Vol. II: Shaping Information and Communication ... - IMA,ZLW & IfU

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line public grievances redress; rural e-mail facilities in the local language; auction facilities to
farmers and villagers for land, agricultural machinery, cattle, other farm equipment and/or
other durable commodities; on-line matrimonial information; information regarding
Government programs; and a lot more.
Apart from the communities themselves, the Dhar District Administration, the Zilla
Panchayat, and the Government of Madhya Pradesh are together implementing the
GYANDOOT project. The other partners in the initiative are the District Planning Committee,
the National Informatics Centre of the Central government, and the Gyandoot Society.
Impact
GYANDOOT has succeeded in providing affordable access to several government services,
market information, and at the same time, also offer some tailor made services very much in
demand within the communities to over half a million rural villagers in more than 600
villages in the Dhar district.
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It has demonstrated that an economic logic can function at rural computer centres.
It has developed a menu of e-commerce and e-governance services that is of real benefit
for rural citizen-consumers.
Also, with the ‘Soochaks’ approach, the GYANDOOT project has also succeeded in
providing self-employment through entrepreneurship to the local youth. It has given
marginalized tribal poor their first-ever chance to access technology and knowledge, on their
own terms. The Soochanalayas have begun to eliminate middlemen and are introducing a
positive restraint on corruption at the local, village and block level. This has had a positive
impact on the local administrations as well, which are slowly are becoming more accountable,
and more responsive to the needs of the citizens they are designed to serve.
The project has become the largest rural Internet project to in India, and perhaps also in the
world, and it recently bagged the CSI Award for “Best IT Usage in India” at home and the
prestigious “Stockholm Challenge Award” abroad.