“We have a target of opening 1,000 centres every month and hope to complete the scheme by March 2009. This would be the largest Information & Communication Technology (ICT) program in the country. It aims to bridge the digital divide by providing e-governance, e-commerce and e-learning at one e-kiosk,” said Azim.

The scheme is being set up through a Master Service Agreement with the state RD & PR department. Each centre would cater to six nearby villages. According to Azim, the cost of setting up one CSC is nearly Rs 2.5 lakh, out of which Rs 1.25 lakh would be provided by the SREI and the remainder by the village level entrepreneur. The CSC would be equipped with a computer, printers and an Internet connection. The centre would be used for teaching various skills including spoken English, computer literacy and typing.

“The villagers would be able to access agri-based information and also pay phone and electricity bills at the CSC. Computer games and multimedia would be provided to the children,” Azim said.

While revenue generated from photography, DTP and printouts would belong to the entrepreneur, income from the facilities like e-learning would be used to pay the EMI for the loan and charges of the SERI. A CSC is expected to start showing returns within six-months.

“We expect each centre to fetch nearly Rs 8,240. After paying the EMI and SREI’s charges, the entrepreneur should be left with over Rs 4,000,” Azim said.

Citing success stories in West Bengal, SREI claimed that several entrepreneurs have touched Rs 20,000 of monthly revenue. “It depends on the individual how he uses his resources. 25,000 entrepreneurs would create jobs for another 75,000 people. There will be 4,937 CSCs in Bengal, 8,118 in UP, 5,360 in Bihar, 2,833 in Assam and 2,420 in Orissa,” Azim informed.

SREI’s venture is a part of the Centre’s National e-Governance Plan, which envisions the setting up of 1,00,000 CSCs in the country.