Divyam Srivastava-E-Governance Thesis IIPM

“Role And Scope Of E-Governance In Rural Economy”

THE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF PLANNING AND MANAGEMENTNEW DELHI

THESIS REPORT ON

Role And Scope Of E-Governance In Rural Economy

SUBMITTED TO:

PROF. SUMANTA SHARMA

EXTERNAL GUIDE:

MAJOR ASHUTOSH SHRIVASTAVA.

INTERNAL GUIDE:

Prof ALPI JAIN.

SUBMITTED BY

DIVYAM SRIVASTAVAPGP/FW/2007-09

ALUMNI ID NO. DF79-M-0134

DIVYAM SRIVASTAVA PGP/FW/2007-09 DF79-M-0134

1


ABSTRACT

E-governance stands for `electronic governance’ or the use of ICT (information and communication technology) to improve the delivery of government services to citizens (G2C), businesses (G2B) and other government agencies (G2G). (G2G).

E-governance helps in integrating and simplifying government services, reducing the time citizens and businesses spend obtaining/submitting information from/to the government, increasing government transparency by cutting down corruption, improving government finances through enhanced revenue collection and cost reduction, and improving the business environment in the country for private sector development and to enhance foreign direct investment.

E-governance is a tool for achieving good governance and is not an end in itself. In good governance, public processes and institutions produce results that meet the needs of society while making the best use of resources at their disposal. It also requires that the institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe. And e-Governance is what helps the government achieve this goal. It allows citizens to communicate with the government, participate in the government’s policy-making and reflect their true needs.

Achieving success in e-Governance requires active partnerships between government, citizens and the private sector. The e-governance process needs continuous input and feedback from the `customers’— the citizens, resident, businesses and officials who use electronic public services. Their voices and ideas are essential to making e-Governance work. Hence e-governance has to be a shared vision with all the stakeholders – government and non-government – participating in defining this vision.

For e-governance initiatives, the three Ps – public-private partnership (PPP) are a must. The PPP model of development focuses on collaboration between the public and the private sector. It recognizes the importance of the private sector in reaching development goals by promoting business, creating income, providing jobs as well as developing a sense of corporate social responsibility. The public and the private sector recognize overlaps of their goals, see the opportunities for cooperation, and work side by side in mutual projects.


2


CERTIFICATE FROM GUIDE

This is to certify that this thesis report titled "Role And Scope Of E-Governance

In Rural Economy” was prepared and completed successfully by Divyam

Srivastava under my guidance.

The thesis has been completed to my satisfaction and I wish him all the best in

his future endeavours.

MAJOR ASHUTOSH SHRIVASTAVA


3


THESIS APPROVAL LETTER

From: thesis [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, April 25, 2009 2:14 PMTo: [email protected]; [email protected]: Thesis Topic Approval (M) FW/ 2007-09

Dear Divyam Srivastava,

This is to inform that the thesis topic “An Empirical Study on the Role of E-

Governance in Rural India”, as proposed by you, has been approved .This email

is an official confirmation that you would be doing your thesis work under the

guidance of Maj. Ashutosh Shrivastava . Make it a comprehensive thesis; the

objective of a thesis should be value addition to the existing knowledge base.

Please ensure that the objectives as stated by you in your synopsis are met

using the appropriate research design.

You must always use the thesis title as approved and registered with us.

Your Alumni ID Number is DF79-M-0134

You are required to correspond with us by sending at least six response sheets

to Prof. Alpi Jain at [email protected]. Ph-011-42789891 ( format attached

along with this mail) at regular intervals, before 31st July 2009(the last date for

thesis submission).

Regards,

Sumanta SharmaDean (Academics)The Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi [email protected]: 011– 42789910,876


4

mailto:[email protected]


THESIS SYNOPSIS

Particulars of the student.

1. Name of Student:- Divyam Srivastava.2. Batch:- FW 07-093. Specialization:- Marketing/ HR.4. Section:- P-4.5. E-mail Id:- [email protected]. Phone No;- +91-9999049511/ +91-9792003020.7. ID:- D0709FW10460.

Desired Area of Research:-

IT Industry ( Service Industry, Marketing Research ).

Title of the Thesis.

" Role and scope of e-governance in the rural sector of the economy "An Empirical Study.

Objective.

1. To study the mass potential and objectivity of e-governance in the rural sector of the country.

2. To evaluate and simulate the strategies of e-governance in the country adopted by Public-Private Partnership.

Introduction to the Area of Research.

E-governance stands for `electronic governance’ or the use of ICT (information and communication technology) to improve the delivery of government services to citizens (G2C), businesses (G2B) and other government agencies (G2G). (G2G).

E-governance helps in integrating and simplifying government services, reducing the time citizens and businesses spend obtaining/submitting information from/to the government, increasing government transparency by cutting down corruption, improving government finances through enhanced revenue collection and cost reduction, and improving the business environment in the country for private sector development and to enhance foreign direct investment.


5



E-governance is a tool for achieving good governance and is not an end in itself. In good governance, public processes and institutions produce results that meet the needs of society while making the best use of resources at their disposal. It also requires that the institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe. And e-Governance is what helps the government achieve this goal. It allows citizens to communicate with the government, participate in the government’s policy-making and reflect their true needs.

Achieving success in e-Governance requires active partnerships between government, citizens and the private sector. The e-governance process needs continuous input and feedback from the `customers’— the citizens, resident, businesses and officials who use electronic public services. Their voices and ideas are essential to making e-Governance work. Hence e-governance has to be a shared vision with all the stakeholders – government and non-government – participating in defining this vision.

For e-governance initiatives, the three Ps – public-private partnership (PPP) are a must. The PPP model of development focuses on collaboration between the public and the private sector. It recognizes the importance of the private sector in reaching development goals by promoting business, creating income, providing jobs as well as developing a sense of corporate social responsibility. The public and the private sector recognize overlaps of their goals, see the opportunities for cooperation, and work side by side in mutual projects.

Scope of the Study.

The study will be based on how well are the strategies are adopted by the Government and the private players in the country. The effective delivery of the services in the country like India will also Foster, the overall economic development of the country.


6


Research Methodology

Collection of Data

1. Primary Data:- Information collected through Questionnaires and through different officials ( Whether Government or Private ).

2. Secondary Data:- Collected through Government journals, Newsletters,Company's reports and etc.

Justification of choosing a Particular Topic:-

I had chosen the particular topic because the topic is very intrinsic to the point of development of the rural economy is very important if we want overall development of our country.

The topic covers such points that are very important to give a clear view in the eyes of the government or the private players existing in the country that there is a lot of potential in the rural economy.

Reasons for going rural because:-a) Huge potential.b) Uncovered market.c) People looking for a better change.d) Education will empower them to become an entrepreneur.e) Looking for advancements.

Helping customers, businessmen and government officials to go for the best in the e-governance platform.

Details Of External Guide.

Name of the Company:- SREI SAHAJ e-village Ltd, Lucknow.Name of the Guide:- Major Ashutosh Shrivastava.Designation:- State Head Uttar Pradesh.Contact No:- +91-9792003000.E-mail id:- [email protected]'s Web-Site:- www.sahajcorporate.com


7

http://www.sahajcorporate.com/



ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Through this acknowledgement I express my sincere gratitude towards all those

people who helped me in this project, which has been a learning experience.

I am thankful to my project guide Major Ashutosh Shrivastava and Prof Alpi Jain

for guiding me throughout this study without his help this dissertation would have

not be completed.

I appreciate the co-ordination extended by my friends and also express my

sincere thankfulness to the entire faculty members of Indian Institute of Planning

& Management, Delhi, giving me the opportunity to do this project/study and also

assisting me for the same.

I owe everything in this life to my parents who are a constant source of

inspiration and pillars of support.


8


TABLE OF CONTENT

Abstract

Certificate from Guide

Thesis Approval Letter

Thesis Synopsis

Acknowledgement

Chapter-1: Introduction

Chapter-2: Literature Review

Chapter-3: Research Objective and Methodology

Chapter-4: Finding and Analysis

Chapter-5: Survey results

Chapter-6 Conclusion and Recommendation

Bibliography

Annexure.


9


CHAPTER-1 INTRODUCTION

Executive Summary

1.0. ICT for Rural Empowerment

1.1. ICT as an Enabler:

ICT can be a powerful enabler of developmental goals as its use can dramatically improve communication and exchange of information for strengthening and creating new economic and social networks. ICT is pervasive and can be applied to the full range of human activity-from personal use to business and government. ICT is multifunctional and flexible, allowing for tailored solutions to meet diverse needs of the population. ICT facilitates disintermediation, as it makes it possible for users to acquire products and services directly from the original provider, reducing the need for intermediaries. ICT is fair, equal and transparent as it does not differentiate on the basis economic status, religion or castes of its users.

1.2. The Development Challenge:

About two-thirds of India’s predominantly rural population having agriculture as its primary occupation, account for less than one-third of the National Income leading to disparity in incomes in rural and urban India. Government agencies, domestic and international institutions associated with development, and NGOs have been engaged in addressing this persistent development problem, each in their own space and time, armed with their respective development ideologies and tools. Traditional rural development interventions have centered round:

a) Rural development programmes and schemes launched either at central, state or local government level;

b) Decentralization of Planning;

c) Better enforcement of land reforms; and,

d) Greater access to credit


10


The strategy has been evolving with changing times and taking into its fold new approaches such as participatory local governance, community development, technology diffusion, and rural entrepreneurship. While the participatory local governance and community development approaches have been well absorbed and adopted by the Government agencies, NGOs and the grassroots alike, the induction of ICT and ‘rural entrepreneurship’ into the rural development domain has been more or less unorganized (despite the promising growth in ICT infrastructure and information system in urban areas).

1.3. The NeGP:

The NeGP stresses upon ICT as a platform for the rural communities to leapfrog some of the traditional barriers to development by improving access to information, expanding their market base, enhancing employment opportunities and making the Government work better. The NeGP recognizes and supports the need for rural India to take advantage of ‘knowledge-intensive’ techniques for sustainability. Given below illustrates the Three Pillar Model for the NeGP:


11


NeGP - The Three Pillar Model

The NeGP is an enormous step towards making the Government accessible to citizens, in ways that can not only save huge costs to the Government but also make it more transparent and efficient in its day-to-day interactions with the common man. To that effect, the role of the Common Services Centers, envisaged as the front-end delivery network for Government services assumes great significance.


12


CHAPTER-2

LITERATURE REVIEW

There are different components of National E-Governance Scheme.

The Common Services Centers (CSCs): CSCs are envisioned as the front-end delivery points for Government, private and social sector services to rural citizens of India. The idea is to develop a platform that can enable Government, private and social sector organizations to integrate their social and commercial goals for the benefit of rural populations in the remotest corners of the country through a combination of IT as well as non-IT services.

