How a railway porter in Kerala achieved his civil services dream

Sreekanth K, a coolie (porter), recently cleared the Kerala Public Service Commission exam. The high school pass-out has been working at Kerala's Ernakulam Junction for the past five years. He prepared for the exam with the help of technology. Making use of the free Wi-Fi at the station, Sreekanth downloaded the study material and studied not only in his free time but while carrying luggage with earphones plugged in his ears. He scored 82 marks out of 100 in the written test for the post of Village Assistant. The Wi-Fi service, launched in 2016 as part of Digital India initiative, provides free Internet to passengers under Railwire, the retail broadband distribution model of RailTel Corporation of India Limited. According to PTI, as of May 2018, at least 685 railway stations have been equipped with WiFi technology across the country, with the Indian Railways setting a target of providing this facility at all 8,500 stations by March 2019 at a cost of Rs 700 crore.