Common Services Centres (CSC)

Subject – Governance

Context – CSC network may help expand passport services

Concept –

The Common Services Centres (CSC), a special purpose vehicle of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), have received approvals to manage and operate Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) kiosks in rural areas.
The CSCs have an extensive network of village-level entrepreneurs (VLEs) who run and operate over 2.5 lakh centres across India. Most of these centres are present either in rural or semi-urban areas, where internet connectivity is not always the fastest.
In such a scenario, CSCs have managed to create a niche for themselves by offering services such as registering people for voter ID card, Aadhaar Card, helping them pay their electricity and other bills on time, as well as provide basic banking services.
Over the past three years, CSCs have tied up with partners, both public and private sector, across domains by leveraging their presence across the country.