Indian Government to provide Digital connectivity to all gram panchayats

The Indian Government, in its latest push to encourage the digitization in the country and to improve quality & delivery of government services, has decided to provide digital connectivity to all gram panchayats in the country.

What has happened?

• The Ministry of Panchayati Ray (which handles all affairs related to the gram panchayats in India) and the Common Service Centre have signed an agreement to convert all gram panchayats in the country to digital panchayats.?
• The Common Service Centre(CSC) is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) which aims to provide government services to the people in rural areas.
• This recent move by the government aims to provide speedy delivery of government services to the people in rural areas and will promote the setting up of rural Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) centers in the country in all 2.5 lakh panchayats in the country.?
• As per the memorandum of understanding(MoU) which was signed between the MoPR and CSC e-Governance, the Gram Panchayat Bhawans will be made the hosts of common service centers (CSCs) which will provide all government services and social schemes under one roof that is easily accessible to all villagers.
• Operating out of these Gram Panchayat Bhawans, the CSCs will also be responsible for updating the data related to the implementation and disbursal of the government schemes and programs which are being run by other central and state government departments.

Will be it be beneficial?

Yes, providing the villages with a sustainable and reliable source of internet connectivity which encourages rural entrepreneurship and will contribute to the development of sustainable village economies.