Drishtee - India

Rather than being administered through a government officer, this programme draws on a trained village entrepreneur to serve as a role model and messenger of information about software for villagers. This "Soochak", educated to 10th grade level or above, is selected by village committees and the local community to operate an Information Kiosk on a commercial basis. The Information Kiosks are set up on the roadsides of villages, normally at the major bus stands servicing rural areas. The Kiosks have dialup connectivity through local exchanges on optical fibre or UHF links. Besides the computer and the modem, the hardware set-up at the kiosk includes a printer, UPS (shipping) services, furniture, and paper. The Soochak receives no salary for his services and bears the cost of paper, maintenance, electricity, and telephone bills. He pays 20% of his income as a commission for maintaining the network. A team of implementers, managers, and technical staff administers this "hub".

Between two and four members of the Gram Panchayat (Village Council), that is, between two and ten villages with a population of 5,000 to 10,000, have access to the services provided by a single Information Kiosk. To enhance the economical viability of the Kiosks, the Kiosk owners (Soochaks) are given licenses to vendor government judicial stamps; they are also assigned powers of petition writers.

Rural services include Avedan, Land Records, Gram Daak (mailing software), Gram Haat (virtual market place), Vaivahiki (Matrimonial), Shikayat (online grievance redressal), and Mandi Information System.

In light of knowledge gained from operations in these districts, Drishtee has compiled a manual for best practices to be adopted in partner-operated districts.

Technology, Political Development, Youth.

Seven hundred million Indians live in villages and are thus isolated from means of accessing information and communication technologies. Providing basic requirements like food, clothing, and shelter - or means of employment, like a fishing rod - often leads only to migration rather than development within the community itself. In India, people still consider government to be the main service and employment provider. This programme aims to facilitate access to that source of assistance.

Using a tiered franchise and partnership model, Drishtee is poised to help create approximately 50,000 Information Kiosks all over India within a span of six years. These kiosks would potentially serve a market of 500 million people, with aggregate discretionary purchasing power of Rs. 100 billion (Rs. 10,000 crores). With a minimum size of 800 families as a prerequisite for a Kiosk's viability, a total of 100 such kiosks or more is expected to be set up within an average Indian District.

Since the implementation of the network, efficiency level in the functioning of the government departments has increased, resulting in better and faster services for rural people. Further, self-help groups in rural areas seem to be more organised and empowered due to transparency brought about in the government services and rural economy. The lower government functionaries have become computer-savvy, as is indicated by the increased number of applications for computer loans from Employees Provident Fund and increased number of officials who have entered computer-training classes. Computer literacy also appears to have increased in rural areas: 120 rural youths have been trained in the Soochanalayas in the remote areas. The state IT policy has been re-oriented in light of the project's impact, and national debates on the new models of e-governance have been generated.