Govt panel on e-gov services for rural India to submit report in a month

An inter-ministerial panel set up to review e-governance services through common services centres (CSCs) is expected to submit its report in a month.  The panel, chaired by Electronics and IT Secretary Ajay Prakash Sawhney, has deliberated on enabling registration for all central and state government jobs, voter registration, PAN generation, sale of e-stamps, digitisation of government records etc through CSCs that operate in rural areas. 

"A meeting of the committee was held on November 30 and the road map for getting services of all government departments, both at the Centre and State level, is expected to be submitted with the Cabinet secretariat in a month," an official source told PTI. 

At present, there are over 3 lakh CSCs operating across the country and by August 2019, all gram panchayats are expected to have one unit.  The panel includes representatives from ministries of rural development, panchayati raj, human resource development, and three state governments- Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Andhra Pradesh. 

CSCs are already providing services like passport application, tele-law, soil health card, railway tickets, Ayushman Bharat, FSSAI registration.  Apart from central government services, CSCs are providing e-district services of select states. 

E-District services include providing certificates and licences, issuance of ration cards, disbursement of various social welfare pensions, lodging complaints, online filing of RTI, obtaining land records, payment of various government taxes, Utility Bill payment, etc.