CSC as a Change Agent:

The CSCs cannot be seen as mere service delivery points in rural India. The CSC has to be positioned as a Change Agent - that will promote rural entrepreneurship, build rural capacities and livelihoods, enable community participation and effect collective action for social change - through a bottom-up model that focuses on the rural citizen.

ICT in isolation cannot undertake such monumental socio-economic change. However, Rural Entrepreneurship driven by Government, Private and Social sector agencies, and supported by continuous capacity building and training has the power to undertake dramatic changes in rural incomes as well as attitudes. The intensity of national goals fueled by local entrepreneurial vigor can act as a powerful catalyst to empower rural India.

Public Private Partnership (PPP):

To undertake such a mammoth task calls for participation of leading thought leaders and agencies involved in rural markets. It is proposed that a Public Private Partnership model can undertake this challenging task in the most effective way.

A PPP is a facilitating framework that enables sustainable development by effectively leveraging limited public funds, integrating scale with efficiency; reducing life cycle costs, harnessing national resources and looping best practices, to achieve a social purpose. A PPP provides a format in which all the important stakeholders are incentivized to come together in achieving the community development goals enshrined in the project. To that effect, a PPP framework is more than a Joint Venture.

The PPP Framework


13


The CSC Structure: The Draft Framework outlines a 3-tier structure for the CSC Scheme:

a) At the first (CSC) level would be the local Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE- loosely analogous to a franchisee), to service the rural consumer in a focused cluster of 5-6 villages.

b) At the second/middle level would be an entity termed the Service Centre Agency (SCA – loosely analogous to a franchiser) to train, manage and build the VLE businesses

c) At the third level would be the agency designated by the State- the State Level Agency (SLA) - to facilitate implementation of the Scheme within the State, to provide policy, content and financial support to the SCAs


14


A Program Management Agency (PMA) was appointed to assist the DIT in Phase I i.e. The Project Development Phase

The National Level Service Agency (NLSA):

There are significant challenges in exploiting opportunities to achieve economies of scale in the identification, customization and implementation of the physical and digital infrastructure required for the project. Further, many of the potential citizen-centric services would lend themselves to aggregation at the national level. To enable the State-specific implementation plans and benefit from such economies of scale, aggregation of best practices, content providers, etc., it is expected that the PMA extend its role to a National Level Service Agency (NLSA) – and continue with the project for another 30 months.

The Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV):

In addition to the NLSA, an SPV has been proposed for the day-to-day monitoring of the CSC Scheme, in terms of financial support, content aggregation and SCA enablement. It is suggested that the SPV would be set up during the initial implementation phase of the Scheme, but it is essentially an entity created to be an integral part of the CSC framework in-perpetuity. The SPV would undertake the following key roles and responsibilities:

a) Lay down operating and financial disciplines within the CSC system

b) Provide a framework for collaborative decision making process

c) Catalyze content aggregation on an on-going basis

d) Build a common “Identity” between all stakeholders to the citizens as well as

lenders


15


Building Awareness about the Scheme

Reaching out to the stakeholders: The implementation strategy at the State level would need to address the respective State’s needs and to a certain extent be in line with the ongoing initiatives. Accordingly, over the last six months, various steps have been taken to sensitize the State Governments on the concept, business model and other related aspects of the CSC Scheme. A brief outline of the action plan for implementation of the scheme was discussed with each of the State Governments. Based on the feedback received through interaction with the States, broad parameters for implementation of the Scheme have been outlined in order to formulate a state specific approach for implementation in a majority of States. In a few states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Kerala existing initiatives need to be factored in. An Approach Note for each State has been developed with an aim to outline a roadmap of CSC implementation taking into account the ongoing initiatives that are being carried out in various States.

Interactions have also been held with various Chambers of Commerce at local level as well as Corporates, NGOs and other stakeholders including content and technology providers. Seminars have been held at Regional / State Levels to create awareness amongst the potential Service Centre Agencies (SCAs) to enable them to understand the project and to encourage them to bid for the Expression of Interest (EOI) issued by the DIT, GOI.

The need for a broader base:

a) Existing Projects: By some estimates, there are as many as 150 existing rural PC-kiosk projects across India, with approximately 12,000 rural kiosks operational. Reflecting the Nation’s diversity, these initiatives differ in goals, models, operating paradigms, and geographical distribution. A variety of entities are associated in running these projects, –large enterprises, entrepreneurs, universities, Government, and NGOs–with motives ranging from driving commercial profits, to achieving socio-economic development or streamlining government processes.

b) To that effect current kiosk projects can broadly be split into three categories:

i) Commercial initiatives run by private enterprises;

ii) Community-oriented entrepreneurial projects;


16


iii) Government-led initiatives.

However, barring a limited few, the ability of the current kiosks to scale up and provide effective service delivery has been hampered by various challenges as listed below:

i) Lack of Financial Support

ii) Limited End-to-end e-Government Services

iii) Limited Sharing of Best Practices

iv) Lack of Awareness amongst Users

v) Limited Capacity Building and Training

vi) Inability to Leverage Economies of Scale

vii) Limited bouquet Content & Services .

Widening the Search:

Consequently, whilst the operational expertise of existing kiosk businesses is

invaluable, there is a need to look beyond the current operators and involve

organizations across sectors outlined below:

a) Domain Expertise: Strong organisations in various domains such as banking, telecom, agriculture, rural development, education, health etc. can bring their domain specific expertise into the CSC business. Each of these organizations will not only help improve the sustainability of their CSCs but they can develop best practices in their domains for other SCAs to replicate.

b) Channel Integration: SCAs which can build the CSC business as an extension of their existing businesses have a better chance to achieve sustainability.


17


c) Understanding of local issues and ground realities: Organisations like SEWA which have a network of over 684,000 members can bring in tremendous value in terms of local knowledge and innovations in the CSC ecosystem.

d) Sound financial and managerial resources: Initiatives backed by large corporations tend to be independent and self-reliant. The possibility of their projects to endure in the long term is higher, because of their business and financial expertise.

It is also important to have organizations from diverse segments and commercial interests (like corporate houses, PSUs, SMEs, entrepreneurs, training institutes, NGOs, SHGs, co-operatives, etc.) in the ecosystem so that the entire ecosystem can leverage the core competencies of the participants.

Organizations with complementing skills could also form consortiums for effectively leveraging their strengths. For example, a corporate with adequate financial resources and business acumen associating with an NGO which has the relevant understanding of local issues, adequate geographical reach and social acumen can bring their core-competencies together for developing a sustainable CSC business.

Expressions of Interest:

More than 2300 organizations from across the country and with diverse

backgrounds responded to the DIT advertisement, inviting potential SCAs to

express their interest in the CSC Scheme. Exhibit 4 shows the State-wise

total number of applicants who have shown an interest in establishing CSCs,

with specific location preferences.


18


Areas of prior experienceCategory Areas of experience

Vocational training Community polytechnic Conducting EDP and skill-based training programmes Conducting vocational training programmes Training & counseling Aptitude test and career counseling Conducting training for farmers

SHG & micro finance Empowerment of tribal women, through SHG formation

Micro finance for the rural poor

Outsourcing Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) activities

Running call centres and Help Desk services IT related Computerization of banks Digitization of Gram Panchayats Land records computerization & workflow automation Smart Card based vehicle registration project

Income generation e-commerce for local women entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurship development programme Handicraft training programme Income generation programme Health Telemedicine

Establishing ICT kiosks Community information centre project

Kisan Soochna Kendra Environment Animal welfare activities Horticulture training Education Basic computer education Distance education /tele-education Offering alternative & innovative education Awareness generation Programmes Awareness generation

programmes Conducting adult educational programmes


19


Distribution of applicants in terms of number of States selected

No. of States Selected No. of Applicants

% of Applicants

All 35 States 7 0.6%

20-34 States 14 1.3%

10-19 States 33 2.9%

5-9 States 44 3.9%

2-4 States 138 12.3%

Only 1 State 884 78.9%

Total 1120

Determining the number of CSCs: The mandate of the CSC scheme is to

establish 100,000 rural kiosks across the country with an equitable

distribution. That could normally be taken to imply standardization on the

population covered by each CSC. As reflected in the Financial Model,

discussed in a later part of the note, a CSC would ideally need a catchment

population of 7,000-8,000, to be viable. If the 100,000. centers were to be

allocated based on this norm, the distribution of CSCs across States would be

as reflected.

State Level Agency: Each State Government was requested to identify a

State Level Agency (SLA) and a Nodal Officer to represent the State and

provide all state level support for smooth implementation of the CSC scheme.

As a State Government representative, the SLA is expected to provide the

necessary policy level support to the CSC Scheme. Such support can come


20


in the form of affirmative action through various state policies to develop a

sustainable framework for regulation, promotion and ramp up of e-

Government and private sector services. Essentially, the role of the SLA

would primarily be to:

Facilitate e-readiness of the State

Provide policy and regulatory support

Facilitate integration of the existing ICT enabled Government schemes into the CSC Scheme.

Help identify CSC locations

Coordinate and facilitate interactions with various internal departments

Coordinate and network with other concerned state level entities

Select Service Centre Agencies (SCA)

Facilitate training and capacity building

Facilitate awareness campaigns

Facilitate the SWAN interface

Link state government schemes with CSCs

Catalyse roll out of G2C applications by individual state departments, district administrations, other local bodies.


21


Determining the Content and Services Stack for the CSCs

Understanding the Needs: Rural India has several unmet needs. Be it education, health, agriculture or finance, rural India has very limited or even no access to quality services and necessary financial support to avail them. Therefore, merely driving any content and service into the CSCs will be risky in the long-term. What is needed instead is a model that can build disposable incomes while providing world-class services at affordable costs.

Prospective Key Government (G2C) Services:

Land recordsRegistration of vehiclesIssue of certificates/ Government schemesEmployment exchangeRation cardsElectoral servicesPension schemesRoad transportPublic grievanceUtility/ Telephone Bills (Government undertakings)

Prospective Business to Consumer (B2C) services

Commercial Services

Digital PhotosWeb surfingPhotocopyDTPEmail/ChatsCD BurningTypingPrintingGamesForms downloads/EstimatesUtility/Telephone Bills (private enterprises)

Prospective e-Commerce/online services

Railway TicketsAstrologyMatrimonialShoppingResumes


22


Prospective Education Services

IT EducationEnglish Skills TrainingTuitions

Prospective Entertainment

DTH - Community TV

Prospective Telemedicine

Primary Healthcare

Prospective Agriculture Services

Agriculture-inputsAgriculture -loansAgriculture -consulting and training

Prospective Business-to-Business services (B2B)

- Advertising & Promotion ServicesSpace marketing of Jan Seva KendraPromotions- Data Collection ServicesResearch Data collectionData Entry- Distribution ServicesFMCG Products- Financial ServicesLoans/DepositsReferralsInsurance, etc.

