Covid-19 pandemic risks a lost generation in India as digital divide widens
Picture for representation.
. Updated: 17 Dec 2020, 05:52 AM IST Bloomberg
India has the world’s second-largest pool of internet users, about 600 million, comprising more than 12% of all users globally
Yet half its population lacks internet access, and even if they can get online, only 20% of Indians know how to use digital services, according to government data
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Dhiru, an Indian teenager who entered 10th grade this year, hasn’t attended even one day of class since the academic year began in April.
The school was closed for months amid the pandemic, but even since it reopened Dhiru’s mother Rekha Devi is afraid to send her son to class. Unlike some schools, Dhiru’s doesn’t offer online instruction -- and even if it did, the family doesn’t own a computer or a smartphone to access the internet.