Intelligent Village

Vibrant India
Building Foundations for Rural Entrepreneurship

The Rural Scene

About 2/3rds of Indias rural
population engaged in
agriculture, accounts for less
than 1/4th of the National
Income

Of the 135 million Rural

Households, nearly 102 million
have a per-capita income of
Rs. 300 per month

120

Number of HH in millions

In 600,000+ villages
(about 1000 people per village
with per-capita income of
Rs. 20 per day)
per capita GDP of Rs 10,000
per year

102.1

135 million rural

households

100
80
60
40
17

20

10

3.9

1.9

0.3

0.3

18

26

42

65

112

0
3

13

HH Incom e in thousand Rs/m onth

Can we make a Difference?

Can technologies make a significant
difference?
Can it bring to them health & Education
Can it significantly enhance their
incomes?

Remote Eye Care

with Aravind
Hospitals

Components of Our Rural Development Strategy

National eGovernance Plan

enabling ICT as a
tool for development

National Rural
Health Mission with
Rural Sanitation
improving rural
health & well-being

National Rural
Employment
Guarantee Programme
(NREGP) Act
targeting lack of
opportunities
Comprehensive
Rural Development
Strategy

Right to Information
Act enhancing
transparency

Bharat Nirman
enhancing rural
infrastructure

Strengthening Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan with
Universalization of
Midday Meal
programme raising
levels of literacy and
educational attainment

Government of Indias NeG Plan

NeGP Vision
All Government services available to the common man in his
locality, throughout his life, through a one-stop-shop (integrated
service delivery), ensuring efficiency, transparency, & reliability

National Action Plan on e-Governance

Citizen
Database

Road
Transport

Central
Excise

Police

Pensions
India
Portal
HRD
CM

Land
Records

Insurance

Networks

Core
Policies

BPR

Banking
Gateway

Land
Regn

Architecture

Passport
Visa

DCA21

Commrl
Taxes

Income
Tax

Agriculture

Treasuries

CSC - A
Network of
Rural
Service Points
across the
length
and breadth of
India

Do CSC Type initiatives exist in present times?

What weve looked at so far

Yes! A host of them and Successful too!

The CSC is an attempt to integrate and scale-up

such Initiatives through National eGovernance Plan

The CSC Scheme Rationale, Objective

CSC - an important component of the NeGP is a network of
service points across the length and breadth of rural India
CSC aims to provide access to information, backed with
relevant infrastructure and end-to-end services that would
allow rural population, the opportunities to enhance their
quality of life
By enabling access to a large number of services like
e-Government, education, health, credit, etc. the
CSCs offer a solid foundation for the economic prosperity
of rural India

The CSC Scheme Rationale, Objective

Contd

A CSC is an internet kiosk in a village with PC+Internet+Printer,

etc.
A CSC would be serving the people residing in the village where it
is located and also a catchment of population 5-6 villages
surrounding the CSC Village
Range of CSC Services B2C(Sale of Agri-Products, IT Training,
Railway Tickets, DTP Services, Digital Photography); G2C (Form
Downloads, Land Records, Certificates, Online Application Regn.,
Mandi Rates)
The CSC Operator (Village Level Entrepreneur) will be selected
from the village and provided training. VLE will be responsible for
running the CSC business and providing services to the villagers.

Who drives the CSC Scheme?

Government of India
Department of Information Technology (DIT) - Nodal Agency
for NeGP CSC Scheme- Implementation
IL&FS National Level Service Agency (NLSA) - is currently
managing the massive initiative of setting up CSCs in
1,00,000+ villages in the country
State Governments
State Level Agency (SLA) responsible for coordinating
implementation of CSC Scheme
Grassroots
Service Centre Agency (SCA) Promoter of Rural ICT
Initiative Prime Driver of Business and Service Channel
Manager
Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE) CSC (Village Kiosk) Operator

Challenges for the Scheme

Explicit

Low levels of educational attainment of the rural populace

Lack of awareness of ICT advancements

Poor socio-economic status

Implicit

Lack of understanding of PPP frameworks

Lack of appreciation of alternate viable livelihood opportunities

Lack of exposure to innovative practices, technological illiteracy

Opportunities Ahead..

