The Digital Village Centres (DVCs) will provide services like Wi-Fi hotspots, telemedicine, agricultural support service, digital payments

Srinagar: To empower Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), 44 Digital village Centres (DVCs) have been established, two in each district of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
For establishing the DVCs, 44 Panchayat Ghars were identified by the District Commissioners of each district. The DVCs were established in these Panchayat Ghars and have been equipped with IT infrastructure, other equipments, and all-weather connectivity.
The DVCs will act as one-stop service solution at the village level and provide services like Wi-Fi Hotspots, telemedicine, Agricultural support service, digital payments and other G2C/B2C services. The IT department, with active support of Finance Department, plans to establish more such DVCs in rest of the Gram Panchayats of J&K.
The programme was launched on pilot basis at a cost of Rs 5 crore in 44 villages in J&K. In the first phase, two villages are being taken up from each district, feasible in terms of connectivity (Fibre VSAT) to offer digital services. After ascertaining the impact in the pilot phase, remaining Gram Panchayats are being taken up in second phase.
The basic aim of the programme is to deliver governance effectively through IT-enabled services, generate awareness regarding implementation of Government Schemes, and upgrade the socio-economic status of the rural masses.
The existing Gram Panchayat buildings have been designated as Digital Village Centres (DVCs) and provided with facilities like Smart LEDs, Computers, Screens, internet and other relevant facilities. The Village Level Workers (VLWs) of the Rural Development Department are the custodians of the DVCs, responsible for overall management of the centres. These centres are looked after by concerned village Nambardar/ Lambardar(s) and Chowkidar(s) as well.
After inaugurating 44 digital village centres in Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said that a new era of development has started in the Union Territory, which has taken a giant leap towards inclusive development.
“Today, 44 panchayats in 40 blocks have been dedicated to the people in the form of Digital Village Centres and arrangements have been made to reach out with all the online schemes of the government,” said Sinha.

Reader correspondent