Aksh Optifibre Limited has upgraded its e-governance arm ?1 STOP AKSH? to better facilitate the expansion of services across different states of India. 1 STOP AKSH is currently involved with the E-Mitra project of Government of Rajasthan. The company has now upgraded this division to become an end-to-end e-governance service provider.
1 STOP AKSH?s focus will be to deliver on all facets of setting up or upgrade of e-governance infrastructure in states. The services would range from the laying of optical fibre cable for connectivity, setting up of the network infrastructure and service delivery model to training of the local workforce and turn it around as a viable rural employment opportunity. The company is also in the process of evaluating software companies which will develop customized e-governance platforms and data management systems for the entire network.
With the recent launch of the Pradhan Mantri Jan DhanYojana, the company is also looking at ways of clubbing its e-governance kiosks to simultaneously deliver financial services through the same Common Service Kiosks (CSC) that the company manages. The company sees huge potential in this space as it already has a set network of over 1,000 kiosks in Rajasthan and is looking for opportunities for expanding its network in other states. As per the programme account holders will be provided zero-balance bank account with RuPay debit card, in addition to accidental insurance cover of Rs 100,000. Also with the introduction of a new technology by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), a person can transfer funds, check balance through a normal phone which was earlier limited only to smart phones so far.
Lokesh Khandelwal, Project Head at Aksh Optifibre Limited said, ?We have been involved in e-governance projects from the year 2005 and have grown immensely in the understanding of the scope of e-governance and how services can be better driven to the citizens. After having a successful run with the E-Mitra project, Aksh now feels ready to take on the new phase of e-governance wherein services will not only be available through Common Service Kiosks (CSC) but also through specialised mobile apps which will bring citizens even closer to governments services and benefits.?
Aksh is also exploring opportunities for increasing its existing engagement within the CSC?s that it has by deploying additional hardware such as fingerprint scanners, retina scanners etc. to process enrolments towards specific Central & State Government initiatives such as Aadhar, Bhamashah and other identification programmes. With the current push given to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) programme by the Prime Minister, the company will soon become a key stake holder in driving this programme to the rural areas of India through its vast network of E-Governance kiosks.
The company is also in talks with key stake holders within the private sector which are interested in leveraging the network infrastructure that the company is setting up in rural areas as a platform to better reach and engage with the citizens. Several key initiatives such as e-education, health, career counselling for the rural youth etc. are some key programmes which will be run through this network apart from the Government-2-Citizens programmes for each region. The company also feels that it will generate ample entrepreneurial and employment opportunities for the people in these regions and will usher in a new wave of development, which only the urban areas of the country have been able to see.