Usage Patterns of Services in the State


23


Agricultural procurements

Presently most farmers procure their farming inputs from multiple locations. The large farmers buy branded products from State Government Co-operative’s, which provideseeds, fertilizers and information, but the availability ofseeds and fertilizers is limited to about 30% of the total demand. Krishi Samitis provides seeds to some of the farmers. Good quality seeds are also available at Agricultural University Outlets, which are 2 – 3 in each district, but the travel time and cost has to be incurred. For the small and marginal farmers most of the inputs are from the numerous small shops in nearby town mandis, and it is this section of farmers, who really require the Jan Seva Kendra services, to save transport costs and multiple visits.

Agricultural consultancy & marketing facilities to the farmers for their produce

Although Kisan Seva Kendras are present, they do no realwork, and no relevant literature on various consultancy requirement are also available with them.. These centresmostly act as distribution centres for branded seeds.Consultancy is mostly required on the dos and don’ts of using different hybrid seed varieties for different crops.

Vocational education:- In different parts of Uttar Pradesh, a variety of skilled butlabour intensive handicraft work is done. The villagers of Uttar Pradesh demand training to undertake such work in efficient and cost effective manner.

Basic computer training It is lower than the national average. Unless the kiosks provide some placement assistance to the youths undertaking Basic computer training there will be no meaning to provide such a service through kiosks.

All tuitions Due to the poor performance of the board examination students, tuition classes are plentiful for classes IX, X, XI and XII. However, as the students mostly travel 2 – 3 km on bicycle to access the classes in nearby towns or kasbas, they would prefer availing them from the Jan Seva Kendra.

Forms and mark sheets (all downloads)Although current level of usage relating to download of forms and mark-sheet is quite low, yet they rural masses have expressed willingness to use such facility once available through Jan Seva Kendra.

Tele-medicine The poor infrastructure (only 18% PHCs and 23% subcentres), absenteeism of doctors, dispensing of medicines by pharmacists without due consultation, are all reasons, which make tele-medicine attractive for thevillagers.


24


Entertainment - movies Movies are a much favoured entertainment option, but as easily accessible infrastructure is limited, demand for Jan Seva Kendra usage is high for this service.

Internet browsing and email (includes information search)It is lower than the national average.

E-daak It is lower than the national average.

Bio data MakerComputerized, neat bio-data (with soft copies, which areamenable to changes/modifications) are only available at block headquarters at present. In the villages, the typewriterbased bio-data is still made, which is not as neat, and has to be re-made each time, if modifications have to be made.Thus, need for this service is high at the Jan Seva Kendra .

Ticketing - Rail/Road/Air Train ticketing is only available at the districts, which incurs average transport cost of Rs.100 per trip. If the ticketing option is available at the Jan Seva Kendra , information on ticket availability and purchase is facilitated. This is especially relevant for the eastern UP districts, which travel to Maharashtra for migratory work. It is also relevant for a large proportion of households in western UP, who travel to the Gulf countries for work.

Long distance Telephony through internet (ISD)The proportion of villagers currently availing ISD services is 14% and the willingness to use such services through Jan Seva Kendra is comparatively high.

Photocopying 19% villagers are currently availing the service of photocopying. The proportion of villagers willing to use such services through Jan Seva Kendra is comparatively low.

Desk Top Printing (DTP) servicesProbably due to unavailability of DTP related jobs in rural Uttar Pradesh, not only the current usage but also willingness to use such services is also comparatively low.

Astrology The present willingness to use is low due to low faith in theauthenticity of high-tech; less understood computer generated outputs (due to low literacy levels). The faith is on the universally available local pandit, who is also usually an influential person, and on interactive sessions for any finding favorable dates or solutions to various problems besides developing the usual ‘janam kundli’ or the horoscope, andallowing customers to clarify content and predictions.

CD burning including CD costIt is lower than the national average.


25


Digital Photographs – passport sizeNot exposed to digital photography, but the need is for photograph shops, which are not very abundant.

Digital Photographs – postcard sizeNot exposed to digital photography, but the need is for photograph shops, which are not very abundant.

Soil Testing- Soil testing are required for western UP districts, whichpractices multi-cropping. Presently facilities are only available at Block level, where test results are generally delayed and therefore become irrelevant.

Land records Are used for crop loan guarantee and for litigation – both ofwhich have considerable requirement in UP.

Ration cards – issue of newcards/ change of name/change of nameGovernment campaigns for making new rations cards and photo id cards are currently going on, and therefore the willingness to use figures are low.

Bus pass Roads are bad, with little government transport network.Although the demand for bus passes from the Jan SevaKendra is high, little can be done about the same, as mostof the present infrastructure is private bus service.

Certificates available at GP Willingness to use figure are high, as currently certificates

(Birth/ Death certificate) are procured only after speed money is paid, and that toowith multiple visits.

Certificates available outside GP(Residency/caste/income/marriage/power of attorney/unemployment/disability certificate)Willingness to use figure are high, as currently certificates are procured only after speed money is paid, and that too with multiple visits.

Application for New passport/renewal/change of name & addressWillingness to use for passport application is high, as this is a much-required service, especially in areas where there is non-agricultural labour exodus to neighbouring countries (Bangladesh, Nepal and the Gulf countries), and with lowliteracy, to get a passport made is considered a problem.

Payment of all bills In rural Uttar Pradesh, there is general tendency of notpaying or delaying the payment of bills to future date.

Grievances Land problems, caste conflicts; dissatisfaction among villagers’ w.r.t existing Government programmes makes this service much sought after if


26


provided through kiosks at a reasonable rate wherein villagers can access this service without much pain..

The Services Model

Delivery Network at the Core of a Network of Stakeholders


E-Government Services

Market Linkages

Education, Healthcare, Agricultural Extension,

etc

Entertainment

Data Collection,

Rural BPOs, etc.

Save Costs

Quality of Life

Social Development

Create Income Opportunities

Value-adds

27


Common Services Centres : Impact On Rural Livelihood

Good Governance Empowerment Equal Opportunity Human Development Income / Employment Generation

E--GOVVERNANCE AND ITS’S RELEVANCE TOO INDIA.

India is a land of diversity. This diversity spans across culture, tradition, language, geography and the economic condition of the people. It is a nation that has a significant number of people who are below the minimal socio-economic benchmarks. This includes rural and urban poor, women in rural areas, street children, people belonging to historically disadvantaged castes and people living in less developed areas. The vulnerability of these sections of society has increased with globalisation and this section is prone to become even more marginalized - economically and socially. Successive governments have committed themselves to addressing these divides, but effective implementation of various economic development programmes aimed at individuals belonging to these sections of society has proved an elusive goal. Government of India (GoI) recognizes that e-Governance, in the context of developing countries, provides an excellent


Finance

Government

Infrastructure providers

Corporates operating in rural areas

e-Service providers

Communities/markets

Government NGOs

Business

Delivery network

Network orchestrator

Villagekiosk

Regionalhub

Agro-business

Consumer products

Policy,funding

28


opportunity for improving governance. Used imaginatively, it is a trigger for introducing various administrative reforms. These changes could not only go a long way in improving the quality of life of these sections of society, but could actually provide them more equitable access to economic opportunities than ever before. In this context, the Government of India views e-Governance as a strategic tool for transforming Governance and improving the quality of services provided by the government to its people. India’s experience in e-Governance / ICT initiatives has demonstrated significant success in improving accessibility, cutting down costs, reducing corruption, extending help and increased access to un-served groups. In this phase of experimentation, e-government initiatives have reached millions of people belonging to these sections of society. Improved access to information and services has provided economic and social development opportunities, facilitated participation and communication in policy and decision-making processes and empowerment of the weakest groups. This has led to fostering a sense of ownership and building of social capital, which in turn, constitute a basis for local revitalization. The Government of India, in various forums, has indicated its commitment to provide efficient and transparent government to all strata of society. E-Governance is now mainly seen as a key element of the country’s governance and administrative reform agenda. The Government of India aspires to provide:

• Governance that is easily understood by and accountable to the citizens, open to democratic involvement and scrutiny (an open and transparent government)

• Citizen-centric governance that will cover all of its services and respect everyone as individuals by providing personalised services.

• An effective government that delivers maximum value for taxpayers’ money (quick and efficient services)

Hence the Government of India views e-Governance as a vehicle to initiate and sustain reforms by focusing on three broad areas: 3


29


Governance

• Transparency

• People’s participation

• Promotion of a democratic society

Public services

• Efficient, cost-effective and responsive governance

• Convenient services to citizens and businesses

• Greater citizen access to public information

• Accountability in delivery of services to citizens

Management

• Simplicity, efficiency and accountability

• Managing voluminous information and data effectively

• Information services

• Swift and secure communication

While pursuing these goals, it is recognized that the motivations and imperatives for adopting e-governance in a developing country like India are vastly different from those in developed countries. Manpower costs and constraints were among the imperatives driving technology induction in developed countries. Further, the advent of ICT in governance preceded the emergence of the Internet. Hence one of the main challenges in these countries was to integrate heterogeneous backend computer systems through complex middleware to leverage the Internet and achieve integration of services. By contrast, in countries like India, there was hardly any significant back end computerisation in government before the advent of the Internet. Consequently, while planning e-governance projects today, the ubiquity, convenience and power of the Internet can be factored in right from the planning stage itself. Moreover, it is neither the availability constraint nor the cost of manpower that is the driver for e-governance. Primarily, the motivations are higher efficiency, transparency, accessibility and accountability as well as reduction of procedural complexity that breeds corruption. It is also a realization that there is no other way to effectively provide services to a population of over one billion people.


30


Besides, the economic and social environment is very different in India compared with that in a developed country. Per capita income is much lower. Telephone, PC and Internet penetration levels are low in comparison. Availability of reliable electric power supply is still a problem, particularly in rural areas. Universal literacy is still a distant goal. IT literacy is very low, both in absolute and relative terms. India has 22 official languages. Several hundreds of dialects are spoken all over the country. Less than 5% of the population can speak English. Hence e-governance initiatives need to be planned with reference to these ground realities in the country.

E-Governance In India:- Challenges.

There are however, numerous challenges. Some of the key areas needing attention are:

• Clarity in objective setting: Project approval and funding of projects through multiple departmental budgets lead to wide variations in the approach to project objective setting, without a clear focus on outcomes or on building sustainable services. The service needs of citizens/ businesses and those of other departments are often either overlooked or accorded lower priority in relation to internal needs. Very often, objective setting is purely in ICT terms such as computers, networks and so on which are specified in great detail, while government business process outcomes are either not defined or are defined in vague terms that do not lend themselves to measurement post implementation.

