In a bid to increase internet penetration in the country and specifically to encourage women to get online, Google India has launched a campaign to help 50 million women learn about the internet in the next one year.
The campaign, announced on Wednesday by Google, will draw from the experiences gained in an earlier pilot project in Rajasthan in which girls in the age groups of 13 to 18, housewives and working women, were taught the basics of the internet.
The project called, ‘Help women get online’ or HWGO, will feature a website with basic information on the internet and how to use it. The content on the website, www.hwgo.com, will be presented in English and Hindi.
Women across the country will also be able to call a toll free number 1800 41 999 77 to get answers for their queries about the internet.
“With this initiative we are aiming to help 50 million additional women to get online by the end of 2014 by undertaking a variety of initiatives across India,” said MD, Google India, Rajan Anandan in a statement.
Google’s VP Marketing Yonca Brunini said, “The learning from the project will help us to work on a framework which we will use to roll out in other parts of India. We believe that the internet can greatly transform the lives of women in India. The project will be supported by Intel, Hindustan Unilever and Axis Bank. Intel will also launch an android app called ‘easy step’ as part of its National Digital Literacy Mission campaign to get more women online. The impact will be monitored by research group IMRB.”