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Local Government

Long road ahead for India's e-services

By Robin Hicks | 8 June 2009

The Indian government’s rollout of web-connected Common Service Centers (CSC) has been completed in the states of Jharkhand, Haryana and Sikkim, with more than 40,000 kiosks operational.

However the e-governance programme is not yet underway in the states of Punjab, Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh and Kerala, and the union territory of Pondicherry, while a tender has yet to be issued for Punjab.

The CSC rollout is a part of the National E-Governance Plan (NeGP), which is being funded by a US$16 million budget. Broadband connectivity for CSCs was to be provided by the state-owned internet service provider BSNL Broadband and the rollout is being funded by a public private partnership.

The scheme is not without its critics. Nikhil Pahwa of the Pottsdam e-Government Competence Centre noted: “In our opinion, this [scheme] won’t really help broadband coverage since villages won’t get direct access to the internet. Instead, the CSCs appear to be more on the lines of a post office, where villagers can go to get printouts of information. Access to information will still be controlled by the VLE running the CSC.

A CSC is a kiosk that allows online bill payments, booking tickets, job applications, market information searches and produce sales in remote rural locations. They are managed by a Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE), which serves as the nodal point for services and government schemes.

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