Analysing the concept of telecentre network
At the conceptual level, the term 'telecentre network' traces its ancestry back to the sociological concept - social network. It is defined as a social structure built around 'nodes' and 'ties', where the nodes represent individuals (or organisations) and the 'ties' represent one or more specific types of interdependency or relationships between the nodes1. Of late, telecentre networks have started appearing in different parts of the world to solve emergent telecentre problems and challenges, make them viable social enterprises and help in consolidating the overall telecentre movement.
A telecentre network refers to "any group of people working in telecentres whose members come together to learn from each other and cooperatively access services. The common thread is that networks are about telecentre people working together to make their centres more effective, sustainable, and valuable to the communities they serve"2.
The above definition talks specifically about networks of independent telecentre managers, characteristic of regions like Africa, Europe and Latin America. Before the formation of networks, the telecentre managers were coordinating everything (services, physical and technological infrastructure, content, funding) on their own. Gradually, the realisation that the challenges faced by telecentres could be addressed more effectively with a collective approach, led them to gather under the network umbrella. Therefore, these networks are more bottom up in nature with the telecentre managers taking the initiative to form them for addressing their challenges collectively. Herein, one cannot ignore the critical role played by telecentre.org and other national or regional telecentre leaders in bringing them together and accelerating the growth of networks.
A telecentre network refers to "any group of people working in telecentres whose members come together to learn from each other and cooperatively access services
However in Asian countries organisations or the government are leading the telecentre movement. These are more top down in nature with the organisations selecting and training local telecentres Managers (mostly on the basis of some preset criteria, like education, IT skills, etc. and sometimes also in consultation with the village community). They provide technological infrastructure, content and services, skills development, etc. to them. This phenomenon is more visible in countries, like India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, etc. At another level, these organisation or government driven networks are aggregated under a national network. We can classify the existing networks into three categories: Network of individual telecentre operators; networks created and supported by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Private Sector companies and the government and national networks like the Bangladesh Telecentre Network (BTN).
Hence, the above discussion and available empirical evidence that there are prominent regional variations reflected in their structure, hierarchy, management and operations. The present paper analyses the Service Centre Agencies (SCAs), an important part of the Indian Government's Common Service Centre (CSC) Programme, as emerging telecentre networks. The programme has offered them several opportunities as well as challenges, which are worth exploring and highlighting for the benefit of telecentre networks across the globe.
The network discussion is incomplete without a reference to the concept of telecentre ecosystem that comprises telecentre managers and operators, service providers and content developers, software developers, global and local IT companies, donors, CSOs, the policy makers, the government, and above all, the community. The networks help these actors to connect with each other and support the ecosystem.
Indian telecentre network scenario
As mentioned, the Indian telecentre networks are led either by organisations or the government. Each one of them have come up with their respective telecentre models, having different (but certainly not exclusive) focuses, such as e-governance, e-commerce, community development, social entrepreneurship, and so on. One of the earliest telecentre projects, the Information Village Research Project (IVRP), supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC)3 was implemented by a CSO, i.e., the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF)4 almost a decade ago in 1998. Later on, the government and private sector also joined the telecentre bandwagon. In 2003, all these individual efforts culminated into conceiving the first national network in India, i.e., National Alliance for Mission 2007: every village a knowledge centre (Mission 2007), now known as Grameen Gyan Abhiyan (GGA). The latest telecentre project spreading its network across India's rural areas is the CSC programme led by the government. The Indian networks are providing some or all of the benefits mentioned below to their respective telecentre managers: technological infrastructure; access to products, services, and content; training on entrepreneurship, grassroots marketing, services and content, etc. continuous learning opportunities; a sense of community among the telecentre managers; opportunities to learn from each other and share the same across telecentres and networks; monitoring and evaluation (M and E) of telecenters and advocacy and policy-related activities to facilitate the growth of the telecentre movement.
The Common Service Centre programme
The CSC programme5, launched by the Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Government of India in 2005, is an important step in the direction of decentralising and localising eGovernance and other public and private sector service delivery at the village level. As per the initial plans, the target was to establish approximately 100,000 CSCs to serve 600,000 Indian villages. However, after the announcement by the President of India to reposition CSCs as Bharat Nirman6 Common Service Centres at the Panchayat or local government level, their numbers are going to double in proportion to the Panchayats functioning in the country.
The existing networks can be classified into three categories: Network of individual telecentre operators; networks created and supported by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Private Sector companies and the government and national networks
This programme has developed a conducive ecosystem for the CSCs to take root and grow. Its main components are: National Level Service Agency (NLSA), State Designated Agency (SDA), Service Centre Agency (SCA) and Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE). The SCA shoulder the crucial responsibility of rolling out the CSC program in the villages within their respective operational areas. They are the prime drivers of the CSC ecosystem and occupy a central place therein. Service Centre Agencies
Apart from the existing organisation-led telecentre networks, like MSSRF, the SCAs are the new networks appearing on the telecentre radar. Their introduction has diversified this field to a great extent. The SCAs are selected through a transparent bidding process coordinated by the SDAs. The bidding is open to private and social sector companies and organisations fulfilling certain criteria as mentioned in their Request for Proposal (RFP) document7. Once selected, the SCAs are also supported by the NLSA and their respective SDAs in evolving their networks and supporting VLEs. Their main responsibilities are: identifying, selecting and training the VLEs to run the CSCs; setting up the CSCs (either directly or with the help of the identified VLEs); identifying relevant applications and services; aggregating, disseminating and updating contents; arranging face-to-face meetings for VLEs to share their challenges and learn from each other; harnessing the State Wide Area Network (SWAN) for connectivity; and so on. The SCAs have been implementing CSCs for almost three years8. Learning from their experience, they have adopted several best practices for strengthening their networks. Some of them are sharing their CSC experience regularly through newsletters available in print and/or online versions, like the CSC Khabar by All India Society for Electronics & Computer Technology (AISECT)
and the Sahaj Setu Newsletter by SREI SAHAJ e-Village Limited (Srei Sahaj). In the course of programme implementation, they have found several opportunities as well as challenges.