• Ensuring service delivery: E-governance projects have primarily focused on internal process automation and generally are hardware and infrastructure driven (sometimes even vendor driven) with little focus on citizen service delivery or outcomes.

• Leveraging Private Capital: Experience of successful e-governance initiatives indicates that well structured service-oriented projects can attract private capital linked to explicit service-linked revenues from users or from government. The current system of project formulation, i.e. based on budgetary allocation / grant places little or no pressure on departments to develop project structures that can attract private capital, a goal that necessitates additional rigour and complexity at the project formulation and development stage.

• Need for Government Process Reengineering: Computerization of inefficient processes can lead to higher rather than lower levels of inefficiency and spiralling cost. Hence, it is essential to undertake process re-engineering as an integral part of e-governance project implementation in order to ensure increased efficiency and reduced costs.


31


• Standardization: Departmental approach and absence of a national framework for common standards has resulted in adoption of different technical standards and varied architectures. This has significant implications for designing effective integrated applications and also entails long-term costs and sub-optimal results.

• Independent Impact Assessment: In the current system, there is no requirement or institutional mechanism for an independent assessment of projects post-implementation to determine whether they have achieved the set objectives, except in purely financial terms. Further, very few projects have formal performance metrics defined at the start of the project to measure outcomes.

• Localisation: ICT solutions were mostly developed with an English Language interface. However, in India a vast majority (95%) of the citizens do not know English and use the local language. The fact is that India has 22 official languages; for success of e-Governance, this reality needs to be reflected in the implementation strategy.

• Internal Capacity/Project Management Expertise: Departments/ states have limited access to any institutional mechanisms for building capacities in the areas of e-governance project development and design, bid process management, professional project management, development of Contractual Frameworks, Service Level Agreements, etc. They also have no means of accessing external (outside Government) competencies that are difficult to procure within the governmental framework.


32


The Overall E-Governance Action Plan


33


Business Logic of CSCs


34


Estimated Revenue Potential: B2C

Key B2C Services that would drive footfalls B2C Services % HHs WTP HHs (APL) per

910 HHs Rate per transaction in Rs.

Mean No. of transactions per annum

Revenue Potential per annum (Rs.)

Web surfing 8% 73 5.00 6.60 2,402DTP 5% 46 4.00 4.67 850Email/Chats 6% 55 5.00 4.64 1,267Health Services 47% 428 10.00 4.58 19,589Forms Downloads/Estimate

9% 82 5.00 4.41 1,806

Photocopy 44% 400 0.50 3.99 799CD Burning 6% 55 15.00 3.86 3,161Railway Tickets 33% 300 10.00 3.85 11,562Resume upload 11% 100 5.00 3.51 1,757Movies 29% 264 3.00 3.00 2,375Astrology Services

10% 91 20.00 2.59 4,714

Sale of Agri-inputs

29% 264 5.00 2.16 2,850

Digital Photos 41% 373 5.00 2.04 3,806Agri-consultancy

28% 25510.00 2.00 5,096

Tuitions Classes

29% 264 50.00 1.00 13,195

IT Training 21% 191 450.00 0.33 28,665Vocational Training Programs

10% 91 200.00 0.33 6,067

Content and Services Ecosystem


35


Pictures Of CSC’s in Different States.


36


Uttar Pradesh:-

Bihar:-


37


West Bengal:-


38



39


Items provided by the SCA to the particular CSC’s

CPE RadioSwitch and CablesPower SolutionLaser PrinterOperating SystemMastDigital CameraFurniturePair of LaptopPair of External Wipro Mouse (Std. 2 button)Pair of External Wipro Keyboard (Std.) – 1 for each systemPair of Head Phone with Microphone – 1 for each systemPair of External Speakers (I set for each system)Multi Functional Device (MFD) Print-Copy-Scan- Make – HPPaintingElectrificationFlooring


40


CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODS

In this section I have first explained about research philosophy and approaches.

In the later part of the chapter a brief and detailed overview of the research

design and methodology used by me for this dissertation are provided.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

To get to the stated aim of the research in question a combination of both

primary and secondary research is to be carried out. A discussion of the

methodology would provide a framework for constructive criticism and replication

of the research (Nachmias, D & Frankfort-Nachmias, C, 1996). The various tools

used throughout the research are described in the following section along with a

rationale behind choosing each one of those tools.

RESEARCH DESIGN

Research design is a conceptual structure within which research is conducted. It

constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data.

Research design is needed because it facilitates the smooth sailing of the

various research operations, thereby making research as efficient as possible

yielding maximum information with minimum effort, time and money. Research

design stands for advance planning of methods to be used for collecting the

relevant data and the techniques to be used in their analyses. Preparation of

research design should be done with great care as any error may upset the

entire project. Therefore it is imperative that an efficient design must be


41


prepared before starting research operations. It helps to organize the ideas in a

form whereby it becomes possible to look for flaws and inadequacies.

THE CREDIBILITY OF RESEARCH FINDING

In order to reduce the possibility of getting the answer wrong means that

attention has to be paid in two particular emphases on research design:

Reliability and Validity (Saunders et al, 2000, p 100).

Reliability of the source is very important for the research, which is to be carried

out. It is to be seen and understood that the analytical measures will yield the

same result as desired in other situations and whether the results obtained will

be the same if the same research is carried out by other researchers. Reliability

of the source can also be the source of faults and threats for the research like

information drawn from the source could be biased, there could be an error of

misinterpretation by the observer, or the questionnaire could be full of faults.

These tend to raise the questions of how reliable is the source for the research.

Thus in the research I have been careful while using the secondary data.

Validity on the other hand, is concerned with whether the findings are really

about what they appear to be. There is always a great probability of error

creeping into the system. A researcher has to be very careful and alert while

focusing on his research. He has to make sure the method used to collect data is

valid and that the data thus collected is from the reliable source, as the final

findings in the research report depends on it. For the research to be a successful

it is very important that the researcher has his aim very clear with well-defined


42


set of objectives and some means or guidelines in hand to keep a check on the

research for its growth.

DATA COLLECTION METHODS

This section describes the various data collection methods used along with the

rationale behind choosing them,

SAMPLING

The sampling strategy for this research is largely modeled around the various

constraints on the availability of data. The productivity data in organisations is

very confidential and in most cases is not publicly available. Therefore, one of the

factors which are an important influencer to the sample size is the number of

organizations processes from where data could be obtained.

The research focuses on the population of the research theoretically would be all

the behavior of rural paradigm in the India. it is extremely difficult to ascertain the

total population size, which makes using accurate probability sampling not

feasible.

Keeping those constraints in mind, the sampling used for this research is

heterogeneous non-probability sampling. According to Newuman (2000), this sort

of sampling is best when using the case study research. Although a statistically

accurate sample of the population is not feasible in this research, the sample

used is heterogeneous to remove the element of bias to the extent possible.


43


SECONDARY DATA

A majority of the data regarding this research was in the form of secondary data.

A large portion of the data came from the various sources available such as

books, journals and industry reports etc. A description of each source is

presented below.

SOURCES OF SECONDARY DATA

The exploratory desk research included a wide range of sources including,

books, journals, newspapers etc.

Journals – Journals supplemented the knowledge available from books.

Journals are frequently updated and therefore provide insight into the Indian Auto

Component Industry. Journals can also be chosen because of the fact that they

are the articles, which gives you views and work done on the same field, by other

researchers. However, journals might also suffer from biasness in its approach. A

researcher just might have taken a different approach or might have overlooked

the other side of the coin required in the research. Still journals provide enough

insight and material for the research in question here. Thus raising the doubts

about how reliable is this source and how valid is the data collected from this

source. A researcher needs to make sure about the information gathered is not

only valid but also reliable and can be used in the research. If not, then the

research will not be a valid research report.


44


Among the sources mentioned above, additional sources of knowledge were

trade journals, websites and industry reports. These are the sources for wider

coverage of the research.

PRIMARY DATA: INTERVIEWS

For the purpose of getting the required information, I proposed to conduct the

interview of three segments. One segment will be people in the organization who

have the decision-making powers. Second segment will be people who execute

the decision taken. Further more researchers divide these segments into two

main categories. For those organizations who outsource and the other for those

who are being outsourced to. Interviews will be both through emails, postal and

personal in nature. Use of email and postal is for the targeted interviewees who

are not reachable by me in the given timeframe however personal interviews are

specially meant for the interviewees like managers or people in the organisation

who have the decision taking power.

The reason for conducting the interviews is to have the first hand information

from the people in question here for the research. Among the different kinds of

interviews, semi-structured interviews have been used for this research. It was

felt that a structured approach would not be completely appropriate. The nature

of relationships is likely to be very different across different organizations

therefore; the interviews may require a more flexible approach. On the other

hand, the key discussion areas need to be guided by the existing literature and

therefore it would be helpful that an interview guide is followed. It may well be the

case that some people would prefer not to discuss particular subject areas.


45


There are certain limitations of interviews, which should be made clear. The

experiences of each interview subject are personal therefore to generalize the

analysis across all organisations would not be scientific. However, keeping this

abstract subject of cross-cultural management relationship in mind, it would not

have been effective to ascertain the true picture by using an alternative research

tool.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR DATA COLLECTION

The subject of offshore outsourcing is quite volatile in the public domain.

Confidentiality and anonymity is therefore, of primary importance throughout this

research. In almost all cases, the data collection has only been possible on the

condition of anonymity. An attempt is also be made in this research to abide by

the ethical aspects on all occasions.

LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH

For every research there are restrictions and limitations. Without them the world

does not exist. Similarly there are some restrictions in my research work, which

could not be controlled. The following were some limitations, which I faced in the

making of this research.

The study was restricted to only the case of E-Governance Nevertheless all

efforts were made to get relevant information for the successful completion of

the research.


46


There may be some discrepancies in views as some people might give false

information in the Questionnaire, as they might not be interested in filling the

form.

Firstly I had chosen 100 residents of 3 districts near of for the evaluation of

exact needs and requirements of e-governance in INDIA I was able to get all

questionnaires filled. The reason being that they all really want to find out

what is the exact requirement and their propositions in rural context scenario.


