One Lakh Digital Villages To Be Rolled Out In Two Phases

The government plans to roll out digital villages project by July end, which is estimated to cost around Rs 10,000 crore to the exchequer.

In the first year, about 50,000 digital villages (Digi Gaons) will be set up. The villages will be linked through optical fibre provided by BharatNet, a senior official from the ministry of communications told DNA Money. Another 50,000 digital villages will be set up in the second phase of the project.

The detailed project report has been formulated by CSC e-Governance Services Ltd, under the Ministry of Electronics and IT and will be put up for the approval of the minister Ravi Shankar Prasad next week. Subsequently, a Cabinet note will be floated for approval, and it is expected that funding will be allocated in the Budget scheduled on July 5.

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• The detailed project report has been formulated by CSC e-Governance Services Ltd, under the Ministry of Electronics and IT
• A Cabinet note will be floated for approval, and it is expected that funding will be allocated in the Budget scheduled on July 5

The issues between Common Service Centers (CSCs), which will set up digital villages and the department of telecommunications for use of fibre from BharatNet have been put on fast track and will be resolved soon, the official said.

The ambitious programme of setting up these digital villages was announced in this year’s Interim Budget.

CSCs have already set up 700 digital villages. An investment of about Rs 10 lakh is required for turning one village into a digital one, according to estimates. Conceptually, a digital village means it will have a digital banker, a digital doctor and a digital teacher with internet WiFi access point. The internet connection will be provided through BharatNet, the government’s programme to connect rural hinterland.

The minister after taking charge of the communications ministry on Monday had said the setting up of 1 lakh digital villages will be expedited and assets of BharatNet will be leveraged for improving digital service delivery.

Every CSC centre at a digital village will have 5-10 computers for providing online services to citizens, apart from various digital course offerings. Apart from this, small units for LED assembly, manufacturing of sanitary pads and photography lab will be set up, which will generate employment as well. A village-level entrepreneur (VLE) operates and manages the CSC unit and is paid based on a transaction model. VLE needs to invest in setting up the infrastructure.

Out of 3.5 lakh CSCs operating across the country, about 2.20 lakh are in the rural areas. The DigiGaon project was started in 2017. It was formulated to improve health and education services in rural areas, provision of community access to IT-enabled resource centre, Wifi and LED street lighting at a commonplace in the village to create a conducive environment for digital literacy, financial inclusion and digital access to knowledge and services.

CSCs, an important part of government’s Digital India initiative, function as a single access point for delivery of services electronically including passport enrolment. They also enable people to access government services online such as train tickets, birth certificates, online submission of various forms and bills.―DNA India