Only 28.5% Youth Are Digitally Literate

Goa has the highest number of people who could 'search the Internet for information and can send or receive e-mails and can perform online banking transactions'.

Less than a third of those in the 15 to 29 age group can 'search the Internet; send or receive an e-mail and perform an online transaction' show the findings from the latest Comprehensive Annual Modular Survey (CAMS), released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) this week.

At the national level the share of young people who could do these three tasks stood at 28.5 per cent, with significant variation among states.

The share of the ones performing these tasks stood lower than the national average in as many as 16 states and Union Territories.

Among states, Goa has the highest number of people (65.7 per cent) who could 'search the Internet for information and can send or receive e-mails and can perform online banking transactions'.

This was followed by Kerala (53.4 per cent), Tamil Nadu (48 per cent), and Telangana (47.2 per cent).

Meanwhile, Meghalaya (7.5 per cent) has the lowest share of young people who could perform these tasks, followed by Tripura (8.2 per cent), Chhattisgarh (11.9 per cent) and Uttar Pradesh (16 per cent).

A gender wise-analysis of the survey results showed one of every five young women (21.6 per cent) could perform these tasks, with the share of rural women going down to as low as 14.5 per cent.

In contrast, 34.2 per cent males reported doing these tasks nationally and 28.1 per cent in rural areas.

While 84.2 per cent of the young people reported being able to use the Internet as on the date of the survey, the share of people who could perform all these 'complex' tasks together stood much lower, highlighting the need for a greater propagation of digital and financial literacy.

Separately, the share of young people who can search the Internet for information stood at 63.2 per cent, while the proportion of those who could send or receive an e-mail stood at 49,8 per cent.

On the other hand, young people who could perform an online banking transaction stood at 40.6 per cent.

As part of the 79th round of the National Sample Survey, the survey collected data from households on various indicators, including drinking water, sanitation, energy use, birth registration, and access to transport facilities.

The data collected in this survey represents demand-side information from the households surveyed.

In contrast, administrative data, where available, typically reflects supply-side metrics.

Report noted the variations in methodology, scope, and timeframes might affect the comparability of results across different data sources.

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com