47



48


CONCLUSION

The report focuses on the tools used for this research. The research uses a

range of data sources and techniques including interviews and secondary data

analysis, therefore, it seems appropriate to classify the research strategy as a

case study. Data collection is one of the most important elements of the

research. As mentioned above, this research uses a range of data sources. The

most important data sources being interviews and analysis of data from Omax

Auto, secondary data sources such as books, journals, industry reports and

Internet have also been used. The reason of giving more stress to the primary

data is for the fact that secondary data is more of historical and very nature of the

research is evidential. For this research I had to collect and analyse the current

market to prove the assumptions. To validate the research findings primary

research gave the research more indebt knowledge about the aim. Secondary

data though relevant sources was available but suffers from a lot of biasness and

limitations of the previous studies conducted as the situation in the Indian Auto

Component Industry is changing. What the situation was five years ago may not

be relevant today. Moreover the research here is based more on today’s market

conditions.


49


CHAPTER 4

FINDINGS & ANALYSIS

Service Usage Pattern and Coping Costs on Transport

This section presents aspects of the current service usage. The information presented in the following table includes the proportion of households using the listed services, the average number of times they access/attempt to access various services, and the average transport cost they incur for the services. The information is presented in annual form. The total number of respondents surveyed in Uttar Pradesh is 5605.

Uttar Pradesh being a major agricultural state, the percentage of respondents who have said that they are presently using agriculture-related services (seeds, fertilizers, insecticide, etc.) is fairly high. It is interesting to note that majority of them are not availing information or consultancy related to agricultural inputs, which indicated potential for kiosks in rural Uttar Pradesh. Considering that 62% of the total monthly expenditure is on agriculture, the relatively high investments made to ensure the correct agricultural inputs are provided at reasonable prices. The less number of trips reflects this as the related markets are found at accessible distances, providing inputs at somewhat standardized prices and hence the transport costs are low.

Formal school and college education and illnesses (mainly common illnesses) form the other major sources of high usage and associated coping costs.

Medical services for common illnesses are also availed by a large proportion of villagers.


50


Average number of visits for availing different private services and average transport cost

Services Valid N % of N Mean number of

trips

Annual Mean Transport

CostsProcurement of agricultural seeds 3688 66 4 52Procurement of agricultural fertilizers 4049 72 5 263Procurement of agricultural insecticides & pesticides 2730 49 4 53Agricultural inputs - information 181 3 4 65Agricultural consultancy 89 2 6 86Marketing facilities to the farmers for their produce 269 5 7 399Primary education classes 2678 48 22 51Secondary education classes 1140 20 22 37Higher Secondary education 632 11 19 54College 372 7 13 186Vocational education 24 0 6 1056Basic computer training 20 0 40 293Tuition – primary school 183 3 26 79Tuition – secondary school 116 2 37 19Tuition – Hr. Sec. school 66 1 40 501Tuition – College 39 1 19 276Download of Mark sheets/Admission forms 107 2 8 67Prescription for common illnesses (Fever/Cough/Diarrhoea, etc.) 4742 85 14 124Prescription for pregnancy, infant issues, child diseases, etc. 337 6 8 93Prescription for advanced treatment for TB/malaria/Pneumonia, etc. 142 3 9 169Prescription for advanced treatment – for heart diseases/cancer, etc. 19 0 8 299Medical expenses – on diagnostic tests (blood reports, 228 4 5 244


51


Services Valid N % of N Mean number of

trips

Annual Mean Transport

CostsBP checking etc)Retail banking services 262 5 4 37Entertainment – movies 80 1 11 86Information on Loans and Insurance 48 1 6 693Non-banking financial services for loans/credit 56 1 8 41All types of application forms 65 1 6 172Crop insurance (Application and payments) 18 0 5 28Internet browsing and email (includes information search) 10 0 13 89E-daak 15 0 6 63Bio data Maker 224 4 5 98Tickets - Rail/Road/Air 1101 20 7 576Long distance Telephony through internet ( ISD ) 783 14 14 38Photocopying 1027 18 5 29Desk Top Printing (DTP) services 25 0 5 55Astrology 21 0 4 50CD burning 36 1 2 22Digital Photographs 1336 24 3 35Soil Testing 231 4 5 54Land ownership certificate 755 13 9 82

The government services which are mostly availed are different kinds of certificates and payment of utility bills or taxes for which respondents have to make 4 trips and 3 trips, respectively (Table 2.5). The transportation cost, of one round trip, is Rs. 35 to get the former service while it is Rs. 25 to get the later. For other services the transportation cost is low, as some travel by foot, and others by cycle.


52


Government Services

ServicesNo. of trips to avail service

Transport cost for one round trip

N Mean N MeanCertificates available at GP (Birth/ Death certificate)

291 3 291 35

Certificates available outside GP (Residency/caste/income/marriage/power of attorney/unemployment/disability certificate)

928 3 928 25

Examination results 177 2 177 11New bus pass 6 1 6 29Bus pass renewal 3 2 3 9Application for Voters ID/PAN card 187 2 187 3Payment of taxes 24 4 24 13

Payment of utility (electricity, telephone, property tax, water bills)

855 2 855 13

Basket of Services as per buyer preference

As per the survey, the respondents have indicated the services that they would like to access from a village kiosk (CSC), instead of traveling longer distances and multiple times to access different services. While administering the willingness to use and pay questions, it was felt, that some of the respondents had not been able to really understand or have faith in the effectiveness of the CSCs in delivering/facilitating a service with one effective visit. The reason for this is that the government bureaucracy and their typical handing of citizens/customers is so well entrenched, that unless and until proved otherwise, the people will remain skeptical. Thus, in some cases, the CSC has only been perceived as a time saver for one round trip, and considered useful. In such cases, the respondents have stated their usual number of visits as their CSC transactions. These will have provided some level of over-estimation, in the average transaction response. Other respondents have answered on the basis of their understanding that the proposed CSC will impact both time saving per trip and on the number of trips as a whole. These households have provided a more accurate response on possible CSC transactions for different services.

The ‘willingness to pay’ question was asked along with the willingness to use question, and the responses of households willing to use is with the condition of their stated price. Thus, an analysis of the data was undertaken to assess the proportion of households who would use at the different price points included in the questionnaire, and on the basis of this response and average number of visits, the revenue was worked out. The price at which the revenue was the highest was taken as the best price. For most services, this amounted to the


53


lowest or the second lowest price in the range offered to the households. The following table presents the proportion of households that will use at the selected price and this will include, of course all households who have stated a higher affordability.

The proportion of households wanting to use the CSC for procuring agricultural inputs and agricultural consultancy is high as compared to other states, as the proportion of the population practicing cultivation is high. The need for soil testing and accessing land records are also high for the same reasons.

The proportion of households wanting vocational education from the CSCs is high because of their high aspirations to acquire new skills that would enhance their earning/job potential. Similarly, the need for basic computer training is also high because youth in rural Uttar Pradesh perceive computer knowledge is something that is latest and would help them to keep pace with the existing trend.

Although there are large number of PHCs in rural Uttar Pradesh, yet majority of them lack basic infrastructure and adequate manpower. This is well reflected in propsed usage high figures of telemedicines.

The proposed usage figure for entertainment services are high, as the presence of entertainment option through TV and network cable is poor in rural Uttar Pradesh. Anotehr problem is regular supply of electricity which deprioves them to have a regular soruce of entertainment.

The need for the bio-data maker is also high because youth in rural Uttar Pradesh aspire for jobs in service sector and they feel that a good bio data could increase their chance of being short listed for various vacancies they apply for. The need for this is service is more because the literacy in Uttar Pradesh is also low.

Due to the low literacy, the need for photocopying services is high, as the student population seeks much of the services.

The proposed high usage of digital photographs of the post card size is due to the increasing practice of photo-documentation of socio-cultural occasions, even to the extent of using video-graphy for important occasions.

The reason for the high proposed usage for passport sized photographs, is closely linked to the high use of the CSC to access different kinds of certificates available within the GP and from outside the GP. In Uttar Pradesh, most households are either SC or OBC by caste, and there is a lot of reservation in education, work opportunities, etc. all of which needs to be proved by certificates, accompanied by photographs, and thus the high requirement.


54


The high usage of the CSC in service requirements related to the ration card (new card/change of name/change of address etc.) is especially high, as the ration card is the equivalent of the APL/BPL certificate, and to access any types of goods and services, especially programme benefits and job opportunities from the government, the ration cards are a must.

The low usage of the CSC for payment of bills is related to low confidence in government and private subsystems or bodies rendering such services in Uttar Pradesh as a whole. People still fell that their work would not be done until or unless they make 3-4 visits.

Services Usage Price

Annual Mean

Number of visits

Annual Revenue for

100 households

(Rs.)

Agricultural procurements 54.4 5 1.2 332Agricultural consultancy & marketing facilities to the farmers for their produce

49.2 10 1.3 648Vocational education 12.9 200 7.4 2575Basic computer training 24.9 450 14.0 11199All tuitions 38.2 50 15.1 1908Forms and marksheets (all downloads)

12.3 7 3.9 337Tele-medicine

57.7 10 1.9 1122Entertainment – movies 36.0 5 6.2 1111Internet browsing and email (includes information search) 7.8 5 2.8 110E-daak 14.9 5 2.0 147Bio data Maker

19.4 7 2.6 356Ticketing - Rail/Road/Air 49.3 10 1.9 938Long distance Telephony through internet ( ISD ) 37.7 1 5.0 189Photocopying

31.6 0.75 2.6 61Desk Top Printing (DTP) services

3.3 6 1.1 21Astrology

7.2 20 1.0 145CD burning including CD cost 6.8 15 0.9 97


55


Services Usage Price

Annual Mean

Number of visits

Annual Revenue for

100 households

(Rs.)

Digital Photographs – passport size59.2 2 1.8 209

Digital Photographs – postcard size

34.5 7 1.1 255Soil Testing

29.2 20 1.9 1107Land records 44.9 30 1.9 509Ration cards – issue of new cards/ change of name/ change of name

65.1 7 1.0 93Bus pass 8.2 5 2.0 82Certificates available at GP (Birth/ Death certificate)

45.3 5 1.2 263Certificates available outside GP (Residency/caste/income/marriage/power of attorney/unemployment/disability certificate)

66.4 10 1.5 968Application for New passport/renewal/change of name & address

12.8 50 1.3 80Payment of all bills

23.1 3 9.4 653Grievances

37.2 10 1.3 466Total Annual Revenue (Rs.)

25981Total Monthly Revenue (Rs.)

2165


56


Top 80% Revenue Generating Services

The major revenue generating services amongst the top 80% services are basic computer training, vocational education, tuitions, entertainment & movies, telemedicine, soil testing etc.

