6 Crore Rural Citizens To Become Digitally Literate In 3 Years

As the Indian Government took the path towards a more tech savvy India, it became one of the biggest adopters of IT. To step a notch ahead of others, many actions were taken in a bid to develop the rural areas as well. To comprehend the government’s IT initiatives in villages, Dataquest delved into a conversation with Dr. Dinesh Kumar Tyagi, CEO, CSC e-Governance Services India Limited to get a better understanding on the various IT services implemented under the Common Services Centres scheme

- Sarabjeet Kaur

A few years ago, India set its foot on the journey to revolutionize its governmental services by taking a turn towards e-Governance. In only two years time, the journey of e-Governance initiatives has crossed miles. The successful implementation of many e-Governance projects across the country have given a powerful thrust which was required to ensure the promotion of inclusive growth that covers electronic services, products, devices and job opportunities.

In order to make this IT based dream come true, many new departments were set-up after the government’s decision to transform the nation digitally. Out of the many departments which are working to serve the purpose of the Digital India Programme, CSC e-Gov Services Department is one such department which works to deliver ICT enabled governmental, financial, social, and private sector services to citizens in the rural areas. CSCs (Common Services Centres) are the access points for delivery of various electronic services to villagers, thereby contributing to digital and financial inclusive society.

More than delivery points, CSC builds rural livelihood and promotes entrepreneurship in such rural areas. However, with power comes great responsibility and there is no easy way to accomplish a goal without facing hurdles. Dr. Dinesh Kumar Tyagi, CEO of CSC e-Gov Services shared some of the challenges commonly faced by the scheme, “Common Services Centre scheme enables rural enterprise through the use of ICT. Whatever challenges the rural enterprise faces, they become a challenge for CSC scheme. These rural enterprises face different challenges such as the ability to create an enterprise and bring together the entrepreneurial skills. Second is the quality of connectivity. There are some areas where connectivity still has a long way to go. Some areas use data card but some are yet to even involve in this development.”

KEY CHALLENGES IN RURAL AREAS