At the concluding function of the two-day National Alliance on Mission 2007, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has said that the Government would try to meet the demand of Rs. 6,500 crores to create over 6 lakh village knowledge centres across the country.
Initiated by the M.S. Swaminathan Foundation, Rs 3,000 crores would be required for connectivity and capacity building and Rs 500 crore for coordination process.
The Government has already granted Rs. 100 crores for connecting 10,000 telecentres under the project through NABARD.
He said the village knowledge centres would be powerful instruments for delivery of e-governance, health and education, commercial information and other Internet linked services.
Elaborating on the role of panchayats network, Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said the the grassroots institutions should run the knowledge centres in the village and suggested that these should become central to the Bharat Nirman programme.
More
|
