RailTel is setting up Common Service Centre (CVC) kiosks across 200 passenger railway stations in India which will help users recharge their mobile, fill up PAN and Aadhar card details, and even file taxes. According to a PTI report, the scheme has been operationalised in partnership with the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology and ’CSC e-Governance Services India Limited (CSC-SPV). One of the great things about this initiative is that the kiosks will be given to the village level entrepreneurs (VLEs) for overseeing the operation.
What Services Will be Offered by CVC Kiosks Set Up by RailTel
The CVC kiosks will allow users to book travel tickets, including air, bus, and train travel. Further, as mentioned above, users will be able to fill out Aadhar Card details, voter ID details, pay the electricity bill, apply for PAN Card, file taxes, banking, insurance, and much more.
The kiosks set up by RailTel are named ‘RailWire Saathi Kiosks’. For the unaware, RailWire is RailTel’s fibre broadband service for retail customers. On a pilot basis to check the efficiency and success of the kiosks, some have been installed in Prayagraj and Varanasi city stations in Uttar Pradesh (UP).
Similar kiosks will be made operational by RailTel across India, mostly in rural areas. About 200 such kiosks are being planned to be installed in different railway stations.
Out of the planned stations, 20 are in North Frontier Railway, 44 are in South Central Railway zone, 15 are in Western Railway, 13 are in East Central Railway, 25 in Northern Railway, 12 in West Central Railway, 13 in East Coast Railway, and 56 in North Eastern Railway.
This will be a big boost to digital services in rural areas. The RailWire Saathi Kiosks will have all the essential services integrated to make the life of the users a tad bit easy. Hopefully, in the foreseeable future, more than 200 kiosks will be installed.