The Public Interest Registry (PIR) has partnered with the Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) to host a series of eNGO Workshops – training programs to help NGOs develop and manage an online presence – across India. Earlier this summer, the PIR had expressed its intention to apply for the management of a new top-level domain, .NGO, when the domain becomes available in January 2012.

Currently, more than 80 per cent of the 3.3 million NGOs in India do not have an online presence.  Over the next three months, PIR and DEF will provide, through the eNGO training program, a significant portion of these NGOs with a web-supported platform that includes a free website, domain name, and capacity building, according to a release issued by the PIR.

To that effect, the PIR and DEF have partnered with NGOs in India and South Asia to kick-start the eNGO grassroots campaign. Some of these partners include Technology for the People in Karnataka, Sristi Gyan Kendra in Haryana, ALOK Sanstha in Champaran District in Bihar, North East Development Foundation in Assam, and HenvalVani Radio in Tehri in Uttarakhand.

The .org domain is among the Internet’s largest ‘generic’ or non-country specific top-level domain (TLD) with more than 9 million domain names registered worldwide. PIR is manager of the .ORG domain. It was founded by the Internet Society in 2002, and is based in Reston, Virginia, USA.

eNGO workshops will be held in Bangalore, Panchkulla, Champaran, Bihar, Shimla, and Kanpur. You will find more information here. You can find a copy of the release here.