Common Service Centres
Also called: CSC · Topic: Transparency, Accountability and e-Governance · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Common Service Centres (CSCs) are village kiosks. At these kiosks, people can get government and other services online with help from a trained person. They were approved in 2006 as part of the core infrastructure of the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP). Local entrepreneurs, called Village Level Entrepreneurs, run them. A special company set up for the purpose (an SPV), CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd (2009), manages them. CSCs matter because they bring digital services to people who have no device, internet or skills at home.
Example
Under CSC 2.0 (2015), the aim is one centre in every gram panchayat. A villager without a smartphone can go to the local CSC, and the entrepreneur there applies online for the service the villager needs. This is one of the main remedies for the digital divide, the gap between people who have devices, internet and skills and those who do not.
Don't confuse with
- UMANG: a mobile app that people use by themselves. A CSC is a physical centre where someone helps you.