Nedumkayam colony in the Karulazhi panchayat in Malapuram District of Kerala became the first fully-digital tribal colony in the country.
It is located about 400 kms from Kerala’s capital Thiruvananthapuram.
Declaration was made after adequate training for the entire tribal people of the colony in digital literacy and cashless transaction.
The training was completed with the support of National Service Scheme (NSS), volunteers of an
Arts and Science College at Kondotty and Jan Sikshan Sansthan, of Malappuramdistrict.
The Adivasi colony at Nedumkayam has become the first tribal community in the country to go digital.
The tribal colony in Karulai panchayat within the Nilambur forests was declared cashless on 27th Dec 2016.
District Collector Amit Meena and P.V. Abdul Wahab, MP, jointly declared the colony digital at a function held at Nedumkayam in the afternoon.
The Adivasis transferred Rs. 5 to the District Collector’s bank account using online technology.
The Adivasis were given training in digital transactions as part of the Digital Malappuram,
Cashless Malappuram programme being implemented by the district administration. The tribal colony got special attention after Mr. Wahab adopted Karulai as a model panchayat under the Saansad Adarsh Grama Yojna (SAGY) scheme of the Central government.
The SAGY scheme put forth by Prime Minister Narendra Modi envisages that every MP transforms one village in their constituency into a model village by this year-end.
The Jan Sikshan Sansthan (JSS), which won this year’s UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy for its innovative work among tribals, had provided computer and internet facilities at the community centre of the Nedumkayam colony.
The Adivasis of Nedumkayam were given training in digital transactions with the help of National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteers of EMEA College, Kondotty.
A tribal volunteer has been appointed for further training for a year.