The Evolution Path

CSC to evolve into a full-fledged catalyst for a two-way exchange
of goods and services between rural India and the world

CSC as a Focal Point

Value Sourcing from Rural India
Value-added Products/Services
Achieving the Service Pyramid

Aiming at the Services Pyramid

Building Livelihoods

Quality of Life

Social Development

Income Opportunities

Save Costs

Data
Collection,
Rural BPOs
Entertainment &
Community Radio

Education, Healthcare,
Agricultural Extension, etc.
E-Commerce / Online
Marketplace/Market linkages
E-Government Services/Utility Services

Opportunities for Saving Costs

Government Services
Land records
Registrations
Government certificates and forms
Electricity bill payment
Grievances redressal mechanism
Commercial Services
Data entry (affidavits, estimates, resumes, etc.)
Printing, photocopy, bill payments, online ticketing, digital
photography, document scanning, etc.
Banking and Finance
Extension counters for lead banks and micro-finance
institutions

Income Opportunities, Quality of Life

Income-Building

Agri-Procurement e.g. ITC-IBD, Godrej Agrovet, Tata Chemicals,

Chambal Fertlizers, IFFCOlatelyReliance and Bharti

Data Collection
Vocational Training and Entrepreneurship e.g. MICO Bosch
eCommerce national/international handicrafts procurement
agencies, trade portals such as e-Bay
Bill Collection, Public Grievance Handling

Developmental Services
Education and health services Apollo Hospitals, Aravind Eye
Care, AISECT, NIIT
Quality of Life Services

FMCG Goods e.g. toothpaste, nail-cutters, soaps, baby food, OTC Medicines,

Community radio
Cable Service Providers community television
Astrology, matrimonial services, employment services, etc.

Example: A VLE through CSC will offer a Farmer.

MARKET INFO, Pric

e Info &
Linkage
facilitation

HARVEST & TRANSPORT

OF PRODUCE facilitation

STORAGE
facilitation

KNOWLEDGE /
Extension Services
Facilitation/ Alternate
farming

PRODUCTION RISK
COVERAGE &
PRICE RISK
COVERAGE

CREDIT
facilitation

INPUT facilitation
IRRIGATION
facilitation

Seeds, Fertilisers,
Pesticides, Farm Machinery,
Soil Testing

Example: IETS Partnership with ITC

ITC-IBD and IETS
working together on promoting
e-Education
(Pilot in 11 villages in Yavatmal)
Value Proposition

Sanchalak: Round the year revenue potential and social standing

Student end: Access to education solutions, which help improves
their quality of education and their academic performance
Teacher: Access to programs which helps improve their ability to
deliver quality education and increase their revenue potential

Government Support.Viability of Rural Kiosk

Government has underscored the need for support to achieve

sustainability around e-Government services in rural kiosks

Emphasis is on achieving optimum support level that neither

discourages or over-incentivizes the SCA/VLE, leading to underperformance

Over the first phase of the project (i.e. first four years of operation) the
minimum Opex is nearly 2.5 times of the initial infrastructure cost

Clearly, the bigger challenge is to cover the revenue gaps and associated
risks which arise in rural markets

To that effect, Government of India (DIT) has proposed a revenue-based

governmental intervention and support, rather than a capital subsidy.

Essentially the Government support will take the form of:

Guaranteed Provision of Government Services:Viability Funding
Debt Service Reserve Fund
: Liquidity Support

Government SupportTechnology & Connectivity

Technology Architecture framework being drafted for hardware,
software, connectivity options at
CSC Level
SCA Level
SPV Level
The framework would be made available to the SCAs as well as
States
Initiated discussions with BSNL and other telecom operators for
leveraging their rural footprint
Assessing various options on Language Interface for providing
multi-lingual capabilities
Interacting with State Governments to assess their SWAN
implementation status

Business Model for the CSC Scheme

The SCA will drive the CSC business. Headquartered at a
District or Taluk, the SCA will manage the CSCs set up in
select villages, manned by VLEs
SCA and the selected VLE will enter into a business agreement
SCA will invest in physical infrastructure, develop portfolio of
B2C, G2C services, tie-up with Technology Service Providers
(TSPs), facilitate bank linkages for the VLE-CSC, train the VLE
on new contents, mentor the VLE
VLE using his clout in the village needs to assess the felt need
for ICT-based services, build social capital and business
opportunities, make CSC the one-stop-shop for the villagers

Business Model for the CSC Scheme

Contd
VLE Business Model

VLE will invest an amount ranging between Rs. 15,000/- and Rs.
30,000/- as Deposit with the SCA.
VLE will spend on Selection and Training expenses ~ Rs. 2500/VLE will have to part with a Revenue Share + Fixed Monthly service
Charge to SCA

