With The Unveiling Of Budget 2023, FM Nirmala Sitharaman Announces National Digital Library For Children!

by Mallika Khurana
With The Unveiling Of Budget 2023, FM Nirmala Sitharaman Announces National Digital Library For Children!

Today, the Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman,  introduced the Union Budget for 2023. Among the many important announcements she made, it was the announcement of a National Digital Library for Children that caught our attention. 

India To Have National Digital Library For Children

National Digital Library
Photo Credits: Canva

The library is majorly intended to serve children and young adults. It will offer them educational content in all major languages as well as become a medium for financial literacy. The Indian government will take this step towards creating the National Digital Library for Children. This comes at a time when digital platforms have become the most relevant source of information. 

When unveiling the Union Budget for 2023, our Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, introduced the creation of a National Digital Library for Children and Adolescents. This information was met with applause and praise.

Also read: India’s Union Budget 2023 Is Out & So Are The Memes!

Digital Literacy For The Future Generation

The Finance Minister addressed the need and importance of this library in depth. She addressed the need to bridge the gap in literacy arising from factors including but not limited to geography, language, reading abilities, and tech availability.  These libraries will diminish all these gaps and will be available to all. She also urged state governments to make this happen, where they will be expected to establish libraries even at ward or panchayat levels. The state governments were also urged to assist in establishing the infrastructure for Digital Library resources as well.

She also expressed the role of associations like the National Book Trust to promote reading culture in the country. These associations will be expected to make non-curricular reading material available in physical libraries. These books will be provided in all regional languages and English. To promote financial literacy for children on a national level, she urged non-government associations to contribute as well. These associations will be required to provide the physical libraries set up by the government with age-appropriate reading materials.

This step is clearly being taken to prepare future generations to the best of their capabilities —with material that is easily accessible. This is a strong step towards the digital literacy of India.

Cover Image Courtesy: Canva