List of services accounting for top 80% CSC revenue in nodal villages

Services Annual Revenue for

100 HHs

Basic computer training 11199Vocational education 2575All tuitions

1908Tele-medicine 1122Entertainment - movies 1111Soil Testing 1107Certificates available outside GP (Residency/caste/income/marriage/power of attorney/unemployment/disability certificate) 968Ticketing - Rail/Road/Air 938

Location of Kiosks

As per the findings of the survey, in Uttar Pradesh, only the nodal villages in both mainstream and difficult terrain areas, which are Gram Panchayat villages and having a Post and Telegraph office (GP + PTO) and a market within 1 km radius, and population of more than 1000 households are possible candidates for kiosk locations. A partial correlation analysis conducted between the projected CSC revenue and the various infrastructure and economic development factors at the village level showed strongly significant positive correlation between projected revenue and such GP+PTO villages. Another factor which showed positive correlation was the presence of a local market in the village.

The revenue model estimated shows that villages having more than 1000 households in the difficult terrain villages will give more monthly income as compared to their counterpart in the mainstream villages, vis-à-vis the benchmark of Rs. 22,500 as set up by ILFS. The medium size nodal villages with population of 500 – 1000 households, maybe be suitable if a small revenue support is provided to the extent of 10% of the expected minimum monthly turnover.


57


Profile of Nodal Villages

The national level scheme for providing ICT enabled services envisages a three-tier structure to execute its functional priorities. All the three levels are crucial in building a sustainable business model that plan to function as a platform for providing all possible government and private services in the nodal level. This chapter attempts to map the profile of the nodal villages in the state of Uttar Pradesh to observe the state specific peculiarities that are vital in the planning and execution of the scheme in the state that best addresses the development needs of its people.

Distribution of Nodal Villages by Topography and Villages Sizes

In Uttar Pradesh, the villages located in the plains and riverine areas are considered as mainstream villages, while those located in forested and hilly/undulating terrain were considered as difficult terrain villages. In each of the above categories, there was a further classification in terms of village size. Three size categories included:

Villages that have less than 500 households, Villages having 500 to 1000 households, and Villages having more than 1000 households.

In Uttar Pradesh, about 84 percent of the survey was done in the mainstream habitations that formed plains, while about 18 percent were riverine. There is no major variation found in the distribution of village size of different topographies. Regarding the size of the villages, more inhabitants lived in villages that have less than 500 households, while the villages with the number of households between 500-1000 and above thousand were of the same proportion.

Road Connectivity

Majority of the selected nodal villages (81%) have all weather roads connecting to nodal villages, while one-fifth were found to be not accessible across all the seasons. There is no notable difference found among the mainstream habitation in comparison with the difficult terrains as far as the road connectivity is concerned. However, with respect to the size of the villages, road connectivity was found better in larger villages (Refer Table. 207 for details). The fact that a large number of the cluster villages have good road connectivity with nodal villages would probably positively impact the level of usage of the CSCs that would be located in the nodal villages. Also since most of the roads are all weather roads, there wouldn’t be much variation in usage across rainy and other seasons.

Rural Electrification and Telephone ConnectivityDIVYAM SRIVASTAVA PGP/FW/2007-09 DF79-M-0134

58


Reported by 86% households, the presence of electricity was found quite high in sample villages of Uttar Pradesh. The electrification was better in mainstream and big villages. The average daily supply of electricity was for 7.5 hours daily across the areas that are electrified. In 46% villages the supply of electricity was for 5-8 hours while in around one-fifth villages it was for 9-12 hours. However, the daily supply of electricity was found independent of the size of villages. Though there are no specific timings for the power supply or its failure, the mornings and evenings are found to be the lean time for the electric supply. In terms of electricity based operations, the evening times seem to be most dependable and suitable, and considering this is the time that most male members are free from daily chores, the absence of electricity in the evening hampers all important activities including the services of CSCs in future.

Above 88% of the identified nodal villages have telephone connections in their village; with better telephone connectivity in larger villages. The best connectivity figured among the habitations that have less than 500-1000 households with 95%. For communication, 97% utilized telephones, with about 55% of the total villagers resorting to posts also. Above 89% of the connections were available at home, while about 85% of the users made use of PCOs also. More number of users found to be using PCOs at the larger villages compared to the smaller villages. (Refer to Table no. 506 for details). The connectivity and working conditions do not seem to have any impediments in most of the cases. Almost one-third of the telephone exchanges are situated within two kilometers of the village, while another one-third has the facility within a range between 3 to 5 kilometers.

Distribution of Facilities and Amenities

Only 18% of the nodal villages have Primary Health Centres (PHCs). The distribution of PHCs is slightly higher in mainstream than difficult terrains and better in larger villages. Similarly, majority of the Health Sub Centres are also found to be there in the villages that have more than 1000 population. The availability of services of the private doctors in the respective villages, again, varied according to size of the villages. About 47% of the smaller (less than 500 households) villages under survey were under the services of private doctors, while 83% of the bigger villages (above 1000 households) were having so. The distribution of chemists found to be low with an average of 25% across the surveyed areas. The presence of chemists was better in larger villages. The inroads of private hospitals are lesser with only 9% of the nodal villages have at least one. In terms of the possible use of the CSCs, the above distribution of facilities would mean that villages not having doctors will opt for tele-medicine services which can generate prescriptions. This service would be more useful in villages of Uttar Pradesh, where major part of expenditure goes in common illness. There are private doctors, some part of the doctor’s clientele would opt


59


for tele-medication, especially for common illnesses, if the queue time and the cost per service is lower than that at the private doctors. The services will also need careful marketing to emphasize that high quality advice is available through the CSC. The use of tele-medicines in areas having PHCs maybe less popular, as there is faith in the government doctors, and there is further incentive to use, as medicines for some common illnesses are distributed without cost. However, the presence of doctors on a reliable basis, doctor’s treatment of patients and the queues for accessing services, maybe factors which may influence households to try alternative channels.

There is, reportedly, good presence of Anganwadis (90%) in the villages. About 87% of the villages under survey in Uttar Pradesh have Fair Price Shops with better distribution of such shops is better in larger villages. In case of Post and Telegraph, 41% villages in mainstream and 29% in difficult terrain have such services.

The access to bus stops in nodal villages of Uttar Pradesh is quite poor, with only 21% reporting the presence of bus stops within one kilometer of distance. Majority of the villages are not close to railway station as only 5% confirmed the presence railway stations within one kilometer of distance. As expected the services regarding road transportation is better in mainstream villages (46%), in comparison to difficult terrains (12%).

In case of banks, only 15% of villages in mainstream while none in difficult terrain have bank facility. Even the prevalence of private money lenders is slightly better in mainstream nodal villages (24%) than in nodal villages of difficult terrain (18%). The presence of banks and private lenders is better in larger villages in mainstream. The low presence of banks and money lenders in rural Uttar Pradesh is in line with the low levels of investment in agriculture, loan and insurance especially in difficult terrain nodal villages.

The presence of general stores is, reportedly, higher in mainstream (63%) than difficult terrain nodal villages (53%). The number of general stores is better in larger villages under the survey.

While, on an average, 23% of the villages only had CD and Cassette shops, 9% of the villages were connected to cable TV network. On the other hand, only 5% of the villages under survey in Uttar Pradesh had cinema halls. The option of including entertainment services in kiosks is dependant on the proportion of households having TV and VCR/DVD facilities. The low presence of entertainment options available through TV network, cinema halls and CD/cassette shops, shows good potential for kiosk.


60


Reported by 6% respondents in difficult terrain and 13% in mainstream villages had government colleges and private colleges. Kissan Seva Kendras are, reportedly, present in 13% villages in mainstream and in none of the villages in difficult terrain. Uttar Pradesh, being poorly industrialized, only 4% villages in mainstream and none in difficult terrain, reportedly, have mills. The presence of co-operative societies is also poor, with only 12-15% nodal villages across mainstream and difficult terrain having them. The opportunity of the kiosks to provide higher education through distant learning techniques and its facilitation through tuition classes is present for most villages, as college and technical education services are only available at considerable distances.

Places of Social Activity and Community Gatherings

The informal gatherings play a crucial role in the information dissemination in villages. A significant section (38%) among the men from Uttar Pradesh informally meet at panchayat bhavan or near the school. 16% men, reportedly, meet near the temple while 14% each meet at Chauri/Chaupal or near market place (For details, see Table No. 601). As far as presence of women in these gatherings is concerned, 61% of them confirmed their presence in such gatherings either always or sometimes, while 38% said that they don’t attend at all.

Women’s social gatherings generally take place in each other’s house (46%), but this is unimportant in case of CSC location consideration. 39% gravitated around the Anganwadi centres. The other place social interaction as far as women are concerned is in common areas between the houses (13%), near the school (8%), etc. Thus, if the CSC were to be located where both men and women can access, it would have to be place within the village and close to the panchayat


61


bhavan for men and Anganwadi Centres for women, which are located on the village road and accessible during both day and evening hours.

Primary and Secondary Occupations

In rural Uttar Pradesh, farming constitutes the most important primary occupation. Most of the farmers were marginal farmers with less than 2.5 acres or between 2.5 to 5 acres of land. Agricultural laborers and construction laborers also constituted major categories of primary occupation as per the survey (Please see Table 301 for details).

Marginal farming and agricultural labor constitute the prominent secondary occupational categories. A significant proportion of households have undertaken the jobs of construction labour also.

Village Youth- Educational Attainment, Occupations, Major Challenges and Aspirations for Knowledge and Skills

Across the habitations under survey, on an average there are 148 persons who are in illiterate or just literate category. Among the literates, on an average, 104 youths have studied upto 10th class, while 94 youths have studied upto 12th class. The average number of professionals emerged as 60 youths in sample villages of Uttar Pradesh.

Majority of the youths across various educational categories are, reportedly, engaged in cultivation or in agricultural labour. Of those who attained some professional education, 38% were employed as professionals and 7% were service (govt., private or tuitions). However, 32% such professionally qualified were still engaged in cultivation or in some kind of labour work.

There is a substantial section among the youth who are illiterate to those studied upto middle school and engaged in agriculture considered that vocational skills could enhance their job and income potentials. But those studied above middle school till upto 12th class prioritized business management skills and computer education ahead and of vocational training. However, those received vocational education after/with 10th or 12th classes considered that their incomes and jobs could be enhanced if they primarily acquire knowledge/skill in business management, followed by computer education and English speaking course.


62


School Infrastructure and Performance

Almost all the villages (96%) have schools. In villages where schools are available, 93% are primary schools, 47% are secondary schools, 13% are higher secondary schools and only 1% are degree colleges. Mean number of teachers available in primary schools and secondary school is 4 and in higher secondary school is 11. As far as regular attendance of students is concerned, on an average, 250 students in primary school, 166 in secondary school and 440 in higher secondary school regularly attend their classes. The student teacher ratio in primary, secondary schools and sr. secondary schools respectively are 62.4, 42.2 and 39.9, which is very favourable. However, these ratios are affected by teacher and student attendance.

