Kerala Declares ‘100% Digital Literacy’: What Drove It, What This Means

When Kerala declared itself the first fully “digitally literate” state in India, it was not only claiming a policy milestone but also signalling a social transformation.

The state says it has trained 21.87 lakh people, mobilised 2.5 lakh volunteers, and reached every household across its 83 lakh families. But the numbers alone don’t tell the story. People; especially the elderly, women, and those in rural pockets, chose to embrace change, teaching and learning from each other, step by step.

What is digital literacy?

Digital literacy is more than just the ability to use a smartphone. At its core, it means being able to access, understand, and use digital tools for everyday tasks; whether that’s paying an electricity bill online, booking a medical appointment, using UPI for small transactions, or attending classes on a learning app. It’s about confidence and independence in navigating the digital world. Unlike basic literacy, which simply teaches people to read and write, digital literacy equips them with the skills to function in an economy and society where screens and apps increasingly decide access to services, opportunities, and even rights.

How did Kerala set about to make this happen?

The backbone of this effort was a vast volunteer network. About 2.5 lakh people, including students from NSS and NCC units, Kudumbashree members, MGNREGS supervisors, and local youth, were mobilised to identify digitally illiterate individuals and train them. These volunteers often offered patience and encouragement, in addition to technical tops. As one volunteer from Malappuram, Rohith Nair, told The Wire, “Sometimes you had to sit for hours, repeating the same step until they felt confident. The real challenge was giving people courage to try again when they got stuck.”

The people quoted in this piece: tea sellers, homemakers, senior citizens, were largely introduced to The Wire through these volunteers who served as bridges between local communities and this writer. 

How are grassroots people impacted?

Take Marykutty Joseph, 56, from Kottayam, who once sold spices only through middlemen. Today she photographs her products, posts them in WhatsApp groups, and collects payments digitally. “I thought phones were for children and for calls to my son abroad. Now, this phone is my business partner,” she tells The Wire.

In Pullampara, the first fully digitally literate panchayat, 82-year-old Lakshmi Amma remembers how she learned to pay her electricity bill online. “Earlier I would wait for my son to do it. Sometimes it meant delays. Now I open the app myself. I may be old, but I am not helpless anymore.” For Kerala’s ageing population, this sense of independence is as important as the skill itself.

These changes are not confined to individual anecdotes. Fisherfolk now check weather updates before sailing. Farmers compare mandi prices before selling crops. Tea sellers like Sajeev in Alappuzha joke that “my digital wallet works harder than I do,” because he no longer loses customers who claim they don’t have change.

What about schools and the next generation?

Kerala has made clear it does not want digital literacy to stop at payments or bill settlements. Over 80,000 teachers have already been trained in artificial intelligence (AI), with a target of 2 lakh. Plans are underway to introduce AI and robotics into Class X curricula. Community projects like digital libraries in schools at Vypeen are designed as hubs for both students and parents, embedding digital learning into everyday life.

What are the barriers and criticisms?

While glowing accounts of empowerment abound, Kerala’s digital leap also raises hard questions. Experts warn that access to digital services often creates new exclusions, especially for low-income families who cannot afford smartphones or for regions where connectivity still falters.

Even more critically, as social activists point out, the state’s parallel push for “digital governance” has sometimes deepened inequalities. Welfare benefits – from pensions to ration cards – now depend on Aadhaar authentication, biometric IDs, and online registrations. For many elderly or rural residents, failing a fingerprint scan or navigating a glitchy portal has meant being denied their entitlements. In other words, the very digital tools that promise empowerment can also erect barriers for the poor and the vulnerable.

Anitha Babu Varghese of iLab India, which works with coastal communities, warns against equating literacy with empowerment. Speaking to The Wire, she says: “Making a UPI payment is a start. But true empowerment comes when people use these skills for education, livelihoods, and civic participation. That takes time, practice, and continuous support.”

What does this really mean for Kerala, and India?

Kerala’s digital literacy campaign is not a glossy statistic; it is a mosaic of ordinary people choosing to try, fail, and try again. It is women reclaiming economic agency through WhatsApp shops. It is fishermen reducing risks with weather alerts. It is grandparents finding dignity in small acts of self-reliance.

But it is also a cautionary tale: technology is not neutral. Without inclusive design and continuous support, digital governance can exclude as much as it empowers. Kerala’s achievement shows what is possible when people decide to make technology their own. Its challenge ahead will be to ensure that the state’s poorest and most marginalised are not left behind in the name of progress.

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