HUL, ITC, Iffco products can be ordered online in rural areas via such centres
People in rural areas will soon be able to access a wide range of products online from Hindustan Unilever (HUL), ITC and Iffco in their nearest Common Service Centres (CSC).
CSCs, an important part of government's Digital India initiative, function as a single access point for delivery of services electronically including passport and Aadhaar enrollment.
CSC e-Governance Services Ltd, the company that runs such centres, recently signed an agreement with HUL, ITC and Iffco to sell their products in rural areas through their centres, CSC's CEO Dinesh K Tyagi told DNA Money.
The company has a tie-up with Baba Ramdev's Patanjali to sell its products and is in discussion with other companies including Procter & Gamble and Crompton Greaves.
Tyagi said, "Such tie-ups will enable us to take e-commerce in the rural areas through CSCs. This will also help companies to tap the demand for their products in the rural areas."
There are over 250,000 CSCs across the country of which 150,000 are rural and the rest are in urban areas. CSCs enable people to access government services online such as train tickets, birth certificates, online submission of various forms and bills.
Currently, CSC is in the process of integrating its systems with the FMCG players. "Within a month or two, people will be able to order products online. However, a village level entrepreneur (VLEs) who manages a CSC, will have to collect the items from district societies of CSCs and then deliver."
According to estimates, a VLE is likely to earn a commission in the range of 12-20% on FMCG products, which is far higher than less than 10% on other services offered.
CSC will also start facilitating free legal consultation to people in select states.
The Tele-Law initiative launched recently will be piloted in 500 village councils in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and then rolled out across the rest of the country in a phased manner.
Through the Tele-Law portal, people will be able to access lawyers -- selected by the government in their state capitals -- and seek advice on anything from land disputes to domestic violence cases via video conference.
"Para-legal volunteers will be present in CSC. There is a system of National Legal Service Authority which has a scheme for districts which works under Supreme Court of India. The para-legal volunteer sitting at CSC will help in getting advice from senior lawyers in a district," Union IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said earlier this month.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Mansi Taneja
Quelle/Source: Daily News & Analysis, 22.06.2017
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