- A proposal for Rs 15,000 crore has been prepared by CSC eGovernance Services India Ltd, which will be the nodal point for digital villages project
- the whole project will involve over 10 central ministries to make a digital village successful and connect it with the rest of India
- Once the proposal is approved by Ministry of Electronics and IT, it will send for Cabinet for final approval
- A digital village will also mean the creation of employment opportunities for rural people by promoting the IT/ITeS industry
The government plans to set the ball rolling for setting up 100,000 digital villages as early as next month. A proposal for Rs 15,000 crore has been prepared by CSC eGovernance Services India Ltd, which will be the nodal point for digital villages project.
According to the detailed project report prepared by CSC eGovernance, the whole project will involve over 10 central ministries to make a digital village successful and connect it with the rest of India. Ministries of communications, electronics and IT, Jal Shakti, agriculture, health and others will be an important part of this project.
Once the proposal is approved by Ministry of Electronics and IT, it will send for Cabinet for final approval, a senior ministry official said to DNA News.
Benefits galore
Digital villages will have CSCs acting as additional service points for participating ministries and departments. This is part of government’s biggest project Digital India, under which CSCs been have set up as a strategic cornerstone across India.
A digital village will also mean the creation of employment opportunities for rural people by promoting the IT/ITeS industry, a senior government official said to DNA News.
As a proof of concept model, the Digital Village project has been implemented in villages in six villages where the area is connected through WiFi, entrepreneurship opportunities by setting up cottage industries for manufacturing candle incense sticks or sanitary napkins. Besides, 700 villages have been converted into digital ones to showcase the offerings, according to the DPR.
