Smartpur Immersion Annual Meet 2023

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Smartpur is a digital village ecosystem, a project that is being implemented by Digital Empowerment Foundation and NOKIA. The project has its presence in Uttar Pradesh (Barabanki and Ghazipur), Haryana (Nuh), Rajasthan (Alwar and Bharatpur), Telangana (Choutuppal), Karnataka (Kollegal) and Andhra Pradesh (Vizag and Chirala). The project started back in 2018 in Nuh and soon, realizing its importance in the context of rural India, it expanded to other locations across the country.  

Smartpur- Journey in 2022!

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Smartpur is a very proactive and large-scale project under DEF which also serves as a backhaul to many other new initiatives. Here is a glimpse into the journey of Smartpur in the year 2022. Smartpur is a model that has been conceptualised in a manner that challenges and redefines the existing idea of smart villages, which is based more on the availability of digital infrastructure but not as much on the integration of the infrastructure into the daily lives of people.

One centre – catering to many needs

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Often a bit of attention, empathy and consideration goes a long way in clearing obstacles that might look petty for a few while for a few others their livelihoods are at stake. Smartpur centres have understood this through and through and hence enabling smoother access to welfare schemes.

Smartpur hub and spoke centres are points where people from different age groups avail services and find solutions to their problems. The different beneficiaries of Bharatpur hub and spokes narrate their enriching experience as to how the centre has been a point of troubleshooting for them.

Facilitating Access to Alternate Sustainable Livelihoods

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According to experts, an estimated half a billion women still lack access to education and tens of millions of girls around the world are unable to access education and unlikely to enroll in school, thus hampering the overall growth and development of the girls. And yet, there is sufficient evidence to show that educated women create a ripple effect. We face huge inequalities in the education system of our country. Despite many policies and campaigns taken up by the government, young girls and women still lack access to basic education resulting in exclusion from employment opportunities.

District Administration Recognizes SoochnaPreneurs

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Alam Khan got an Appreciation Certificate for his constant efforts in providing Covid 19 vaccination. He helped in mobilising 8,473 citizens along with interventions of other development partners. He was awarded by the Deputy Commissioner of Nuh district Mr Shakti Singh. Alam Khan was also awarded by Deputy Commissioner Mr Pankaj Kumar, IAS for the excellent work in registration of beneficiaries in PM-SYM (Pradhanmantri Shram Yogi Mandhan) at the highest level in the district of Nuh.

Digital Inclusion at a Young Age

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During recent time digital technology has reached to a new high and digital divide has widened too. Concentration of users in the urban and semi urban areas and on the other hand rural areas are still crawling to get digitally equipped and driven. Digital technology not only connects to the world but also opens doors of opportunity in building a career and earning a living. One such place is Nayakdih village in Uttar Pradesh, being an outskirt area digital footprint can be seen but quite limited. Like other teens Harsh too is interested in digital technologies- mobiles, computers, tablets and more. But the nearest computer-training center is 3 kilometers from his home; few of his friends go there. It charges Rs.600 per month, which is like a significant part of his father’s income, which would be too much to ask from his father.

Smartpur: Establishing Access Points Across India

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Ms. Kavitha, resident of a Cowdalli centre, Kollegal is jovial beyond limits to find a centre of Smartpur in her vicinity.Kavitha is a college going student who resides in Cowdalli village in Karnataka. She needed access to digital tools to apply for various competitive exams and scholarship schemes. It was the last day for applying for a scholarship scheme and there was an error in her Aadhar Card. The situation on her part got worse because there was no digitalcentre near her house that could edit the aadhar card. She planned to travel to the town of Hanur, 16 kilometers away from her village. The transportation charges were another issue, as it would cost her 350-400 rupees. for one journey. The distance, cost and time-consuming journey made the process very tedious for her.

Covid Vaccination under Mission Corona Vijay Campaign undertaken

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This report presents the campaign taken up by the SMARTPUR team in Nuh from the Tain Hub Centre. This campaign aimed to support the Government efforts of COVID-19 vaccination among the people of Nuh.The campaign was run by American India Foundation and Common Service Centre. SMARTPUR team has a good hold in the community and hence they were successful in this campaign. The team worked closely with the District Collector’s office and acted as a catalyst to speed up the vaccination process. The SMARTPUR team also managed to generate income from this vaccination drive, an amount of 170 rs. per dose was provided to the team.

Smartpur- A Collective Effort of Women On Ground

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Women’s empowerment plays a pivotal role in the overall development of any country besides positively impacting the day to day lives of women. The progressive change in the fields of employment and information technology have brought a wide range of opportunities for women in India and across the globe. The reforming development in mobile technology has brought world communities closer, narrowing down the digital divide. One, now has access to the everyday national and global news at their fingertips, this has led to women being more socially and culturally aware.