Reasons for Dropout

Reported by almost half of the respondents (47%) absenteeism of teachers emerged as the main reason for dropout of students from schools. Lack of quality teaching (33%) and teachers (28%) was also reported. Other reasons viz., lack of physical infrastructure and education infrastructure was reported to be major causes of dropout by 14% and 7% villagers respectively.

Subject Students Usually Fail

Majority of students, reportedly, usually fail in English (92%) and Mathematics (86%). Around 29% and 18% villages said that students usually fail in Physics and Chemistry, respectively. Biology, economics and Computer Science were among the other few subjects mentioned by the respondents (9%) in which students fail.

Availability of Tuition Classes and incidental Cost

Nearly one-fourth villagers reported paucity of tuitions classes in the village. In villages where tuitions classes are available majority of the villages (46%) paid more than Rs. 76 to Rs. 100 as tuition fees and 39% villages reported the tuition charges to be Rs. 26 to Rs.50. Mean number of students attending tuition classes is 59.

Village Issues and Causes of Dispute

Major causes of disputes in a village can pertain to land, water, common resources, family feuds, youth employment related, abuse of women, migration, law and order, communal/caste feuds etc.

a) Land


63


Around half (54%) villagers reported occurrence of disputes related to land. Out of these, one-third reported land dispute to be a frequent phenomenon in the villages. Majority of these land disputes are within community (83%). Only 11% reported the occurrence of such disputes between communities of the village.

b) WaterAround one-third villagers reported occurrence of disputes related to water and of these 34% reported water disputes to be a frequent phenomenon. Nearly three-fourth reported water disputes within the community and 19% reported it to be mostly occurring between communities.

c) Common ResourcesDisputes dwelling around common resources were reported by only 15% villagers and in 60% cases such disputes were frequent in nature. Again said it occurred usually within communities (79%).

d) Family FeudsFamily feuds were reported by 58% villagers. In 62% villages family feuds were frequent and mostly occurred within communities (88%). Family feuds between communities was reported by 8% villagers.

e) Youth Employment RelatedDisputes related to youth employment were, reportedly, fewer in nature (15%) villages. Nearly 56% villages reported it to be occurring frequently. Majority (81%) of the disputes were within community, however, in 10% it was reported with government officials, too.

f) Abuse of WomenDispute related to abuse of women was reported by 13% villages. However, such occurrence was reported to be occasional (89%). Nearly 78% of the disputes related to women were reported to be between communities.

g) MigrationDisputes pertaining to migration were not reported by only 4% villagers and that too they were occasional in nature.

i) Law and OrderLaw & order situation in the villages of Uttar Pradesh did not emerge as a problem. Only 11% villagers reported occurrence disputed related to law & order situation and these occurred occasionally within the community.

j) Communal and Caste


64


Communal and caste based skirmishes was reported in just 5% respondents and these occurred occasionally. 69% reported it to occur within community while 19% reported it to be between communities.

3.1.18 Village Needs

Rural India is characterized by lack of availability, accessibility and affordability of services viz., health, educations, banking, communication, etc. The inhabitants travel long distance to avail these services. In this context the top most needs of the villages was identified that may be facilitated through the kiosk.

a) HealthNeed for good doctors and health facility was reported by 86% and 81% villages, respectively. The same needs were ranked as the first five top most needs by 66% and 34% villages, respectively. Similarly, need for medical consultation through internet café was reported by 32% villages and out of these only 37% gave a ranking of one to five in their priority list (refer table below).

Felt Needs IMP. Services Top 5Good Doctors 86.1 66Health Facility 80.7 34Internet Café for Medical Consultation 32.0 37

b) AgricultureThe need for best practices and access to market was reported by 70% and 52%, respectively. The same needs were ranked as the first five top most needs by 36% and 24% villages, respectively. The need for cheaper credit facility was felt by 52% villages while only 21% ranked them amongst the five most important ones (refer table below).

Felt Needs IMP. Services Top 5Best Practices 69.6 35.9Access to Market 52.1 24.0Cheaper Credit 52.1 21.2Agri-consulting 39.3 21.5

a) Training and Education

68% of the villages have felt the need of information technology that may be facilitated through the presence of a rural kiosk. Of them 24% have voted to be one of the top most needs that can enhance qualitative training and education. Career development and job planning is one of the felt needs as reported by 58% of the villages. This particular service is ranked as one of the top most need by 27% of the villages (refer Table below).


65


Felt NeedsIMP. Services

Top 5

Better Quality education 67.9 24Higher Education Distance Learning 26.1 10Adult Education Distance Learning 27.5 4IT/Computer Training 57.9 43English Speaking Courses 40.4 7Career Development & Job Planning 57.5 27Job Search 53.9 14.6Vocational Training for men 65.7 25Vocational Training for women 59.3 21Upgrading Occupational Skills 42.1 12Training on use of new tools & technology 41.1 5Business Management/Entrepreneurship Training 28.9 1Training on Creation of Organized Marketing Channels 45.0 4.8

b) Banking and Insurance

Financial services are one of the most common needs as reported by 79% of the villages. However, only 38% villages have ranked it amongst the top five needs. Financial services for the entrepreneurs are most commonly needed as felt by 49% villages, of which 7% of them have ranked it amongst the top most need. 48% villages have felt the need of financial services for women SHG and accordingly 8% have ranked them amongst the top five. Rural Banks also account for one of the most important services as mentioned by 67% of the villages. This service has been ranked as one of the top five needs by 48% of the villages.

Felt NeedsIMP. Services

Top 5

Finance for farmers 78.6 38Financial services for entrepreneur 48.6 7Women SHG group 47.5 8Life insurance 51.4 32General insurance 31.4 6Rural bank 66.8 48Investment advice 34.3 2


66


Knowledge and Access to Government Programme

Knowledge on the existence of following government programmes in the gauged was identified from villagers:

1. Sampoorna Grameen Rojgar Yojana (SGRY)2. Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY), 3. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)4. Indra Awas Yojana (IAY)5. Swajaldhara6. Total Sanitation Schemes7. ICDS8. Kutir Jyoti9. Credit cum Subsidy Scheme10. PDS11. Antadoya Anna Yojana (AAY)12. National Food For Work Programme (NFFWP)13. Mid Day Meal Scheme (MDM)14. National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS)15. Widow Pension Scheme (WPS)16. Maternity Benefit Scheme (MBS)17. Freedom Fighter Pension Scheme18. Annapurna Scheme19. Sarvashiksha Abhiyan (SSA)

GENERAL ANALYSIS

Demographic Profile


67


Educational Attainment

Type of house

Majority of the respondents were, reportedly, staying in pucca house (19%), 47% were in semi-pucca houses while 34% in kutcha houses.

Ownership of household and agricultural assetsa) Household assets:

The ownership pattern of household assets which are non-electricity operated are as follows:

Radio: 45% new and 28% second hand


68


Wooden cot: 92% new and 67% second hand Bicycle: 79% new and 76% second hand Steel almirah: 21% new and 21% second hand Telephone (landline): 7% new and 5% second hand Mobile: 10% new and 4% second hand Scooter/motorbike: 12% new and 7% second hand Four wheeler: 2% new and 2% second hand

The ownership pattern of household assets shows the commonly owned items are wooden cot, bicycle, steel almirah and radio. For most items, the purchase behaviour is for new products.

The pattern of ownership of electricity operated assets is:

Fan: 78% new and 55% second hand Television: 79% new and 70% second hand Stereo: 21% new and 23% second hand Refrigerator: 8% new and 6% second hand Air cooler: 9% new and 5% second hand Air conditioner: 0.3% new and 2.8% second hand Computer: 0.2% new and 4% second hand Washing machine: 1% new and 1% second hand

The ownership pattern of electricity operated household assets shows the commonly owned items are fan and television, which is purchased both as old and new items. Interestingly, 70% of the households have two television sets. For most items, the purchase behaviour is for new products, except stereo.

b) Agricultural assets:

Majority of the respondents, reportedly, did not own various agricultural assets. The proportion that owned one or more such assets had – plough (24%), tractor (8%), tiller (6%), thresher (7%), crusher (3%), sprayer (4%), diesel operate pump set (23%), electricity operated pump set (6%), camel/bullock cart (8%).

Marketing channels for different goods and products

Almost all the respondents said that their household is not involved in selling of ‘forest-based products, honey through bee-keeping or practice sericulture (F, BK, & S)’, ‘handicraft or other cottage industry precuts (H&CI)’, or ‘fishing activity and meat production (F&M). Only, 5% said that dairy and poultry products (D&P) are sold by their household, and mainly through the channel where ‘direct buyer purchases such products from their homes’.

Problems in assessing the markets


69


Although there wasn’t any major problem, yet transportation was mentioned by few respondents as problem in assessing the markets to sell their products (19%). Some also mentioned the problem of poor rates in the market (12%).

Media exposure and habits, and favorite programmes

a) Having spare time:Spare time available per day was assessed for children, youth and adult members of the family, separately. Majority of (male: 49%, female: 41%) children said that they have average spare time of 3 hours in the evening. The proportion of children who said that they don’t get any spare time during the course of the day was higher in case of female children (51%) as compared to male children (42%).

A high proportion of youth did not find spare time (male: 45%, female: 52%). Of the remaining, majority had sapre time in the evening (male: 44%, female: 35%). The mean spare time available to these youth is 3 hours per day.

The adults in rural area have, reportedly, lot of spare time. While adult males are generally free in the evening (75%), the adult females are free in the afternoons (61%) and as well as in the evening (64%). The average spare time available to the adults was again 3 hours per day. Just 5% to 6% adults said that they don’t get any spare time during the entire day.

b) Entertainment options available:Mentioned by almost all the respondents, TV was the most popular entertainment option available in the rural Uttar Pradesh (95%). Next was ‘movie shows on TV with VCD/DVD players (36%).

c) Activities pursued during the spare time:

For adult males, the activities pursued during spare time were radio listening (62%), TV viewing (55%) and newspaper reading (16%). The adult women gave almost equal importance to radio listening (55%) and TV viewing (58%). Only 10% read newspapers.

The youth also split their spare time almost equally in watching TV (60%) and listening to radio (55%). Reading newspaper in spare time was reported by just 16%. Again, their was not much difference between watching TV (56%) and listening radio (45%) as far as spare time activities of children are concerned.

c) Reading newspaper:

31% of the respondents said that someone or the other in their household read the newspaper at home or anywhere else. Regular reading of newspaper was


70


found relatively high among adult males (32%) and youth males (18%). Around 10-13% youth and adult females regularly read the newspapers.

d) Watching TV:Regular watching of TV emerged quite low across all the categories of respondents. It was relatively higher among the adults (25-26%) followed by youths (18-21%). 71-20% children and 8-9% old members of the respondents, reportedly, watch TV regularly.

