Government to set up 2.5 lakh common service centres

New Delhi, March 10 (IANS) The government has proposed to set up 2.5 lakh common service centres (CSC) to extend services to citizens near their residences, Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said here on Tuesday.

"Community Service Centres should become engines of change in rural India and assist government in carrying forward initiatives aimed at making rural India a truly vibrant society," the minister said.

He said the government proposes to set up at least 2.5 lakh CSCs - one in every panchayat so that the services can be extended to citizens close to their place of residence.

To make the CSC sustainable and create long-term business opportunity, Prasad said the CSCs should be utilised for exploring the emerging potential of e-Commerce in India.

He said the centres can also be utilised to provide PAN cards to citizens.

The minister said ensuring women at the fore front of "Digital India" would result in a new social order where women play the role of "change agent" in building a society free of caste, creed, colour or gender discrimination.

"Digitally empowered women, especially in rural India, can bring about a paradigm shift in encouraging and empowering rural communities," he added.

The minister highlighted the government's new initiative of JAM -- Jandhan, Aadhar and Mobile -- for building a new India where citizens are empowered to access government services.

He emphasised on the need to enable every person to have mobile and all government services to be delivered in the format so that the prime minister's vision of providing government into the hands of every citizen is fulfilled.