CSC, Kyndryl to train 1 lakh rural women on cyber security

New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) E-governance service provider Common Services Centres (CSC) and IT infrastructure firm Kyndryl have joined hands to give cyber security training to over one lakh rural women in the country.

Over the course of three years, the programme will train more than 1,00,000 women in rural and remote areas, driving cyber security education efforts and growing skillsets across Indian communities, a statement said.

CSC, a special purpose vehicle under the Ministry of Electronics & IT, and Kyndryl, the world's largest IT infrastructure services provider, have partnered to launch Cyber Rakshak, a cyber security training initiative to equip women in rural and remote areas with new technology skills and help them emerge as 'Cyber Security Ambassadors', it stated.

The initiative is part of Kyndryl's and CSC's commitment to invest in bold ideas that fuel prosperity and support equitable access to technology-enabled education.

The initiative aims to empower future leaders while extending economic opportunity to women in the world's fastest growing economy.

Training will be conducted across 500 districts in India through the last mile network of CSC, a flagship programme under the Digital India initiative, which provides assisted access to government and public utility services in rural and semi-urban areas.

The coursework, co-developed by Kyndryl and CSC, will enable participants to better address cyber security threats in their personal and professional work while spotlighting career opportunities in cyber security fields.

Participants will gain fundamental cyber knowledge, enhance competencies in existing job roles and learn about security threats that may impact their livelihoods, it stated.

Individuals upon completion of training will receive a joint certification from Kyndryl and the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), it stated.

"Citizens with small businesses are at risk of suffering irrecoverable damage from data breaches if they don't have adequate cyber security knowledge," said Sanjay Kumar Rakesh, MD, CSC special purpose vehicle.

It will create awareness and empower rural people to address emerging cyber security challenges, he opined.

"The Cyber Rakshak initiative is part of Kyndryl's commitment to India's broader socioeconomic development, particularly for financial inclusion and building diversity in India's tech talent pool," said Lingraju Sawkar, President, Kyndryl India.

"The cyber security landscape is more complicated by the day, and everyone needs the necessary tools and knowledge to better protect their data and improve their security posture. These are also important technical skills women professionals can bring to high-value career opportunities," Sawkar said.

Kyndryl designs, builds, manages, and modernizes the complex, mission-critical information systems that the world depends on every day.

More than 5.20 lakh CSCs offer assisted access to essential government and public utility services, social welfare schemes, financial services, education and skill development courses, apart from a host of B2C services. PTI KKS HVA