Salient features of the Digital Village Pilot project

LOK SABHA 

DIGITAL VILLAGE SCHEME 

688. SHRI UPENDRA SINGH RAWAT
        SHRI RAJAN VICHARE
        SHRI BHOLANATH (B.P. SAROJ)
        SHRI MARGANI BHARAT

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

(a) whether Digital Village Scheme introduced by the Government is working to its desired objectives and if so, the details thereof including the salient features of the scheme;

(b) the details of funds approved, allocated and utilized so far in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra under the scheme, district-wise including Barabanki, Jaunpur and Varanasi districts of Uttar Pradesh and the progress made therein so far;

(c) the details of the number of villages and districts identified under the scheme in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh including Gokavaram block in East Godavari district;

(d) the details of targets fixed and achievements made by the Government including the services proposed to be offered under the said scheme;

(e) whether the Government is planning to link some more villages under the scheme and if so, the time by when these villages are likely to be linked and made fully digital with identified services; and

(f) whether this scheme is benefiting in the creation of job opportunities for the rural people and if so, the details thereof?

(SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR)

(a): Yes, Sir. The Digital Village project titled “Pilot Project- Implementation of Digital Village” is working to its desired objectives. The Digital Village Project was initiated by Government of India (MeitY) on a pilot scale in 700 villages (One Gram Panchayat/ village from each district of the State/ UT) on 31st October 2018 for the duration of 3 years. The list of the 700 villages is at  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ODney0gMJHrhaO57izoOIHymwXxY9_et/edit?usp =sharing & ouid 114104362247024536597&rtpof=true&sd=true). The implementation status of the Digital Village project is enclosed at Annexure-I.

The salient features of the Digital Village Pilot project are:

• 700 Gram Panchayat/villages with atleast one village from each district of the State/UT are covered under the pilot implementation of the project.
• Digital Seva Portal (DSP) of CSCs in villages across the country is being leveraged for the delivery of services to the rural citizens.
• Education Service: Courses offered under this project are as – Basic Computer Course (BCC), Course on Computer Concept (CCC), Tally – Kaushal Praman Patra
• Health Services – Tele-Health & Tele-Veterinary consultation
• Financial Inclusion- Financial inclusion awareness programme
• Solar panel powered street lights (8 Solar lights per village)
• Skill Development – skill development in – Automotive Technician, Handset Repairing, Field Technician- Home Appliances, and Electrical Technician.
• Government to Citizen Services (G2C) – online registration for professional entrance examinations, Pan Card Services, new Aadhaar enrolment, its updation/modification, online registration for service selection board, online registration for public service commission, etc.
• B2C Services – Mobile / DTH recharge, ticket booking (Rail/Air), etc.

(b): Under the Digital India Central Sector Scheme of MeitY, a total outlay of Rs 98.32 Crore is allocated for implementation of Digital Village Pilot project. The funds allocated for the project implementation in the State(s) of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra is Rs. 7.46 crore and Rs. 3.398 crore (Rs. 9.99 lakh per village) respectively out of which a total of Rs. 4.91 crore (in Uttar Pradesh) and Rs. 2.272 crore (in Maharashtra) has been utilized so far for implementation of the project in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra State(s) respectively. The district wise details for Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra State(s) including Barabanki, Jaunpur and Varanasi districts of Uttar Pradesh are at Annexure-II.

(c): The details of the number of villages and districts covered under Digital Village Pilot project in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh including Gokavaram block in East Godavari district, are at Annexure-III.

(d): The details of targets and achievements made under Digital Village pilot project are at Annexure-I.

(e):  The project is in pilot phase of implementation in which 700 villages/Gram Panchayat with at least one village from each district of the State/UT are covered.

(f): This scheme is benefiting in job opportunities for rural people through Skill development program. In the pilot phase, the current target and achievement for each skill course are as follows: