Andhra Pradesh to have 4,530 ‘YSR digital libraries’ soon

Vijayawada: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said ‘YSR digital libraries’ would be started in every village in Andhra Pradesh and as part of the programme 4,530 would be established in the first phase. He directed the officials to take measures to start works for setting up these libraries from August 15. The Chief Minister said Rs 140 crore would be spent for providing basic amenities, computer equipment and other requirements in 4,530 digital libraries. He conducted a review meeting on digital libraries and IT in his camp office at Tadepalli on Tuesday.

Jagan Mohan Reddy directed the officials to take measures to strengthen the ‘work from home’ concept and said the state government had been taking steps to provide high speed internet in villages. He said digital libraries should be useful for graduate students apart from primary and secondary school students and added that study material related to common entrance tests would be made available in them. He asked the officials to take measures to provide uninterrupted internet facilities to village secretariats and Rytu Bharosa Kendras.

Jagan directed the officials to prepare an action plan for the construction of digital libraries. The officials said they had already prepared the plan to complete the setting up of digital libraries by December.

The Chief Minister instructed the officials to provide three desktops, UPS, desktop barcode printer, scanner, laser printer, software, anti-virus software, unlimited bandwidth internet and minimum facilities in digital libraries and asked them to complete the construction of data centres for storage. He directed them to provide infrastructure facilities including three desktop tables, system chairs, visitor chairs, tube lights, fans, iron racks, newspapers and magazines in the libraries. He stated that the state government would be spending Rs 140 crore for providing infrastructure facilities and computer equipment in 4,530 digital libraries in the first phase.

Information technology minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy, elections and communications principal secretary G Jaya Lakshmi, energy secretary Nagulapalli Srikanth, panchayat raj and rural development commissioner Girija Shankar, APSFL MD M Madhusudan Reddy, Andhra Pradesh Technical Services MD M Nanda Kishore and other officials were present.