SHILLONG, July 17: Rose Angelina M. Kharsyntiew, a Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE) from Eastern West Khasi Hills district, was honoured at the national celebration of Digital India@10 for her outstanding contribution to grassroots digital empowerment.
The event, held in New Delhi on Wednesday, recognised her as one of the changemakers transforming rural India through the Common Services Centre (CSC) scheme.
Hailing from Mairang, Rose Angelina has, over the past decade, emerged as a driving force in bridging the digital divide in remote Meghalaya. Operating under the banner Rose CSC, she has provided a range of essential digital services, from government schemes and banking to insurance, telemedicine and digital literacy.
Her work has impacted hundreds of residents in and around her region, making her centre a vital public access point for both state and central schemes.
Beyond service delivery, she has also spearheaded a sanitary pad manufacturing unit under the Stree Swabhiman initiative. The unit has promoted menstrual hygiene awareness while creating employment opportunities for local women.
At the commemorative event, Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw lauded Rose for leading a digital revolution from one of the remotest parts of the country.
Her efforts, he said, exemplify how technology in the hands of determined individuals can empower communities and reshape lives. The Digital India initiative, launched in 2015, has seen exponential growth—expanding from 83,000 CSCs to over 5.5 lakh across India today. Of these, more than 74,000 are run by women like Rose Angelina, whose leadership and persistence have been instrumental in realising the vision of inclusive digital governance.
As the programme enters its next phase with expanded services and free AI training for 10 lakh citizens, the Centre sees changemakers like Rose as key to deepening digital access across rural India.
