New Delhi, Oct 1 : The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Friday launched the Digital India Common Service Center (DICSC) project to bridge the digital divide in rural India and ensure that digital services reach every citizen.

Starting with Pilibhit and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, this project will establish one model DICSC centre in nearly all gram panchayats across 10 districts, totaling 4,740 centres nationwide. These centres will offer a variety of services including Aadhaar registration, banking, financial planning, tele-law, telemedicine, education, and e-commerce support.

Pilibhit will see the establishment of 720 DICSC centres, while Gorakhpur will have 1,273 centres.

In addition Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Maharashtra) will have 870 centres, Chamba (Himachal Pradesh) 309, Khammam (Telangana) 589, Gandhinagar (Gujarat) 288, Mamit (Mizoram) 100, Jodhpur (Rajasthan) 415, Leh (Ladakh) 95, and Puducherry state 81 DICSC centres.

The project, with a budget of Rs 31.6088 crore, is set to run initially for six months, with the possibility of extending it to nine months.

The centres will primarily create an integrated platform that provides essential e-governance services along with financial and commercial services to rural citizens.

CSC e-Governance Services India will manage and implement the centralised technical monitoring of these centres, opening job opportunities and enhancing digital literacy, the ministry said.

'Each CSC will be equipped with high-speed broadband connectivity and modern infrastructure to function as a multi-functional service centre. This project aims to empower Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs), fostering local economic growth and creating job opportunities,' the ministry said.

It noted that with centralised technical monitoring, transparent and sustainable service delivery of the initiative will be ensured. Further, GPS-enabled mobile vans will be deployed to promote government schemes, and also deliver essential services directly to remote areas, the ministry said.

/IANS