ICTpost Media Action
Abrar Ahmed Rajakbhai Vora’s success story is an inspring one , especially with him suffering from a congenital disorder and belonging to a family with a weaker economic background in the district of Viramgam in Gujarat.
Abrar Vora heard about the CSCs (Common Services Centre) scheme for Digital India program in November, 2015 and immediately decided to get associated with it. Now, as a VLE, he is successfully running the CSC Centre in Viramgam with 7 computers. He works 12 hours daily to serve the customers in his locality .. He provides services for initiatives like PMGDISHA (Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan), IRCTC, Passport, election, Aadhaar and banking services, eStamping, LED, PAN card.
As a hardworking VLE he is trying his best to achieve the goals of Digital India programme in Viramgam, Karkphal, Dasalana, Motikumad, Jakhavada areas of Ahmedabad by providing various digital services to citizens in all of these villages. Presently his monthly income is around Rs. 60,000 to Rs. 70,000. Through his CSC center, he also assists divyangs, poor people from minority communities on how to get self-employed
Abrar Ahmed’s work in Financial Inclusion and PMGDISHA has been phenomenal. He is a Banking Correspondent (BC) for Bank of Baroda under Digital India program. He has also created 4400 accounts of the villagers of areas like : Viramgam, Karkphal, Dasalana, Motikumad, Jakhavada; mainly: farmers, labourers, old age pensioners, small merchants who lackbanking facilities, often approach him for their day to day transactions. His per day transaction as a BC is Rupees 5 lakh.
Through PMGDISHA, the VLE has trained more than 1,000 people in which 500 are certified candidates. He makes door- to -door visit in his area for motivating and mobilizing beneficiaries under PMGDISHA. The VLE travels in his locality through an auto-rickshaw and visits tuition centers as well as schools to spread awareness about the scheme.
He has also successfully helped around 30 people in his locality through the services of Tele-Medicine extended by the Government.
The VLE says: Working as a VLE has changed my life in a significant way. It has provided me a platform to cater my family needs and also earn enough to sustain a family of 5 .. It has also helped me in gaining respect and recognition in the society. Now, people don’t hesitate interacting with divyangs like myself and provide me with respect as a human.
How CSC has transformed people’s lives: The VLE says: The quality of services in CSC has transformed the lives of people in Ahmedabad immensely. Besides that ,the villagers have benefitted from theirinitiatives as they are provided with services at their doorsteps at a reasonable cost ,especially in Banking Services, Digital Literacy and Healthcare in Telemedicine for illiterate, poor and senior citizens. Abar says, I feel great satisfaction on seeing happiness on the face of villagers who come to my Digital India centre. It is such a great platform by which one can earn money respect.
His connect with the villagers: Before commissioning of CSC centre in the area, the people in the area travelled long to avail these services. Considering the cost and time involved, an operating CSC in their neighborhood made life easier for these people and was cost-effective. They could now avail these services almost at their doorstep.
What are Common Services Centres (CSCs) under Digital India program?
Digital India is an ambitious and unique programme initiated by the the Government of India to transform the country into a digitally empowered society and a leading knowledge economy. On the eve of Independence day, 2015, the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, launched the programme aimed at bridging the digital divide and ensuring that the advantages of information and communication technology are harnessed to empower ordinary citizens, including the women, especially who come from marginalized communities and backward class.
The Common Services Centres (CSCs) arean integral part of Digital India Programme. The CSCs are internet enabled access points for delivery of various Digital Services (e-Services) to the citizens. The CSCs enable citizens to avail of the Government and other services closer to their locality in a transparent and timely manner. The ability of CSC to avoid direct interaction of citizens with Government offices brings transparency, accountability and efficiency in the delivery of services through a reduced turnaround time. editor@ictpost.com
