Microsoft collaborates with MSDE and CBC for capacity building of India’s 2.5 million civil servants in Digital Literacy

New Delhi : Microsoft has partnered with Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), and Capacity Building Commission (CBC) to empower India’s civil servants with future-ready skills. The partnership under the project— Capacity Building by MSDE in Microsoft Digital Productivity Skills aims to enhance the functional computer literacy of nearly 2.5 million civil servants of Government of India (GoI). The project will digitally empower them to provide efficient and effective citizen centric services to the vulnerable and underprivileged sections of the society. It will enable them to deliver last mile social welfare services.

The MoU was signed and exchanged in the august presence of Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary MSDE; Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman, CBC; Praveen Pardeshi, Member Admin, CBC and Ashutosh Chadha, Group Head & Director, Government Affairs, Microsoft India.

Within the project, the training will include job roles such as Section Officers, Assistant Section Officers, Clerks, Upper Division Clerks, Lower Division Clerks, Under Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries, and equivalent officers at senior, junior and supporting levels in the central government entities. CBC has undertaken the capacity building plans for the ministries of Defence, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Expenditure, Finance, Social Justice, Civil Aviation, Ports and Shipping, and Labour. One of the major competency gaps identified among these job roles was the lack of digital productivity application skills needed while working on Microsoft Office tools like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint presentation, at a professional level. Therefore, training programs under the partnership will be enabled for the officials to upgrade their digital productivity skills, so that they can fulfil their roles effectively in various ministries.

Lauding the partnership, Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, MSDE, expressed “Today’s collaboration is in line with the initiative envisioned by our Hon’ble Prime Minister- Mission Karmayogi, it is aligned towards the development of our civil servants. By emphasizing on programs that drive digital literacy, we will be able to provide hassle free services to our citizens and bring transparency into day-to-day business. Our aim is to develop citizen-friendly and business-friendly policies. Technology has become an integral part of our everyday lives, Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint are now an essential component of our work life. Therefore, it is imperative that our workforce is trained in these programs, and I am certain that with this alliance, we will be able to make Mission Karmayogi, a successful scheme.”

Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman, CBC stated, “Honorable PMs vision of Mission Karmayogi is to strengthen the capability of each and every civil servant. One of the key capabilities is being competent in various digital technologies for day-to-day work. The collaboration with MSDE and Microsoft will allow civil servants to be trained digitally at a time of their own choosing. It will enhance their capabilities and allow them to be more effective.”

Ashutosh Chadha, Group Head & Director, Government Affairs, Microsoft India, said, “Every job will increasingly require digital skills and we are committed to creating more skilling opportunities in the country. We are privileged to partner with Capacity Building Commission (CBC) and Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE). Through this program, we are aiming to empower central government employees on key digital skills and amplify the vision of Digital India. This initiative will not only drive more productivity but will also enable ease of doing business with more digital solutions.”

As part of the collaboration, Microsoft will develop an online, self-paced learning course on Microsoft Office 365 digital productivity suite offerings for MSDE, that would enable MSDE to provide digital skills training to the officials in central government ministries and departments. The courses will be created under two categories – Beginners and Advanced courses of 12 hours duration each and the learners would be enabled with access to Advanced course after receiving the certificate of completion in Beginners course. Microsoft would host the course content on Microsoft Community Training portal (MCT) which the learner can easily access.

MSDE and CBC would enable free access to the developed course content from Microsoft to officials from various central government organisations and departments in collaboration with CBC through MCT. MSDE would play a vital role in cooperation and collaboration between the parties towards successful deployment of the online self-paced training program for the government officers through MCT. In addition, MSDE would monitor the project progress and keep track on the training outcomes.

It would also encourage all the Ministries, Departments and Organisations (MDOs) to make it mandatory for all the Section Officers and Assistant Section Officers to be certified in digital productivity skills from the project for their career progression, as per the National Training Policy.