SAP India Collaborates with ITC, L&T to Launch Code Unnati

SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) along with ITC and Larsen & Toubro Public Charitable Trust recently launched Code Unnati, a multi-year, collaborative digital literacy and software skills development initiative. The initiative will work to strengthen Government of India’s Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyaan (PMGDSA) and will enable employability through digital literacy.

Code Unnati partners with 6 diverse non-profit organisations to impart digital literacy to children, adolescents, the differently-abled & other citizens and drive employment-led software skills development for the underprivileged. This initiative envisions to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals of – No Poverty, Quality Education, Decent Work & Economic Growth, and Partnership For the Goals.

The technology infrastructure, expertise on course curriculum & pedagogy, delivery mechanisms and teachers for this initiative will be provided by SAP. ITC and Larsen & Toubro Public Charitable Trust will enable outreach in far flung, tribal and inaccessible regions with adequate monitoring and evaluation and governance support, to implement the program via NGO partners.

Code Unnati will significantly emphasise on advanced software skills relevant for Industry 4.0 and employment creation, with an intent to fill the gap of 3.5 million technologically skilled and educated citizens required for India to be known as a digitally literate nation.

Elaborating on the campaign, Deb Deep Sengupta, President & Managing Director, SAP Indian Subcontinent said, “Only 10% of India’s population is digitally literate. With technology at the core of everything we do, it is our responsibility to join forces and collaborate with India Inc. to help create a Digital India. ‘code unnati’ is envisioned to equip citizens with the most pertinent IT skills that will make them more relevant in the job market, and empower them to become future-ready.”

The Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDSA) lays special emphais on creating ICT environment in every Gram Panchayat. This is essential for technology to reach at the bottom of the pyramid. Keeping this in mind, the initiative will ensure 100 Code Unnati Community Services Centers will be launched to provide training to the Village Sarpanchs. Citizens will also be educated on effective utilization of various available e-services.

Dr. Ashesh Ambasta,  EVP and Head – Social Investments, ITC Limited elaborated on the initiative an said, “ITC’s Social Investments Programme is spread over 84 districts in 20 States in India and has enabled a multiplier impact on beneficiary communities enriching livelihoods in the present and future. ITC’s partnership with SAP will enable the ‘code unnati’ initiative to make a deeper contribution in spreading digital education among children in rural Andhra Pradesh, with special focus on the girl child.”

Under PMGDSA, L&T Public Charitable Trust and SAP have already started 3 Community Services Centers in Maharashtra and 33 in Rajasthan. In the pilot phase till next year, the initiative will focus on rural areas of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan as well as urban disadvantaged demographies in Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Pune, Vizag and Hyderabad.

Top image caption (L-R): Deb Deep Sengupta, Dr. Ashesh Ambasta, G.K. Mahantesh, Shrikant Sinha, Ian Correa, Gayatri Mishra Oleti and Ajith Basu at the code unnati launch.

Mallika Kumar

Mallika Kumar graduated from the University of Delhi and is a mass communication professional with a keen interest of working for the welfare of the society.

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