BACKGROUND
With the advent of Information & Communication Technology and its increasing relevance in addressing the development and technology divide, the telecentre concept has found its global acceptance as the public good platforms, for people to learn, share, experience, communicate and acquire digital skills. While the nature and modus operandi of telecentres vary at country level, the common focus has been on the service to community, with rational use of digital technologies, to support social, economic and educational needs of communities – be it to bridge isolations, knowledge gaps, promoting health and livelihood or channeling youth power towards productive occupations.
By now, telecentres exist in almost every country and region, though known by different names –public internet access center (PIAP), community technology center (CTC), community multimedia center (CMC), Common Services Centres etc. These public interfacing Centres have gradually found support from the Government, Corporate, Civil Society and independent agencies. Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and UNESCO are two such global supporting bodies facilitating the spread of the global telecentre movement.
While the telecentre movement continues to grow worldwide, the sustainability of such Centres remains a source of concern for those involved in program design, implementation and support. But this has also led to several specific and need based solutions, being devised and worked out subsequently.
Telecentres in India
As per official figures, there are more than 300,000 citizen-centric telecenters in India (including 180,000 cybercafés). These centres are being promoted and sustained by the government and private players, jointly or otherwise. These centres are seen as integrated information and service delivery platforms, run by micro entrepreneurs in villages, towns and cities. Known by different names – Common Services Centres, Village Knowledge Centres (VKC), eChoupals, Community Information Centres (CIC), Agritech Centres, Information Kiosks, Drishtee Kendras, n-Logue Centres, Tarahaat Centres – these telecentres provide varied information, content and knowledge services to diverse citizen groups. For instance, while the VKCs, run by MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, are providing rural information and content services to villagers, the eChoupals run by the industry group ITC are catering specifically to farmers’ needs in India.
Since 2008, the telecentre movement in India has expanded manifold with the latest Common Services Centre (CSC) program, initiated by the Department of Information Technology, Govt. of India. The first phase roll out of 1, 00,000 CSCs has been on for more than 2 years now and as per official figures, currently more than 80,000 CSCs have already been established. The CSC program, currently being run by a specially created Special Purpose Vehicle, named as `CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd.’, is a public-private joint initiative to serve two main objectives – the delivery of citizen services at village level and to promote entrepreneurship and livelihood among rural youths.
The Concern/Issues
The telecentre activities in India are today facing key challenges in operation, maintenance, administration, policy and service related issues. These challenges exist despite the vast scope and opportunities that these centres provide in service delivery, addressing the digital divide, increasing employability and income generation.
The Key Challenges
Lack of successful models for operation, maintenance and sustainability;
Lack of suitable basket of services that include wide range of G2C and B2C services; Gaps in policy and administrative support for the services identified for rolling out;
Lack of entrepreneurship & skills among telecentre operators;
Lack of demand and supply assessments.
The Need
The express need identified for the telecentres in India is to create One Singular networking Platform to bring all telecentres in India towards a common cause – how to make the Indian telecentres into vibrant single window citizen-services delivery platforms with a win-win situation for all the stakeholders in the eco-system.
