Google, Tata Trusts launch ‘Internet Sathi’ in West Bengal to empower rural women

The Indian unit of search giant Google Inc and Tata Trusts have jointly launched ‘Internet Saathi’ program in Purulia district of West Bengal. 

The initiative has been launched as part of Google’s ‘Helping Women Get Online’ campaign, in order to create awareness about the benefits of Internet among women in rural India. 

Key facts

•  The initiative will initially be rolled out with an objective to reach 1 lakh women in over 400 villages in Purulia district. 
• It will focus on training women and larger communities to learn and explore various uses and benefits of the Internet. 
• Tata Trusts will play a crucial role in training women master trainers called “saathis” identified from Self Help Groups (SHGs) and Women’s federations.
•  Google will provide the tablet and mobile devices along with training material. It will also train the master trainers. The initiative includes an awareness module, coupled with hands-on training modules on how to use the Internet, using mobile devices in their local languages.

 ‘Internet Saathi’ program was launched in July 2015. So it has trained and benefitted over 2 lakh women across villages in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Google under its Helping Women Get Online has already trained over 2 million women across the country.