The Hindu Business Line : Srei Group kicks off CSC project in Bengal

Kolkata, July 18 Srei Sahaj-e-Village Ltd, a subsidiary of Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd, today kicked-off its communication network for the Common Service Centres (CSCs), under the National e-Governance Plan in West Bengal.

It may be recalled that Srei Infrastructure Finance on April 5, had signed a Master Service Agreement with the West Bengal Government to set up CSCs in rural Bengal under the Panchayat and Rural Development Programme. The programme has been drawn up under the PPP model.

Srei will manage some 5,000 CSCs in collaboration with Wipro Infotech. While Wipro will be responsible for the technological inputs, Srei Sahaj will chalk out the various services the CSCs will provide to the rural population.

Talking to newspersons here today at the foundation laying of the first communication tower at Singur, the CEO of Srei Sahaj-e-Village, Dr Sabahat Azim, said “today is actually the first stage towards bridging the digital divide between urban and rural India”.

He said nearly 80 per cent of the villages in West Bengal will be connected to the Internet through a large wi-fi network to be built in the State. According to Dr Amin, over 47 million people in the villages of West Bengal would benefit through this programme, which will actually open up opportunities for the rural population to set up a sustainable business.

The programme envisages setting up one CSC for each cluster of six villages within one falling within each Gram Panchayat and Panchayat Samiti offices. Some 4,937 such CSCs, labelled as “Tathya Mitras”, are being set up with Internet connectivity and will offer e-Governance services and other commercial services to the rural people.

According to Dr Amin, a number of village-level entrepreneurs, preferably from women self-help groups, will get direct livelihood while the rest of the population will have access to e-Governance and Internet at their doorsteps at a very nominal charge.

Rural needs

According to senior Srei officials, these CSCs have the potential of developing into revenue neutral tools in the hands of other companies and service providers keen to access rural markets.

More Stories on : E-Governance | Rural Development | West Bengal

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Srei Group kicks off CSC project in Bengal