Common Service Centers (CSCs)

Common Service Centers (CSCs)

Subject: Polity

Context: The Common Service Centres (CSCs)  a special purpose vehicle of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology  has carved out a niche for itself in facilitating ease of access to government services in nearly all the gram panchayats across the country.

Concept:.

• CSC e-Governance Services India Limited is a Special Purpose Vehicle (CSC SPV) incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, to monitor the implementation of the Common Services Centers Scheme.
• CSCs are the access points for delivery of various electronic services to villages in India, thereby contributing to a digitally and financially inclusive society.
• CSCs are more than service delivery points in rural India. They are positioned as change agents, promoting rural entrepreneurship and building rural capacities and livelihoods.
• They are enablers of community participation and collective action for engendering social change through a bottom-up approach with key focus on the rural citizen.
• CSCs enable the three vision areas of the Digital India programme:

1. Digital infrastructure as Utility to Every Citizen
2. Governance and services on demand
3. Digital empowerment of citizens

Partners

• Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE) to provide service to the rural consumer in villages.
• The agency designated by the State – State Designated Agency (SDA)—to facilitate implementation of the Scheme within the State.
• Others include central ministries, their departments and other central agencies to offer various services to the citizens and partner banks (public and private sector) and regional rural banks to enable CSCs to become Banking Correspondent Agents / Customer Service Points to deliver various banking and financial services.

Services offered

The CSCs would provide high quality and cost-effective video, voice and data content and services, in the areas of e-governance, education, health, telemedicine, entertainment as well as other private services.