Bridging the digital gap in rural India VIVEKDISHA: A novel experience

VIVEKDISHA is an ICT-based Network of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University (RKMVU). The objective of this network is to showcase several methodologies for the all-round development of a community by bringing technology and knowledge directly to the door steps of the people. To the best of our knowledge, the introduction of low-cost multimedia-based online classes at rural schools in India has been pioneered by this network. The rural virtual class rooms and tele-medicine centres used in this network are more economical than traditional hardware-based video conferencing solutions and the same realistic approach may be followed to serve rural education and health sectors. It has been found that reliable 512 kbps broadband internet connectivity is the most essential component of this kind of network. In reality, availability of reliable broadband Internet connectivity in rural India is a challenge as all telecom operators are not motivated to bridge the digital gap through broadband Internet penetration in rural India. This paper shares the experiences of Tele-education at schools and Tele-medicine at geographically challenged (Sundarban - delta region of West Bengal) areas. Since the age of the Vedas, education and health have been instrumental in the development of society; hence the proposed Tele-education and Tele-medicine methodology will pave one of the ways to bridge the digital gap in rural India.