It has been six years since the Digital India kicked off in India, but rural India is still deprived of not only “high speed” internet connectivity but even basic required internet services.

Schools are still closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, which means that education is online, and the children living in such rural areas are therefore unable to study. Figures released by the Ministry of Education show that 40-70% of children living in states such as Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand do not have digital access (internet facility).

The report by the Education Ministry says that 70% students in Madya Pradesh and 40% in “model state” Gujarat are without internet connection. In many states, schools that were closed due to the pandemic have yet to reopen. Because of this, students have been taking school and tuition classes online only. In such a acase, one-third of students without access to internet reflects poorly on the Indian education system.

Further, the proportion of students without digital access was 58.09% in Bihar, 57% in Andhra Pradesh, 44.24% in Assam, 43.42% in Jharkhand, 41.17% in Uttarakhand, and 40% in Gujarat. In the UT’s and states considered “prosperous” such as Delhi, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, the respective rates of internet access for students were 96%, 98.37%, and 85.49%.