India hands over e-library portal project to Bhutan

A CORRESPONDENT

TANGLA: The India-Bhutan e-library project envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his State visit to Bhutan in 2014, was formally handed over by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), India to the Ministry of Education, Royal Government of Bhutan, at a ceremony held in Thimphu on Friday, in the presence of Indian Embassy officials.

The India-Bhutan e-Library Project is aimed to provide educational content accessible for students across the Himalayan kingdom in a reliable way with the implementation of modern IT technologies. Sources said the project had more than 3,000 digital content and would go a long way in providing a framework for students, teachers, scholars and others to access online and offline e-content in the form of e-books, audio, video, and images.

Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador of India to Bhutan, Ruchira Kamboj said, "It is delightful that India could play a significant role in expanding Bhutan's digital footprint through the e-Library project." She also exuded confidence that the bilateral initiative would prove to be a major platform to support Bhutan's e-learning programmes and expand the outreach of online education, especially during the current challenging times of COVID-19.

Sources said the project was due to be formally handed over last year. However, the Bhutan counterparts did not show genuine interest due to lack of local content and awareness about the portal and the website did not gain much popularity amongst the students and teachers across Bhutan. However, during the pandemic the portal received better response from parents and students.

Meanwhile, the Bhutanese counterparts have reportedly also assured to focus on content development for the sustainability of the project. Since the launch in 2016, the e-Library portal has been established in 49 central schools and 12 colleges across the length and breadth of Bhutan. 

Also Watch: Minister in Waist Deep Flood Water in Tinsukia