<span style="color: #222222;">Union Minister of State for Panchayat Raj, Kapil Moreshwar Patil who was on a visit to Karnataka yesterday has praised the efforts made by the Gram Panchayats in Karnataka to set up digital libraries in villages. There are 891 digital libraries maintained by the Gram Panchayats in the state. These libraries have issued free membership to 10 lakh students residing in villages.<br />''<br />''A separate section is created for those preparing for competitive exams. Various donor agencies have donated 7.3 lakh books to the Gram Panchayat libraries apart from digital books.<br />''<br />''Union Minister Kapil Moreshwar Patil said that such digital libraries encourage reading habits among the children and added that he has thought of introducing such digital libraries in other parts of the country.</span><br />