TRIVANDRUM, 14 December 2002 — Non-Resident Keralite entrepreneurs will get priority for setting up self-sustainable IT centers under the Akshya Bridging Digital Divide in Kerala project being implemented in Malappuram district as a pilot project.
We are giving 20 percent preference to the NRKs considering their vast experience, said T.K. Manzoor, director of the Science and Technology Entrepreneurial Development (STED) Project, which is implementing the project.
The project envisages 750 units in the district, with 1,000 families under each unit, which would provide all governmental services under the governments e-governance initiatives besides imparting computer training to more than half a million people and undertaking other jobs. It will also function as a communication center.
The project links e-literacy to employment generation besides helping the local self-governments to go digital and interact with each household on Internet in future. People could make payments or apply for certificates over the Net while the government would be able to bring down the administrative expenses drastically in the course of time. The units will provide e-mail IDs to every family so that they could get their grievances redressed without red tape.
Manzoor said groups of five people who can jointly invest up to 500,000 rupees are being considered for running these units. A workshop is being conducted on Monday in Malappuram for potential entrepreneurs. The response so far was tremendous. We received 600 applications since registration opened Monday afternoon, he said.
