Literacy is passe. It's all about Digital Literacy.

When India got Independence, our literacy rate was not even 20% and immediately after 1947 not much changed. We crossed the half-way mark around the turn of the millennium. About 10 years back we were at a much healthier 73% and today the number is around 78%. While we have to aim at 100%, another thing we have to look at is Digital Literacy.

Wikipedia defines Digital Literacy as “an individual’s ability to find, evaluate, and communicate information through typing and other media on various digital platforms.” This is important. Once you are literate, you can read and write anything. However in the digital world there are various devices, various means to communicate and even more ways to evaluate anything.

The reason for this is that in today’s world everything requires technology. We are heading toward a world of cent per cent digitization, digitalization and digital transformation. Paper is going out of fashion and the digital interface will rule. The keyboard, the touch screen, voice commands and motion sensors are the way forward.

There always used to be a velocity associated with technology. But now everything is accelerating. Especially after the pandemic. This techceleration continues. Even if you are digital literate today, you may be digitally illiterate tomorrow. Hence while literacy can be a one time thing, digital literacy learning is a lifelong process.

Another X factor is: Artificial Intelligence. AI is getting more and more powerful. Now there’s talk of AI replacing jobs or humans outright. But AI will be an aid which will free us from menial tasks and force us to upgrade our skills. If education and English fluency was needed to get ahead in corporate India, it will now be digital literacy.

Digital curriculum has to be integrated into early schooling and colleges. Not only that, but it has to be updated regularly. Students have to be prepared for a life where they get such an education and realize that they will have to keep upgrading their tech skills even while working.

Getting all the regional languages on board the digital world is important in order to bridge the Digital Divide, which could become really acute if we don’t do anything about it. Growing up we had the National Literacy Mission. That was very successful and we used to see regular updates on Doordarshan with Kerala leading the way at that time. That morphed into the National Education Mission a few years back.

What we now did is the National Digital Literacy Mission. The smartphone has pervaded all over India even in Tier 2/3 cities and villages. But Digital Literacy is not just about mobiles, but multiple devices and getting multiple benefits from all of them.