Village Level Entrepreneurs to play key role in Digital India

Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) running over 2.5 lakh Common Service Centres ( CSCs) in rural areas across India can play a key role in the success of Digital India Programme, says a study.

The greater investments in the digital literacy of the citizens would enable them to access a wealth of information and their awareness of various products and services with the help of VLEs, says the study.

The study by Indian School of Business (ISB)’s Srini Raju Centre for IT and the Networked Economy (SRITNE-ISB) found that entrepreneurial traits, notably achievement motivation, social-orientation and belief in self, significantly impact performance of the VLEs.

The CSC is special purpose vehicle under the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for door step delivery of the government services.

The study was conducted as part of Ministry of Electronics and IT’s Digital India Programme. As part of the study, the SRITNE-ISB team conducted over 2,500 extensive interviews with VLEs, CSC state heads and other stakeholders, spanning a select 10 States.

The study states that VLE strategies, including service mix, training to employees, funding model, hours of operation and marketing initiatives were found to impact sales performance of VLEs. Achievement motivation of VLEs positively impact marketing investments, while social orientation and self-belief had a negative effect. Training received by the VLEs is correlated with their investments in employee training.

"The study aimed to understand the assistance available to run the CSC, and the service-mix or business model selected by the entrepreneur,” said Deepa Mani, Professor of Information Systems at ISB, and Executive Director, SRITNE-ISB. She was the principal investigator in the research.

“In light of the study’s outcome and recommendations, SRITNE at ISB will design and offer two programs aimed to improve entrepreneurial and digital literacy for both VLEs and citizens across the country," Dinesh Kumar Tyagi, Chief Executive Officer, CSC e-Governance Services India Limited.