Brief Project Background

As we stand on the threshold of a technology era, it is important for us to look back and spare a thought for those of us who are still deprived of the basic right for information. This is a group of 700 million Indians who live in villages and who become important to the decision makers only at the time of ballot casting.

For those who are slightly more concerned, preference is given to providing these teeming millions with their basic requirements like Food, Clothing and Shelter. Resources being scarce and requirements ever increasing, this becomes a self-defeating concept. What we seldom remember is the fact that giving a fish is not a solution in itself. For those who realize the need of a fishing rod often talk of employment as a cure all. What they often miss or ignore is the fact that an urban employment for a villager often leads to their migration from their homeland. And the only employment in a village is tilling on someone else’s land for conjuring 2 square meals a day.

On 26th February 2000, Drishtee signed an agreement with the district administration of Dhar for developing modules of a low cost, self-sustainable and community owned rural Intranet project called Gyandoot. This project started with the deployment of the Software and was followed by the maintenance and management of the network, on a revenue sharing basis. This model of government – corporate partnership led to faster growth of the Information Centers and increase in the number of services. With inherent sustainability and low cost operation due to entrepreneurial ownership, the model became viable for replication and profitability. 

.../... IT changes the scope and nature of intermediation ..
 Drishtee has put the power of democracy in the hands where in actually belongs. Each click takes a giant step towards equality of opportunity. An opportunity which has created a 5 $ per day income for an unemployed youth, which till date has not happened inspite of Government and Non Governmental Social Organizations pumping in Millions. Yes they earn 5$ a day and the number is increasing ../..

Organisation : Drishtee
URL : http://www.drishtee.com
Total budget in US$ : 750000

Satyan Mishra
satyan@drishtee.com
D-81, Kalkaji
110019
New Delhi
India

Details on: http://www.iicd.org/stories/