Microsoft Corporation India unveiled Saksham, a self-sustainable kiosk model, to extend IT benefits to rural India. The software major would cooperate with regional and local independent software vendors (ISV) to develop a rural portal powered with content and applications for the rural segment. This was expected to accelerate the adoption of the services offered. The model would be used as a communication centre.
The company would initiate 50,000 rural kiosks in three years. Currently, six lakh Indian villages have around 14,000 kiosks, according to a Microsoft research.
Neelam Dhawan, MD, Microsoft India, said Saksham was developed in close consultation with industry partners and imbibed the principles of public-private partnership to create a sustainable economic model and a strong rural IT ecosystem.
“As India enters into the knowledge economy, it is imperative that rural Indian population should be exposed to the benefits of IT. So far it has been viewed as means for social development for this segment, but it can also serve as a driver for economic growth,” she said.
Neelam hoped that Saksham, through its four levers of business models would overcome issues that affect IT penetration in rural India. It would be rolled out in six States: Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam and Rajasthan. Ranjivjit Singh, Group Director, Consumer Business, Microsoft India, said the company had received support and cooperation from these State Governments.
“The rural segment wants access to government records, agriculture-related information, entertainment and communication services. This has been missing in the existing models. There is a gap between what they want and what the existing models offer. But with this new model, we aim to enable the rural ecosystem to deliver solutions to these needs,” Ranjivjit said.
Microsoft presents 'Saksham' to rural India
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