Opportunities
By joining the CSC programme, the SCAs have got an opportunity to integrate their ongoing work within this framework. For example, besides the conventional services that the CSCs deliver, BASIX India Ltd. (BASIX) CSCs also provide micro credit and micro life insurance and livelihood insurance schemes. Similarly, Network for Information and Computer Technology (NICT) has included their ongoing programmes in their CSC network. In addition, the SCAs have partnered with other organisations (academic, public and private sector) to diversify services and help their VLEs in running sustainable CSCs, like Srei Sahaj and AISECT taking the lead in introducing appropriate Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) courses in the villages through their CSCs9.
Best practices
Community sensitisation, mobilisation and service delivery are the areas where the SCAs are using innovative techniques. In countries like India, regions and areas largely determine people's perception towards technology. For example, for majority of AISECT VLEs, the desktop with CPU and an assortment of add ons is the real 'computer', not the small and simple looking laptop. The SCAs have to respect the community's vision of technology.
Currently, there are approximately 21 SCAs implementing the CSC scheme across Indian states and Union Territories8. A close examination of their organisational profile reveals that most of them are working in the IT or ICT sector, but creating and supporting a telecentre or CSC network was a new opportunity for a majority of them
They are also using innovative techniques of mobilising the community and sensitising them about ICTs and the CSCs, like street plays, mobile ICT vans, songs, poetry, etc. Some SCAs like AISECT have adopted avant-garde IEC methods, like taking out "IT Yatras" (IT processions) for awareness generation about the CSCs. Approaching and inviting the community leaders and high officials from local administration to CSC functions is another way of enhancing its credibility and increasing footfalls.
They are innovative in creating need and demand-based services to make the telecentres sustainable. Taking this into consideration, NICT CSC arranged for masonry training to the tribals in Jhabua district (Madhya Pradesh), who have the aptitude for construction work. In terms of CSC sustainability also, some of the SCAs like Srei Sahaj have a few phenomenal success stories to share. The AISECT VLEs are also making a decent living out of their social enterprise. This has been possible through a combination of Business to Consumer (B2C), Government to Consumer (G2C) and other public and private sector online and offline services.
Knowledge sharing
The SCA networks generally function independently, guided by the SDAs and NLSA. But, for the success of the overall programme, it is important that they interact with each other frequently. The implementation status of the CSC programme is reviewed regularly where the SCAs also share their problems and interact with each other. These meetings are generally convened by the NLSA10. Forums, such as the Indian Telecentre Forum, eINDIA2009, also enable knowledge sharing where they discuss their network level concerns among themselves and with officials from the Department of IT, Govt of India, NLSA, etc.
Challenges
The SCAs are facing challenges mainly related to their area of operation, services and sustainability. Some of them are working in remote and difficult terrains, which are dacoit, drought, migration and naxalite prone. For example, AISECT is working in 15 backward districts of Chambal, Rewa, and Sagar divisions in Madhya Pradesh; and in seven districts of Durg and Koraba divisions in Chattisgarh. Similarly, AID is working mainly in some Naxal infested areas of Jharkhand where lack of governance, infrastructure and connectivity poses huge problems.
Initially, G2C services were supposed to be the mainstay of the CSC programme. But at present, eLearning contributes the most to the CSC generated revenue. B2C services occupy the second place with G2C services trailing far behind them. The revenue generation capacity of the CSCs varies from region to region, depending (to some extent) on the proactiveness of the state governments in digitising services and utility bill payments.
So, in order to become sustainable, SCAs have to be innovative in providing need and demand based services, irrespective of whether G2C services are available or not. In most cases, offline services, like photocopying, photography, scanning, mobile SIM card recharge, etc. also add to the revenue, but often go unnoticed and unmonitored.
Conclusion
Thus, the Indian telecentre scenario has become more varied after the introduction of the SCAs. Their background and core business is well reflected in the services they are delivering in their regions. Just like their predecessors, the SCAs are creating top down networks, having considerable control over VLE selection and training procedures. They are also supporting their networks members by introducing innovations in community mobilisation, service delivery, training, etc. The SCAs are, in fact, in a better position compared to some of their counterparts since their CSCs are an important component of the NeGP. They have a more conducive policy environment, which was absent earlier. After launching this scheme, the government is also taking all the necessary measures, such as extending the reach of broadband connectivity, accelerating the digitisation of administration, etc. to ensure its success.
