One of the Government of India's programs under the Digital India Program is the Common Service Centre. It is a broad network that is provided to PAN India. The CSC concept was implemented in September 2006 and constitutes a strategic component of the National eGovernance Program. It is one of the projects funded under the National eGovernance Plan's Integrated Mission Mode projects. CSCs are the access centres for the distribution of vital public utility facilities, social welfare programs, healthcare, banking, educational and agricultural services, apart from the variety of B2C services to people in rural and remote areas.
Common Service Centers in Mumbai is a service point for providing e-Services from the Government of India to rural and remote locations of Mumbai where internet connection is not available. It is a multi-service-single-point model to provide multiple transaction services at one geographic location. Below given are the numerous goals of the CSC to provide across the country including Mumbai.
Village Level Entrepreneur- VLE provides local residents of first class service. VLE serves rural customers in a group of 5-6 communities, at a baseline level.
Service Center Agency (SCA)- The second-level / middle-level agency assists consumers indirectly through controlling and managing VLEs in one or more districts. One district usually covers VLEs of 100–200.
State Designated Agency- At the third level, SDA represents customers at the state tier by supplying to the SCAs the required legislation, services and assistance.
Below are the infrastructure details required to register a CSC at Mumbai
2 High-speed broadband or WIFI computers.
The desktop or laptop must follow the requirements set out below:
Based on the CSC scheme, the Government launched the CSC 2.0 initiative in 2015 to expand the CSC's outreach to all Gram Panchayats of Mumbai. Under the CSC 2.0 scheme, at least one CSC is established throughout the country for each of the 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats. CSCs operating under the current system can now be expanded and spread with a potential 1,5 lakh CSCs throughout India. The CSC 2.0 system would improve service access through a single connectivity network, rendering e-services accessible to citizens through various G2C networks everywhere in India.
The Ministry of Electronics & IT established a special purpose organization, CSC e-Governance Services India Limited, under the 1956 Companies Act, to supervise the execution of the CSC system.
In addition to ensuring the program's organizational stability and sustainability, CSC SPV offers a formal coordination framework to connect the citizens of Mumbai with G2C and B2C services via CSCs.
What is the goal of CSC SPV in Mumbai?
CSC e-Governance Service India Limited is a special purpose vehicle (CSC SPV) organized by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Government of India to regulate CSC services in Mumbai under the Companies Act of 1956. This builds a unified coordinated mechanism for the distribution of CSCs resources to Mumbai's rural people. CSC is the key element of the Digital India Programme which is known as the entry point for the availability of various digital services in Mumbai's rural areas.
In Mumbai, CSC is also known as transforming agents which facilitate rural entrepreneurship and increase productivity and livelihoods in rural areas. In Mumbai CSC's are the facilitators of community participation and joint initiatives to promote social transformation from a bottom-up approach with a priority on providing the rural villages of Mumbai with G2C and B2C services. CSCs as a stable, efficient and omnipresent IT powered network of Citizen Service Points connecting Mumbai's local people with government offices, industries, banks, insurance firms, educational institutions to leverage the economic structure of Mumbai.
VLE is a platform that provides various end-customer services relevant to government and non-government across its portals. VLE is responsible for providing a flawless service to the customer through the Digital Seva Platform. There is no registration charge applicable for VLE but the registration of VLE (Village Level Entrepreneur) in the CSC web portal is now restricted. Since the number of accepted VLEs in each of the Gram Panchayat or villages has reached their tipping point, there's no scope for any new CSC IDs, however, if the CSC needs more entries, they can let you know on their website.
Earlier, anybody can apply for the CSC but now it's not that convenient. First, you must be a member of the Self Help Group (SHG). You can not apply to CSC unless you are a part of the SHG. However, at the moment the new CSC registration is closed but you can enroll for SHG.
CSC 2.0, which was established in August 2015, seeks to establish a self-sustaining system for Gram Panchayat (GP)-level 2.5 lakh CSC centers through the Digital India-Pillar 3 Public Internet Access Program – National Rural Internet Project and to include a range of publicly focused services. The CSC 2.0 model is designed as a transaction-based and service delivery network, providing a broad variety of e-services through a single infrastructure distribution system that will improve CSC's usability in Mumbai.
The current GP implementation plan for CSC 2.0 emphasizes on a service delivery / transaction-oriented, self-sustainable system with a goal to allow full use of the assets created in the form of BharatNet / NOFN and other. Today the CSC for Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) is a good platform for entrepreneurship with no substantial deficiency in the Government of India's hardware and infrastructure resources. Everyday CSC activities and awareness updates are provided to VLEs regarding new projects and instant resources through training of the Entrepreneurship Development Programm in Mumbai. In conjunction with the co-branding of States/UTs, the national brand 'Digital Seva Kendras' was introduced to ensure standardization across all states/UTs. It would include a transparent and responsive eServices management framework operated by the CSCs with a unique CSC and GIS mapping number for each area and allow the government to fill the void in establishing a citywide self-sustaining CSC infrastructure.
Involvement of women in the CSC community- The government is promoting the development of common service centers for women entrepreneurs.
It encourages more women (CSCs) to come forward and develop CSC. The government usually also encourages women representatives of self-help groups to become VLEs in Mumbai.
CSC — SPV is the implementing entity for the CSC 2.0 initiative to support DeitY and the State / UT Administration with sufficient program management services to support a successful program. Also, following the implementation of the CSC continuity initiative in the region, the CSC SPV is a continual organization. The major achievements to be accomplished by the CSC-SPV are listed below:
Educational Services:
National Digital Literacy Mission, (NDML) – Digital Saksharata Abhiyan (DISHA) / Pradhan Mantri Gramin (PMG) DISHA, Financial and Legal Literacy, IIT, Civil Services, Tally Courses, Courses on Computer Concepts - CCC & Basic Computer Course -BCC, CyberGram project, National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) Courses, National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NEILIT) Courses etc.
Financial Services:
Insurance Services: Renewal of LIC Policy, Opening of new LIC Policy, General Insurance Services etc.
Banking Services: Opening of new bank account, Remittance, Deposit and Cash withdrawal services, Setting up of Business Correspondent Agents of various banks at CSCs.
Pension: Allowing PFRDA services
Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) Services: Withdrawal of cash only.
B2C Services:
Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Services, e-Commerce Services, Purchase and Sale of farming products and seeds for farmers, Tour & Travels etc.
G2C Services
UIDAI Aadhaar Service: Mobile Updates, Demographic Updates, Printing of Aadhaar, Enrolments, e-KYC (Electronic Know Your Customer), Authentication.
Election Commission Services: Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) Printing, Electoral Registration, deletion of elector’s details, Update facility for elector’s details.
Central Government Services: Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), Agriculture Service, Soil Health Card, Income Tax Return, Employment Service, Passport and PAN Card Application Services.
State Government Services: Income, Caste, Domicile certificate, Date of Birth and Death Certificate, Ration Card Services, Land Record Services, e-District/State Service Delivery Gateway (SSDG) services and more.