The project Akshaya—which means “perpetuating prosperity”—is being implemented in Kerala to address the issues of the digital divide in the state in an integrated and holistic way. The project has been successfully implemented on a pilot basis in Malappuram.

Components of the project are providing ICT access to all sections of society, even those located in the remotest part of the state, developing minimum skill sets among all the people through functional IT Literacy training, creating relevant local contents to benefit all the interest groups. This project enables generating massive economic growth and the creation of direct employment opportunities in the state. The project will have a long-term impact on the socio-political scenario of the state.

This project is implemented by the Government of Kerala through Kerala State IT Mission, the nodal agency for implementing Information Technology in the state. So far, 0.6 million people have been trained in the functional IT literacy program and 3000 jobs created by the pilot project at Malappuram. Currently the project is spreading to the entire state. It seeks to network 30 million people across 6 million households.

As a first step, a network of Akshaya E-Centers is being set up across Kerala. Run by entrepreneurs, each center is a self-sustaining unit, for which the e-literacy programme assures baseline revenue. Akshaya Centers are set up within 2 km of every household. 4500-6000 Akshaya Centers will be developed in the state with the objective of one center for 1000 families. The centers are being connected through broadband wireless technology. The development of these centers provides direct sustained employment to at least 25,000 people in the IT Sector. Each center is equipped with 5 to 10 computers, printers, scanners, webcam, other peripherals and the necessary software to carry out various ICT-based services. In addition, IP phones are also being made available in these centers.

Akshaya E-Centers provide training that not only familiarizes people with the basics and the scope of IT, but also ensures hands-on skill in operating a computer, using the Internet and so on. Aimed at creating a 100% literate state, the program aims to provide e-literacy to one person in each of the 6,400,000 families in the state A carefully designed content module of 15 hours of training per person that is designed in the local language is a major highlight of the programme. The process of providing the skill sets shall lead to the creation of a long-term relation between the Akshaya Centers and the families in the catchment area. On a macro level this will generate a state-wide data warehouse and repository of relevant content for the families.

The focus here is to ensure a viable, sustainable service delivery mechanism for the citizens of the state. The Akshaya Center will be furnished with necessary equipment like computers, fax, printers, telephones, broadband Internet connection, software, etc., in order to cater to the information and communication requirements of the local citizens. A community portal which will meet the day to day requirements of the local community is also envisaged. This e-literacy campaign is the foundation on which the state seeks to bridge the digital divide in the state. The underlying objective of the campaign is to remove the “fear of the unknown” that common people have about technology in general and computers in particular.

The Akshaya E-Centers are being set up under the sole management of selected entrepreneurs, who have come forward from among the local community. These centers are set up as pure entrepreneurial ventures with an investment of Rs. 300,000-400,000 per center. The entrepreneurial spirit has been fully utilised for developing the micro-enterprise in the ICT sector. As in the case of any conventional enterprise, these entrepreneurs display their skills and resources in ICT enabled sectors, content creation, fulfilment of the communication needs of the community, e-enabling farmers, scholars, and medical practitioners in the community for total development. These entrepreneurs are fulfilling their social commitment to impart e-literacy to the other members of their community .

The Akshaya ICT access points are envisaged to provide G2C, G2G, C2C and G2B information interchange and dissemination. Akshaya centers shall function as decentralized information access hubs that cater to a range of citizen needs with an inbuilt integrated front-end. The collection of utility bills and taxes now done through Friends Centers is being integrated with Akshaya Centers, thereby minimizing the transaction cost to the citizens.