By Smile Foundation
published on May 9, 2025

What ‘Digital India’ Misses: Lessons from the Last-Mile Learner

In 2015, with the launch of Digital India, India set out to transform the country into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. With goals of

improving online infrastructure,
increasing internet connectivity, and
making government services accessible electronically,

the programme held promise for economic and social advancement. Over the decade, several major initiatives have been launched under the initiative—eNAM, MyGov, Aarogya Setu, among many others. These have undoubtedly enabled the country to step into a more progressive and connected future. Yet, beneath its glowing projections lies a critical oversight: the struggles and stories of the last-mile learner— the student in a rural village, the first-generation learner, the child attending schools through a mobile phone screen shared by five siblings. There are several obstacles for this initiative to be a nationwide success, and many gaps still need to be bridged.

Following years of sustained engagement with grassroots communities, Smile Foundation recognizes that the benefits of digital initiatives are not always equitably distributed, particularly for women and rural populations. We are actively working to bridge the digital divide by ensuring that disadvantaged children and communities have access to digital technologies, including online education and other educational resources.

The ever persistent digital divide

According to the latest data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), internet access in rural India remains significantly limited. Only 24 per cent of rural households have internet connectivity, compared to 66 per cent in urban areas. Furthermore, only 14 percent of rural citizens actively use the internet, while 59 per cent of urban residents engage with it regularly. This stark disparity can be attributed to various factors like—

inconsistent network coverage,
affordability issues,
the absence of vernacular content online—among others.

As a result, the Digital India Mission has struggled to reach the most underserved and marginalised regions of the country, posing a major challenge to the goal of nationwide digital inclusion.

Against this backdrop, the discourse on education—and its alignment with the broader goals of the Digital India mission—becomes increasingly complex. India continues to grapple with a serious educational crisis, evidenced by a 12.6 percent dropout rate at the secondary level, as reported in the UDISE+ 2021–22 data. While government schools are present in most rural areas, a substantial of them lack even the most fundamental digital infrastructure.

Basic internet connectivity for administrative functions is far from universal, and digital learning facilities remain largely absent. A significant proportion of schools do not have dedicated computer or IT laboratories, and in many cases, trained computer instructors are unavailable.

Smile Foundation’s survey findings

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent nationwide lockdowns significantly amplified the pre-existing gaps in India’s education system, particularly in terms of digital access and equity. These challenges were brought into sharper focus by a survey conducted in July–August 2020 among beneficiaries of Smile Foundation’s Mission Education programme.

The findings revealed that 46 per cent of respondents reported insufficient access to teaching and learning resources. 69 per cent stated that better guidance and support for navigating online classes and platforms would ease the learning process. Despite these barriers, 48 percent of participants identified online learning—facilitated through platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet, and WhatsApp—as the most effective mode of instruction.

Yet, the survey findings suggest that when appropriate support systems are in place, even the most disadvantaged students can thrive in a digital learning environment. The experience of our initiative demonstrates that the digital revolution in education must be inclusive by design.

The gender question

The gendered dimensions of the digital divide present yet another critical challenge that the Digital India initiative must address. In many parts of the country, deeply entrenched patriarchal norms restrict girls’ access to digital devices and the internet. These conditions limit their engagement with online educational resources and exacerbate existing gender-based educational disparities.

This imbalance becomes even more pronounced in households where multiple children share a single device; as highlighted in a report published by Economic and Political Weekly. Male children are often prioritized for device usage, effectively sidelining girls from participating in digital learning. Such practices not only curtail girls’ right to education but also hinder broader efforts toward achieving gender equity in the digital age.

How did we support Rupali?

A case in point is Rupali Praja, a young girl from Seperipanga village in Odisha, who belongs to an indigenous bamboo-crafting community. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Rupali and her friends were forced to drop out of school due to the lack of access to a smartphone or digital learning tools.

In 2021, we intervened by establishing a Mission Education Centre in the region, creating a supportive learning environment that enabled Rupali and other girls like her to resume their education. Her story reflects the broader reality faced by many last-mile learners and highlights how targeted, community-based interventions can effectively bridge educational and digital divides.

Rupali’s story is emblematic of the challenges faced by countless last-mile learners across India—students who are excluded not due to a lack of ability or aspiration, but because of structural barriers to access. Thus, it becomes pertinent that the foundational gaps are bridged to ensure that the benefits of digital transformation reach every corner of the country.