Passengers in 200 railway stations across India can soon use RailWire Saathi kiosks to recharge their mobiles, pay electricity bills, fill up Aadhaar and Pan Card forms, and even file taxes.
RailTel, a PSU of the Ministry of Railways, in partnership with CSC e-Governance Services India Limited (CSC), a special purpose vehicle under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, will set up kiosks at railway stations. These kiosks will be run by Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs), the RailTel said in a statement.
To begin with, the RailWire Saathi CSC kiosks at Varanasi City Railway station and Prayagraj City Railway station in Uttar Pradesh have been made operational on a pilot basis. Similar kiosks will be operationalised at around 200 railway stations, mostly in rural areas, in phases, the statement said.
The services offered by CSC include booking of travelling tickets (train, air, bus etc.) and services involving Aadhaar Card, Voter Card, Mobile recharge, Electricity bill payment, Pan Card, Income tax, banking, insurance and many more.
"These RailWire Saathi kiosks will bring these essential digital services at rural railway stations to support the rural population,” Puneet Chawla, CMD/RailTel, said.
RailTel has created one of the largest integrated Wi-Fi Networks in the world by providing Public Wi-Fi (under the brand name ‘RailWire’) at 6,090 stations out of which 5,000 are in rural areas. Utilizing this existing infrastructure at stations, RailTel, in partnership with CSC, plans to deliver broadband services to rural areas which will go a long way in bridging the digital divide in the country.