Telangana NRI Adopts Native Village Under Digithon

A recent appeal to Telangana-born NRIs to adopt villages in the State under the Telangana Digithon scheme received a massive response from several of them. One such person is Appi Reddy Annapa Reddy, a successful IT businessman and philanthropist from the US, who adopted his native village Dondapadu in the Nalgonda district.

Reddy became the first NRI to adopt a village in Telangana under Digithon. The Telangana Information Technology Association (TITA) felicitated his parents for his noble deed.

"As Dondapadu has a sizeable population of people from the scheduled, backward, and other oppressed castes, it will greatly benefit under the scheme. The initiative will equip villagers with digital literacy, which in turn will enlighten them and, hopefully, eliminate caste-based discrimination within the society," Reddy said.

He added that the Digithon presentation by TITA inspired him to adopt his village.

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime," he quoted, and affirmed, "People of my village will soon compete with people living in cities in terms of education and quality of life. It is about time that other NRIs and wealthy Indian citizens, too, picked up the baton."

Speaking on the occasion, TITA President Sundeep Kumar Makthala said, "Digithon, which envisioned the development and transformation of Telangana into a digitally literate and empowered society, has now taken wings in other countries with the support of Telangana-origin people abroad. Our NRIs across the world are showing interest in helping TITA transform their native villages into smart cities.

"Under this initiative, computers of high-end specifications will be donated and made available to the villagers of Dondapadu at the Gram Panchayat Office. The digital literacy training in Reddy's village will start from the 6th of August. Following the training, the villagers will complete an online certification examination. TITA's team will provide further support to expand the villagers' knowledge base, and bring job and education opportunities. Digitizing knowledge and societal interactions will help them transform and become more aware. The same process will be spread to other districts across Telangana, too."

Dondapadu Sarpanch Dasaratha Ramayya, TITA Vice-President Ranapratap Bojjam and others were present during the felicitation ceremony.