres, PHCs, etc. for optimum exposure and learning amongst the community.

Speaking on the launch of the initiative Sapna Chadha, Head of Marketing, Google India said, “With only 1 out of 10 women able to access the internet in rural India, Internet Saathi initiative is aimed at creating an environment that empowers rural women and their communities to become change agents in rural India. The program has been very successful in improving the social and economic situations of communities in rural India and we are very excited to expand the initiative to West Bengal. We hope to reach out to over 100,000 women across the state and help them to learn and understand how they can use the Internet in their daily lives. We’re kicking off the initiative by training over 120 Internet Saathis who will be reaching out to over 400 villages in Purulia District.”

Ganesh Neelam, Head - Innovation at Tata Trust said, “We  are entering in West Bengal through our focused field level strength and with learnings and experiences of working with rural communities in West Bengal and other states we`ve been present in. The curriculum is now translated into Bengali to provide training to women in their local language empowering Saathis (who are part of vibrant community institutions) socially and economically and helping them make informed decisions for themselves and their families. We are committed to take this initiative in a focused manner through building entrepreneurship within the Internet Saathis to drive a significant impact in the lives of women in rural India.”