CALIFORNIA (TIP): Indian American Annapareddy Appi Reddy from California has adopted the remote Dondapadu village in Suryapet district as a part of Digithon Digital Village initiated by the Telangana Information Technology Association (TITA).

Till a few months ago, residents of the village believed a computer was just another gadget meant for students and the educated. But this initiative helps villagers understand banking, agriculture and even access anything beyond their village.

218 villagers are selected to be given basic computer training that equipped them to conduct digital transactions and be financially literate. The team selected participants who did not have access to a smartphone and trained them. They were introduced to E-Sage, an agriculture knowledge platform developed by the IIIT-Hyderabad, where they could learn new methods of farming and understand the market to sell their produce at apt prices.

While the team provided ground-level support, TITA president Sundeep Kumar Makthala said more than 40 NRIs responded to their call to adopt their villages under the Digithon programme.

TITA, a non-profit and non-governmental organisation working for the welfare of Telangana IT students, was started in 2013 by IT veterans who hail from Telangana region.