Preferred TV programmes:The programmes usually preferred were:

Movies (76.9%) Travel programmes (96.9%) News (74.4%) Serials (61.3%) Religious programmes (56.7%) Sport (47.8%) Choupal (28.6%) Music programmes (22.9%)

55% of the households watched TV in their homes, while about 27% watched in neighbour’s house.

f) Listening Radio:Reported by 46% respondents, listening to radio programmes by anyone in the household was found lower when compared to watching TV. Regular listening of radio programmes was found highest amongst the adults (34-38%). Next were youth (male: 26%, female: 20%) and children (15-18%). It is was quite low among the old people (8-6%).

86% of men listened radio in the evening but women found more time in the afternoons (76%) and then in the evenings (63%). Majority of youth and children (84%) listened radio in the evening.

g) Availability of video cassettes and CDs:Around 17% reported availability of video cassettes and CDs only through hire in the nodal villages of Uttar Pradesh. Few (9%) said that these are available through both hire and purchase methods. just 2% said these could be only purchased while 73% reported absolute unavailability of the video cassettes and CDs.

h) Organizing movie shows:


71

Figure 3.6 : Media used


Reported by 83% respondents, movie shows (on TV and VCP/DVD players or through projectors) are not organized in the nodal villages of Uttar Pradesh. Around two-third, of those that said that such shows are organized in their village, added that usually no one contributes any money for such shows. Regarding the presence of a movie theatre in and around the village, only 6% responded in affirmation.


72


CHAPTER 5

SURVEY RESULTS

Over 100 Rural Residents were interviewed and were asked different questions on which their view on E-GOVERNANCE concept was came to know in a much better way.

1. Are you fully aware of National E-Governance Plan.

5347

YES NO

2. Does the model fits for Building rural India into great economy ?

60

40

YES NO


73


3. Are you a owner of Common Service Center under NeGP ?

35

65

YES NO

4. From where did you came to know about this Project ?

22

2825

25

NEWSPAPER

RADIO

LEAFLETS

WORD OF MOUTH


74


5. Are you aware of the qualification criteria required for taking CSC ?

40

60

YES NO

6. What was your mindset when you first listened about the project- Rank ?

33

57

10

POSITIVE NEGATIVE NOT SURE

7. Do you feel that to the area you belong is well developed ?


75


35

45

20

YES NO CAN"T SAY

8. Do you think Government is well equipped to provide services in rural areas.

30

45

25

YES NO CAN'T SAY

9. What's your opinion that does Public-Private partnership will really cater needs of rural India ?


76


6025

15

YES NO CAN"T SAY

10.Rate the Indian Rural Economy –

15%

30%

5%

45%

5%

FAR DEVELOPED DEVELOPED SEMI DEVELOPED

DEVELOPING UNDER DEVELOPED

11.Rate your key ratings from different services.

G2C SERVICES.


77


55%40%

5%

HIGH MEDIUM LOW

B2C SERVICES.

60%

35%

5%

HIGH MEDIUM LOW

B2B SERVICES.

30%

60%

5%

HIGH MEDIUM LOW


78


Commercial Services.

75%

20%

5%

HIGH MEDIUM LOW

12.For you which is the most important service.

30%

4%

6%

20%

20%

10%

10%

AGRICULTURAL SERVICES RAILWAY SERVICES MOBILE RECHARGING

LIC PREMIUM COLLECTION E-LEARNING HORTICULTURE SERVICES

POST PAID MOBILE SERVICES

13.Do you feel the concepts of Telemedicine & E-Agriculture will really prove to be beneficial for the rural mass ?


79


78

22

YES NO

14.Does the facilities provided by the company are well equipped ?

70

30

YES NO

15.Does the Bank Loan Process is really a transparent module ?

85

15

YES NO


80


16.What are expected earning from the CSC’s business model ?

30

40

20

10

RS 5000 RS 5000 - RS 10000 RS 10000 - RS 15000 CAN'T EXPECTED

17.Would you recommend this CSC’s business model to your nearest one’s or to your natives’s ?

78

22

YES NO


81


GENERAL FEEDBACK QUESTIONS

Some Questions were asked where the general questions were asked for the reference of what they think about this NeGP Model.

Where the answer of 1 respondents is mentioned below:-

1. Write your feelings below regarding this PPP model framework.

I think PPP model will really work in achieving the modus operandi of the National e-governance plan, whether it is government, private or commercial services it will be delivered to us in the least minimum time with the affordability, reliability & with least amount of error.

2. What would you say about the services that are being already to your CSC’s ?

They are really good in fulfilling the needs of rural customers and the Services that are already there are really catering the needs of the rural consumers.

3. Now, the most important thing what are your expected outcome’s or rating from the National E-Governance Model ?

Years Consumer Services.

Business Model.

Government Support.

Private Firms.

2009 High High Low High

2010 High High Medium High

2011 High Medium Can’t Say High

2012 High High High High

The Questionnaire was prepared in such a manner so that it should not hinder any one’s feeling that’s why questions that were asked in this were very crisp and easy to answer because at the end of the day the answers to these questions have to be answered by the rural consumers.

------------------------------------------------


82


CHAPTER- 6

CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

The following points that were there to finalize the whole topic and from where we drive towards conclusions and there were some nice recommendations from my external guide that this NATIONAL E-GOVERNANCE PLAN is really fruitful for the growth of Indian Rural Economy;

The efforts as the Program Management Agency, have, primarily been focused on developing a better understanding of the building blocks for a viable and sustainable CSC model – focusing both on the technology pieces, as well as, more importantly the potential stack of services. The attempt has been to cover as wide a spectrum as possible so as to surface all the areas, which need to be looked at for implementation of this scheme. As the project moves to the next stage some of the key areas, which need to be focused on, are covered in the following paragraphs:

Technology Architecture

The configuration and IT hardware at the CSC would need to be robust and easy to operate. There are enough reliable sources of hardware of all types in the country, and therefore procurement of IT assets and getting optimal costs thereof, should not be a major issue. To the extent, the various SCAs can coalesce their requirements – could be through the NLSA – economies of scale could help further drive down prices from the levels indicated.

The bigger challenge is going to be that of maintenance and management of a remote network – especially in harsh power, heat and dust conditions. Whilst, more robust PC hardware solutions are entering the market, SCAs would need to tie-in with reliable manufacturers and System Integrators for the establishment and maintenance of the CSCs.

To achieve ease of operations, would also need a focus on the OS, applications software etc, especially from a language interface perspective. Whilst there are some available solutions, with agencies such as CDAC, most of them are still prototypes. These now need to be “taken to the market”.


83


The Content Challenge

More than just the user interface, the bigger challenge is going to be the Content. There is no dearth of available content available in disaggregated forms with various content providers, government departments, and NGOs - both at the national and the regional levels. For example, MANAGE has a large repository of agriculture content which could be effectively used. Television channels like Doordarshan, as well as private channels, have large content banks that could be catalogued and recycled for rural areas. The challenge, is to create capacity and capability to:

a) Enable content to be delivered through a digital medium in multiple languages: Most content would be in any one of English, Hindi or a regional language – i.e. the content is not ready for multi-lingual deployment. Further, most of it is in print. Technology can be effectively used to convert this content into a CSC friendly format. Hence, for government agencies at least, it is suggested that the DIT should facilitate

Selection of VLEs :

b) The VLE is the key to the success of the CSC operations. While content and services are important, it is the VLE’s entrepreneurial ability that is critical to ensure CSC sustainability. A good VLE would be one with entrepreneurial traits, strong social commitment and commands respect within the community. VLE should have all the qualities necessary to sub-serve the basic objectives of the CSC. The quality of service at the CSCs would be as effective as the quality of persons running them. Selection and proper training of the VLE therefore would play a vital role in making the CSC a success. The SCAs would need to explore NGOs, SHG and other agencies such as organization of retired services personnel for a database of potential VLEs. Network such that those of Gram Sevaks, National Innovation Foundations, Yuvak Kendras can provide a starting place for identifying potential “change agents”.

Monitoring Framework

c) A strong monitoring and control systems at the SCA level is a must. Whilst there are available platforms for managing remote hardware and software, a robust MIS and financial control system needs to be put in place. There are challenges of secure payment systems, user identification and authentication, remote network management. Some solutions have been identified. These and more would be tested out through pilot centres, which are being set up in different parts of the country.


84


G2C Services

The State Governments should be encouraged to establish a centralisedSDC. The SDC should host all the databases across the various State government departments, District/Taluka offices. The States should also accelerate their backend computerisation through a turnkey PPP model, wherein the private partner could take complete responsibility for development/sourcing of relevant applications, bring in the initial investment and agree on a revenue sharing pattern with the SCAs, as services get deployed through the CSC. A centralized initiative also needs to be taken for establishing connectivity solutions.

Selecting SCAs

The success of the CSC scheme would largely depend on a careful selection of the SCAs. Most of the existing private kiosks are “managed” by SCA equivalents, which bring in their managerial skill and their business networks for the benefit of village kiosk owners. Other than a few like ITC, do not necessarily bring in a base revenue model of their own. Motivating large.companies from relevant verticals can accelerate the establishment of a viable business model, as the CSCs would essentially become an extension of an existing commercial ecosystem. And, to the extent such SCAs can be networked with local NGOs, a good mix of commerce and development can be achieved. Going forward, this “matchmaking” will be a key focus area.


85


SO TO CONCLUDE….!!!!

‘…the debate on the digital divide is founded on a myth – that plugging poor countries into the Internet will help them to become rich

rapidly. This is highly unlikely, because the digital divide is not a problem in itself, but a symptom of deeper, more important divide : of

income development and literacy.’

- The Real Digital Divide, The Economist, Mar10, 2005


86


BIBLOGRAPHY

1) http://www.google.co.in

2) Mr Gopesh Tiwari – State Anchor- ILFS, Lucknow.

3) Department of IT & Electronics – Uttar Pradesh.

4) http://www.csc-india.org

5) Dataquest Magzine.

6) E-Gov Magzine.

7) Mr Ravindra Singh – Center for E-Governance, Lucknow.


87

http://www.csc-india.org/

http://www.google.co.in/


ANNEXURE’s

A. Questionnaire.

B. Article Of E-Gov Article- BY Mr D.S. Srivastava –Special Secretary- IT & Electronics- Government Of Uttar Pradesh.

C. SREI SAHAJ E-VILLAGE LTD’s E-LEARNING AD.

D. PAPER CUTTINGS.

E. Response Sheets.

F. Reply Sheets- Mail Cover- Prof Alpi Jain.


88

Divyam Srivastava-E-Governance Thesis IIPM

Documents

Transcript of Divyam Srivastava-E-Governance Thesis IIPM