About COMMON SERVICE CENTER
The Government of India has formulated the National E-Governance Plan with the vision of providing all government services in an integrated manner at the doorstep of the citizen, at an affordable cost. The NeGP initiatives consist of 26 Central, State and Integrated Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) along with 8 other support components for rapid introduction of e-governance in the country. The NeGP envisions a three pillar model for delivery of “web-enabled Anytime, Anywhere access” to information and services in rural India. These are: a) Connectivity: State Wide Area Networks (SWANs)/NICNET b) National Data Bank/ State Data Centres (SDCs) c) Common Services Centers (CSCs). The CSC Scheme, as approved by the Government of India, envisions CSCs as the front-end delivery points for Government, private and social sector services to rural citizens of India, in an integrated manner. The objective is to develop a platform that can enable Government, private and social sector organizations to align their social and commercial goals for the benefit of the rural population in the remotest corners of the country through a combination of IT-based as well as non-IT-based services. Thus, the CSCs cannot be seen as mere service delivery points in rural India. The CSC is positioned as a Change Agent - that would promote rural entrepreneurship, build rural capacities and livelihoods, enable community participation and collective action for social change - through a bottom-up model with focus on the rural citizen. Undertaking such a mammoth task calls for active participation and close interaction amongst various stakeholders such as State Governments, local bodies, opinion makers and agencies/ institutions involved or having interest, commercial or otherwise, in rural areas/ markets. Under the CSC Scheme,a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model has been proposed for undertaking this challenging task and addressing the related issues in the most effective way.
Common Services Centers (CSCs) are a strategic cornerstone of the Digital India programme. They are the access points for delivery of various electronic services to villages in India, thereby contributing to a digitally and financially inclusive society.
CSCs enable the three vision areas of the Digital India programme:
CSCs are the front-end delivery points for G2C, B2C and social sector services to citizens of India. The CSCs are manned by Village level Entrepreneur (VLE), who is a local person appointed to deliver these services and are the real ambassadors of Digital India. They generate business for themselves and also serve their community. Hence, developing a better platform for service delivery and bringing services at the doorstep of rural population.
