On July 16, 2024 CSC SPV celebrated its establishment day. The program was held in New Delhi in the august presence of Jitin Prasada, Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Ministry of Commerce and Industry. CSC Scheme was launched in year 2006 and CSC SPV was entrusted to implement the scheme in year 2009.
While inaugurating the program, Minister Jitin Prasada appreciated the efforts of the enterprising VLEs. He said, “In the changing era of technology and Artificial Intelligence, we have to see how CSCs will play the role of change maker in the next 15 years. “Through this, it is important to explore new possibilities in healthcare, e-commerce and AI.” He said that information like weather, agriculture should also be available through CSCs.”
During the programme, S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY said, “CSCs have played a significant role in promoting rural enterprise as well as Digital Inclusion, mainly for rural citizens. To fulfil the last mile gap, role of CSCs will be very significant. CSC is the most important part of Government schemes. The vast network of CSC centres in India has done excellent work in various schemes like Digital Literacy, Tele-Medicine, Insurance, Tele-law, Skill development. Common Service Centre has to play a significant role in Digital India initiatives of the government.” “I recognize the significance of CSC from the increasing demand for its services, often highlighted in parliamentary discussions. The recognition from various organizations, including banks, further validates CSC’s role in delivering products and services to the last mile. Breaking the digital divide is essential, and CSC is doing stellar work in digital education and cyber learning, teaching people the basics of cyber hygiene and promoting cyber safety.”
During the program, V Srinivas, Secretary-Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances said, “CSC has been instrumental in transforming governance through digital technology. When we first implemented services like e-court, concerns were raised about the divide between the internet-rich and internet-poor. However, CSC has bridged this gap effectively. Every 20th of the month, we celebrate CPGRAMS Day through CSC, demonstrating our commitment to a robust grievance redressal mechanism.”
Shailesh Kumar Singh, Secretary-Ministry of Rural Development, “We are actively collaborating with various ministries to support citizens through numerous flagship programs. Internet penetration, particularly in rural parts of India, remains a challenge. This makes the role of CSC vital in ensuring government-to-citizen service delivery.”
Welcoming the guests, Sanjay Rakesh, Managing Director, CSC SPV said, “When CSC was launched in 2006, there were doubts about the tech-enabled delivery system’s viability. However, in 2009, the establishment of CSC SPV under the same scheme solidified our mandate. Today, CSC is a sustainable, viable, and vibrant system.” He added, “We are actively engaged in delivering government services, promoting digital literacy, enrolling citizens in e-Shram Yojana, updating Aadhaar cards, and more. Our efforts are focused on reaching deprived regions and tribal communities, extending our services to schools through our VLEs. We aim to reduce the digital divide and increase ease of living in rural areas, minimizing the need to travel to cities. VLEs are becoming local influencers, and CSC is acting as a social change maker.”
46 Top performing VLEs, ASK Operators and District Managers were felicitated during the program.
During the program, a panel discussion conducted on “Potential Financial Products and Emerging Financial Technology to be Propagated through CSC.” The panelists were: Vikas Mangla (Executive Vice President & Head- Emerging Corporate and Government Banking, IndusInd Bank), Gagan Saraswat (Executive Vice President, Kotak Mahindra Bank), Amit Arora (Head Financial Inclusion, World Bank), K. Mohan Gandhi (Chief General Manager, PFRDA), Sachin Sikka (Executive Vice President- Bajaj Finserv)
Another special panel discussion was conducted on “To promote different products of Insurance in Bharat through CSC.” The experts in the discussion were: Dr. Poonam Tandon (Chief Investment Officer, India First Life Insurance Company India Ltd.), Ms. Priya Kumar (Executive Vice President, SBI General Insurance), Dasarathi singh (Executive Director, Agriculture Insurance Company India Ltd.), Vishweshwar Rau, (Chief – Alternate Channel, Life Insurance Corporation of India Ltd.), Anurag Sood, Executive Vice President (Star Health & Allied Insurance Company Ltd.).
Another panel discussion conducted on “Emerging opportunities through Grameen e-Store”. The panelists were- Sonanksi Vij (DGM Unibic), Meghna Singhal ( Head of Business – Tata Croma), Amit Kumar (Group CEO, Symphony), Bhagwan Patil (Group President CSC SPV), VLE Setha Singh Rawat (Darji Online).
During the program MoU was exchanged between CSC SPV and Department of Higher Education, for APAAR Ids and Educational Services delivery through CSCs.
Nalin Bansal (Chief of Corporate and Fintech Relationships and key initiatives, NPCI) presented views on ‘Propagating Financial Services & Products through CSC’ and Kamna Sharma, Deputy Commissioner (Credit), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer Welfare presented her views on PMFBY.
During the program, V Srinivas, Secretary-Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Shailesh Kumar Singh, Secretary-Ministry of Rural Development,
On this occasion, Anand Rao Patil, Additional Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, Dr Naval Jit Kapoor, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, SCL Das, Secretary Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), Niten Chandra, Secretary Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare under the Ministry of Defence, Pratap Chauhan, Founder and Chairman- JIVA Ayurveda, Yogendra Kumar (Marketing Director, IFFCO), Satyen Modi, (National Head HDFC Bank), Dr. Jyoti Kumar (IIT Delhi) were also present.