Digital Empowerment of North East India
Initiatives under Council for Social and Digital Development (CSDD) & the North East Development Foundation (NEDF) · Guwahati, Assam
North East India — home to over 45 million people across eight states — remains one of the country's most digitally under-served regions. Difficult terrain, dispersed populations, linguistic diversity, conflict-affected pockets, and historically marginalised communities such as the Tea Tribe and Adivasi populations of Assam mean that the benefits of India's digital transformation have not reached the region evenly. Connectivity gaps, low digital and financial literacy, cyber-safety risks for women, and limited access to e-governance and entitlement platforms continue to hold back livelihoods, education, health and civic participation.
The Council for Social and Digital Development (CSDD) is a Guwahati-based, Section 8 not-for-profit research, policy and development institute founded in 2020 by Dr. Syed Sultan Kazi and Dr. Monica Banerjee. CSDD works at the intersection of technology, sustainability and social development to build resilient, digitally empowered communities across North East India — connecting governments, communities, academia and global networks around the goals of equity, inclusion and justice. Working closely with the North East Development Foundation (NEDF) and a wide network of partners, CSDD combines grassroots implementation with research and policy engagement to close the region's digital divide.
Five thematic pillars
Digital Transformation & Access
Building connectivity, digital skills and access for underserved and conflict-affected communities.
Social Development & Inclusion
Advancing inclusive policies and programmes that reach indigenous, tribal and marginalised groups.
Sustainable Development & Governance
Supporting policy innovation for resilient, equitable and sustainable digital growth.
Digital Environmental Sustainability
Promoting a circular digital economy and environmentally responsible technology use.
Regional Cooperation
Strengthening digital and development ties between North East India and South & South East Asia.
Digital initiatives at a glance
CSDD currently runs 13+ active projects spanning digital literacy, connectivity, women's digital empowerment, peace & online safety, and digital livelihoods — reaching an estimated 2.5 lakh+ people across five or more North Eastern states, in partnership with APNIC Foundation, NEDF, NEDFi, the Internet Society Foundation, Digital Empowerment Foundation, World Bank / ARIAS Society, Women in Tech India, and SLICE Small Finance Bank.
North East CAN — Community Access Network
Rebuilt internet resilience in conflict-affected Churachandpur, Manipur. Two community networks now serve 385 households / 1,422+ people directly, and 2,587 indirectly.
Digital Peace Fellowship
Six-month fellowship equipping 14 young peacebuilders from Manipur, Assam, Nagaland and beyond with digital storytelling, fact-checking and peace-tech skills.
Project Udyamita
Entrepreneurship and digital-skills training for rural women in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh; 4 permanent Udyamita Kendra hubs, 712+ women reached, 446+ trained.
HaqDisha: Entitle4All
Builds digital skills so indigenous, tribal and vulnerable communities can access government e-services, welfare entitlements and grievance-redress platforms.
Cyber Shakti
Cyber-security awareness and digital-literacy training for women, including rural entrepreneurs, across urban and rural North East India.
Access for Aid
Free broadband connectivity for humanitarian responders in three Manipur districts bordering Myanmar, sustaining relief coordination since May 2023.
Digi Samarth
Basic-to-advanced digital and media literacy programme building critical evaluation of information and safe, responsible technology use.
Krisarthak
Digital financial-literacy education for 2.5 lakh farmers under Assam's Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project (APART).
Digital Udyamita
Digital-skills training, market linkages and enterprise support for rural women entrepreneurs across North East India.
Community Internet Library (CIL)
50 new last-mile Community Internet Libraries across 10 districts of Assam and West Bengal, serving Tea Tribe and Adivasi communities.
Digital Injot
Addresses the connectivity and opportunity gap for Assam's Tea Tribe and Adivasi communities — 20% of the state's population.
DSLEE
Digital-skills training for Tea Tribe and Adivasi youth supporting post-COVID economic recovery and welfare-scheme awareness.
Digital One Stop Centre (Kendra)
Community digital one-stop-shop centres providing local access to e-governance, digital literacy and citizen services — 16 centres established: 3 in Kokrajhar, 6 in Jorhat, 2 in Arunachal Pradesh, 2 in Kamrup and 3 in Manipur.
Research, indices & policy tools
- North East Digital Economy and Society IndexA composite index tracking North East India's performance on connectivity access, human capital, use of internet services and integration of digital technology.
- North East India Social Progress Index (NEISPI)A measure of how far the region's states meet citizens' social and environmental needs post-COVID, aligned with UN SDG 2030 indicators.
- Reports, Case Studies & ArticlesStudies and briefs on cyber-safety (including cyber-crime against women), social media and livelihoods, NLP and machine translation for regional languages such as Khasi, digital governance under the Sixth Schedule, and CSR in the North East.
Digital empowerment in North East India is not a single project — it is CSDD's core mandate. From restoring internet access in conflict-hit Manipur, to training rural women entrepreneurs, to protecting communities from misinformation and cyber-crime, to giving Tea Tribe and Adivasi families their first reliable connection to the internet — CSDD's work shows that inclusive digital access can be built even in the region's most challenging environments.
