Kerala LSGD Minister visits centenarian digital literate

Kochi, Aug 18 (PTI) Kerala Local Self Government Department (LSGD) minister M B Rajesh on Monday visited M A Abdullah Moulavi, a 104-year-old man who achieved digital literacy through a government programme, and said he is the "hero of the real Kerala story".

He said Moulavi, a native of Asamannoor panchayat in Ernakulam district, has proved that age is not a barrier for learning.

"Maulavi is Kerala's pride. He is the hero of the real Kerala story," he told reporters here.

Stating that Kerala is becoming the first digitally literate state in the country, the minister said Maulavi is the protagonist in the history of that change.

He also said achieving digital literacy at this advanced age is proof of his willpower and determination.

"Age is not a barrier for anything," Rajesh said, pointing out Maulavi's rare achievement.

This centenarian is one among nearly 22 lakh persons in the state who have become digitally literate in Kerala through the path-breaking "Digi Keralam" programme rolled out by the state government, which eventually paved the way for a digital revolution in the southern state.

Maulavi''s son Faizal said recently that his father chooses his favourite social media reels and watches important news on YouTube without anyone's help after receiving training under the initiative.

With the passing of 99.98 per cent of total learners who achieved basic digital skills through the massive initiative, Kerala is now all set to be declared as the "first digital literate state" in the country.

Launched on September 22, 2022, by the Local Self-Government Department (LSGD), Digi Keralam is the drive to attain complete digital literacy in the state on the lines of the total literacy campaign mode in 1991, according to authorities.

As part of the drive, digitally illiterate people in the society were identified through a survey, and they were given training from switching on and off a smartphone to using various digital tools and accessing government services online.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will officially declare the state as totally digitally literate in a function to be held at the Central Stadium here on August 21, official sources said. PTI LGK ADB