In returnVLE will have

Income from CSC Services

Infrastructure Support for CSC PC, Internet, Printer, etc.
Access to Training and Mentoring
Bank-linkage Handholding support from SCA Field Staff for Loaning
Process from Banks
Revenue-Shortfall Support from Government through the SCA

Business Model for the CSC Scheme

Contd
SCA Business Model
SCA will invest in Physical Infrastructure, CSC Hardware
and Software
SCA will incur Operational Costs
In returnSCA will receive
Revenue-Share + Fixed Monthly Service Charge from VLE
Revenue-Shortfall Support from Government

Critical Enabling Factor ...Rural Entrepreneurship

To carry out all the activities outlined beforea single

critical factor stands out i.e., Rural Entrepreneurship
Rural entrepreneurship, is community based, has strong
extended family linkages and a relatively large impact on a
rural community.
A rural entrepreneur is someone who is prepared to stay in
the rural area and contribute to the creation of local wealth.
The economic goals of a rural entrepreneur and the social
goals of rural development are strongly inter-linked.

Rural Entrepreneurship - A Novel Approach

How does a Rural Entrepreneur or Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE) get

Created?

Usually, Personal Characteristics +

Socio-Economic Aspects make aVLE..

However, VLE can also be created through a set of supporting

institutions and through deliberate innovative action. And this is
where IETS steps in.

Deliberate Innovative Action in terms of Education and Training.

Rural Entrepreneurship Training greatly affects supply of rural
entrepreneurs.thus is indirectly an important source of rural
entrepreneurship.

Who can be a VLE?

Geography-wise
Candidate belonging to a Rural Location Village, Gram
Panchayat, etc.
Occupation-wise
Any Occupation.One who is running a small business in village,
educated unemployed youth, retired government functionaries, ExServicemen, farmer, etc.
Socio-Economic Condition
Not relevant
Personal Traits
Self-disciplined, willing to serve the community, willing to learn and
earn by put learning to practice

CSC An Opportunity for Army Personnel

to Build the Rural Foundation
The CSC Scheme presents a good opportunity for the Army to
retrain and redeploy its strong workforce in peace-time
grassroots initiatives
CSC provides a unique opportunity for Post-retirement
pursuits. Every year around 20,000 army personnel of various
ranks, retire from their Commissions.
CSC Scheme is all about Nation Building and Social
Entrepreneurship which is all about serving Village
Communities through Rural Entrepreneurship
Army recruitment drive could be further decentralized using
CSC as Centres for Awareness Building, Promotion and
Receiving Applications
CSC can provide a unique platform to forge a win-win
partnership [Advanced Technology + Disciplined Workforce at
Grassroots] aimed at Rural Prosperity

How to participate in CSC?

Contd

IL&FS-IETS is exploring the possibility of associating with

the Indian Army in bringing the ex-servicemen and retired
army personnel irrespective of their ranks into the CSC fold.
IETS believes
The Indian Army provides a rich resource-base of
disciplined, capable and determined human force to reckon
with for peace-time nation building activities
A large number of Army personnel serving across the
country in different ranks complete their commission term
every year and return to the civilian fold in most cases
settle in rural areas

About
IL&FS - IETS

IETS Activities

IL&FS Education and Technology Services Limited (IETS) is promoted by

IL&FS

Key Objectives - Making learning experience-led, interactive, insight-based

and stimulating thereby improving the overall quality of education delivery

IETS is also engaged in undertaking capacity building initiatives for

government employees, village level entrepreneurs, NGOs, etc. in the realm of
governance and rural entrepreneurship.

Some of our Initiatives:

Initiative

V-Governance Program, Government of Gujarat

No. Trained
2,25,000

V-Governance Program, Government of Rajasthan

16,000

Teacher Training Programs across 1000 schools

25,000

Computer Education Program

1,35,000

IETS Team

200 professionals with

over 90 percent
working
in
the
operative
divisions
and the core support
functions

Academicians,
administrators,
social scientists,
policy formulators,
consultants and
technocrats form part
of IETSs team. Such
diversity adds to the
overall vibrancy and
strength of the team

Partnering for Change.

IL&FS being the national level coordinating

agency, seeks partnerships with like-minded
organizations and individuals who share their
commitment and passion to enhance the
economic landscape of rural India through
training and capacity building
We would be more than glad to guide and assist
interested Parties in their endeavours

Thank You!