Smart Gram Panchayat will be a revolution as Digitization of Gram Panchayat aims to extend PM-WANI Service in Gram Panchayats of Bihar’s Begusarai District.
About Smart Gram Panchayat: Revolution towards Digitization of Gram Panchayat:
- The pilot project focuses on extending PM-WANI (Prime Minister’s Wi-Fi Access Network Interface) Service to all Gram Panchayats in Begusarai District, Bihar.
- Begusarai becomes the first District in Bihar to equip all Gram Panchayats with Wi-Fi services under the PM-WANI Scheme, reflecting the commitment to bridging the digital divide.
Need to digitise gram panchayat:
- Transparency: Improve connectivity, bridge the gap between rural and urban areas, promote accountability, and enhance efficiency in local self-governance.
- Technology for Rural Development: Technology facilitates developmental initiatives in education, healthcare, agriculture, e-Governance, and skill development.
- Digital Empowerment: User-friendly and uninterrupted Wi-Fi services have a transformative potential for women self-help groups, farmers, students, and other segments of rural society.
- Inclusive Growth: Adoption of technology aids inclusive growth and transformation.
- Smart Panchayats: Transformative power of technology makes villages smarter gradually.
- Socio-Economic Transformation: Technology like Wi-Fi services catalyze growth in various sectors, fostering socio-economic development in rural areas.
About PM-WANI (Prime Minister’s WiFi Access Network Interface) Scheme:
- PM-WANI (Prime Minister’s WiFi Access Network Interface), launched by the Department of Telecommunication in 2020, aims to revolutionize digital communications infrastructure in India, with a particular focus on rural areas.
Objectives
- Enhance Proliferation of Public WiFi Hotspots: Improve access to public WiFi hotspots for better connectivity, especially in underserved urban and rural regions.
- Empower Entrepreneurs: Increase employment for small and micro-entrepreneurs through the establishment of public WiFi hotspots.
- Provide Affordable Internet: Offer low-cost internet to underserved urban poor and rural households.
PM-WANI Ecosystem
- Public Data Office (PDO): Establishes WiFi hotspots, providing internet access.
- Public Data Office Aggregator (PDOA): Offers authorization and accounting services to PDOs.
- App Provider: Displays available hotspots in the phone’s proximity through the application.
- Central Registry: Maintained by the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT), overseeing details of App Providers, PDOs, and PDOAs.
Benefits of PM-WANI
- Enhanced Internet Penetration: Potential to increase GDP through improved internet access.
- Rural Internet Access: Scaling up internet accessibility in rural areas to narrow the digital divide.
- Job Generation: Creation of jobs in small- and medium-scale sectors.
- Affordable Access: Providing affordable internet to the underserved, contributing to the vision of Digital India.
Ref: Source
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