24 February 2012

Digital Panchayat Project

Osama Manzar
By Osama ManzarFounder & Director, Digital Empowerment Foundation

Digital Panchayat – Village Counsels in India

I am extremely happy to be here sharing the Digital Panchayat project that has just got selected for small grants program of Internet Society. Actually in India, the Panchayat is a collection and representation of 2-4 villages and their head of council, Sarpanch, is democratically elected. Panchayat is a the lowest link of governance. And if all the Panchayats are made online and trained the Sarpanches, India could truly project the country bottom up. There are more than 300,000 Panchayats in India and not one is officially online. We have done interesting beginning and so far in a very rudimentary level make about 100 online in the Western region of India in state called Maharshtra. The same could be seen at http://epanchayat.in.

Posted: 7 June 2010 by [email protected]

Disclaimer: Viewpoints expressed in this post are those of the author and may or may not reflect official Internet Society positions.

Related Posts

Connectivity 4 June 2026

The Shift in Peering Threatening the Internet’s Foundations

As more Internet service providers become virtual peering partners, they begin neglecting Internet exchange points.

Connectivity 28 May 2026

From Email to Case Study: What We Learned About Connecting Refugee Communities in Just One Year 

In Uganda's Rhino Camp Refugee Settlement, we worked with local partners to train refugees and members of the surrounding...

Internet Exchange Points 25 May 2026

Local Infrastructure, Lower Costs: How Peering Is Moving the Needle on Internet Affordability

Local infrastructure impacts Internet affordability for users: if the cost is lower and speed and reliability are higher, providers...