TECH EFFECT

You might still have to explain the politics of electricity to the average villager but over the next year, you certainly won't have to explain 'broadband' or 'information highway'. By next month, Jharkhand will get the first of the Centre's ambitious Internet kiosks, called Common Service Centres, bringing under one roof facilities ranging from e-mail to accessing land and agriculture records from the administration.

Around 4,500 kiosks will open up next month while 10 other states Haryana, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Assam will get the centres in a year.

The kiosks will be similar to cybercafes, with one or more computers, telephone, fax and maybe, a projector. They will, however, go beyond the cybercafe in the services they offer a typical kiosk would have information on crop protection, agriculture tools, pricing and marketing besides possibly, a database on blood banks, doctors, vaccination schedules, even matrimonials. Other applications include providing ration cards, birth and death certificates, licences and grievance redressal.

If things go by plan, there will be one kiosk for every six villages, situated near a bus stop, panchayat ghar or a community place.

While the idea is not new, the Centre is ensuring that this time around, the kiosks are run professionally. Corporate groups will act as franchisers for these kiosks, also bringing in their range of products and services. "Delivering services while maintaining economic sustainability in the long run, is the biggest challenge," said Asis Sanyal, alternate mission leader for the project in the Department of IT. GodrejAgro, Reliance, Wipro and Hughes have already bid in various states to work on the project.

The IT department will oversee the project which will be handled by Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS), appointed as the National Level Service Agency (NLSA). After four years, the project will be handed over to a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) — a company formed for day-to-day monitoring of the CSCs — much like the Noida toll bridge model, also executed by IL&FS. At the lowest level, the village entrepreneur or franchisee will operate for a cluster of 5-6 villages.

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