The Andhra Pradesh government is planning to establish 10,960 digital libraries in every village in the state at an outlay of Rs 450 crore, seeking to educate the poor.
M Mandapati Seshagiri Rao, Chairman of Andhra Pradesh Grandhalaya (Library) Parishad, made the announcement on the sidelines of a review meeting with state library department officials.
“The first digital library was established in Kadapa. This initiative is envisaged to provide knowledge in all the villages by strengthening libraries,” said Rao in a statement shared on Tuesday.
In the meeting, Rao deliberated on buying new books and budget proposals to set up digital libraries, aimed at offering education and knowledge to the poor. He said the education department made some reforms to this end.
According to Rao, out of the Rs 16 crore funds earmarked to buy books for libraries in the 2021-22 budget, Rs 10 crore worth books have been supplied.
He also accused the earlier governments of weakening the libraries. All the universities in the state will conduct ‘Visionary Jagan’ seminars from April 5, he added.