In a country as diverse and populous as India, it is natural for a large section of population to remain untouched by progress. Moreover, due to its geographical vastness, it becomes a huge task to take basic infrastructural facilities to the rural and backward regions of the country. More so, the demand of these facilities is ever increasing and often outgrows supply. Digital inclusion, in this case is one of the most crucial components of an effective delivery mechanism. Digital tools can be widely used to vehicle smooth delivery of educational, health, financial, citizen and information services to the rural masses, besides fulfilling their basic technology needs and connecting them with mainstream progress. In fact, digitization not only fills the gap between demand and supply, but also the divide between the socio-economic stratums, ultimately leading to inclusive growth.
A typical Community Information Resource Centre ensures that the rural populace could easily access basic information and communication technology services with the same ease as their urban counterparts. In the past, rural masses had to travel long distances to avail services as simple as photocopying, scanning, printing, internet browsing and e-bill payments. Today, people can visit the CIRC opened next door to avail these services at nominal costs. Additionally, the citizen services facilitated by CIRCs have given people the power to practice their rights and entitlements. These services include filling of online application forms to avail a range of benefits, such as Adhaar Card, Government schemes and programmes, university admissions, etc., besides accessing information about latest schemes introduced by the government.
CIRCs offer information services to the rural masses by providing them access to the internet using which they can visit online portals and gain knowledge. Additionally, CIRCs also conduct door-to-door community awareness campaigns related to health, agriculture, environment, education, economic opportunities, political rights, government policies and programmes.
By creating dynamic web platforms, CIRCs have been helping local and community based enterprises to make an online presence globally.
