Introduction to RailWire Saathi Program
RailTel Corporation of India Ltd (RailTel) an ICT arm of Indian Railways has initiated in creating a Digital Entrepreneurship program known as “RailWire Saathi “aiming to build a sustainable way to create Wi-Fi hotspots at Railway Stations across India. Through the RailWire Saathi model unemployed youth can be trained and supported to set up a kiosk with high speed internet connectivity, Wi-Fi hotspot and provide a platform to provide an array of Digital services which will make the business sustainable and provide access to the community.
Access to e-Governance, credit facilities, identity services, tickets etc. are all available online and yet the population which actually transact online is very less specially in Rural areas. In India 390 Mn. people online but only 40% of users perform online transactions. Around 54 Mn. users stop online transactions after first trail. In Rural India, around 65% Internet users are non-users of online transactions and majority of non-users are from Rural India. This RailWire Saathi will promote the population to go “Digitally”, to perform online transactions and to avail maximum no. of Government services through online mode. They will assist in spreading the Digital Literacy mainly in Rural India. By providing the Digital services to the masses, RailWire Saathi will earn by providing Digital services to the masses. By this RailWire Saathi will be a self-sustainable model for Saathis and they will become “Digital Entrepreneurs”.
Women are ideal Digital Entrepreneurs as they are diligent, empathetic and approachable for all sections of rural communities. The ability to provide a variety of digital services to the community and earn a livelihood using modern technology will lead to women empowerment and community development besides providing a platform for upstream businesses and services to reach hinterland
The kiosks are designed to setup at Railway Stations because Railway stations are ideal because of the availability of power, high speed internet connectivity, central location and covered secure space.
The RailWire Saathis are trained to manage the services with remote hand-holding support by RailTel. A RailWire Saathi is expected to earn Rs 5000 to 15000 a month after an initial gestation period of 6-12 months depending on the population served and may increase as more services are enabled.
Indicative List of Services
1. Citizen services: Scheme Eligibility - Collecting the citizen personal / family profile and identifying all the eligible state and central schemes. This is 100% match - not approximate- against ALL the eligibility criteria mentioned in these schemes using RailWire’s AI based platform.
a. Document application - Applying for documents like Aadhaar, PAN etc. and managing the updates like change of address etc.
b. Scheme application - Applying for various schemes: Though the platform is capable of automatic form filling and pushing to the Govt. portals through APIs , most of the Govt. department portals do not support it. Platform assists in filling these fields, attaching the right kind of documents, exceptions in case of missing documents etc.
c. Financial Literacy- To create awareness to access and manage online accounts. Hand-holding towards electronic transactions. Support in accessing credits and managing repayments.
d. Wallet management - Private wallet for the VLEs which is linked to multiple services like automatic deduction, refilling, revenue splitting etc. and connected with various payment gateways.
e. Loan eligibility check - reviewing the citizen profile to match with the loan eligibility criteria of different MFIs. Actual loan disbursement and collection will be handled by the MFIs - this service only provides a screening and passing the eligible profiles to MFIs who will contact the citizen and take it forward.
f. Health screening - Screening of the citizens for specific health conditions based on any given protocols.
2. RailWire Wi-Fi services.
3. Assisted e-Commerce: There is an aspiration to avail the supply chain efficiencies in e-commerce, but online payments are a hurdle. RailWire Saathi can be the nodal point for ordering as well as delivery through the RailWire wallet arrangement with the app automating and tracking last mile transactions. Conversely rural producers can be assisted with market information and potential buyers.
4. Ticketing services: Rail and bus ticketing. All RailWire Saathi’s can be made Rail Ticketing agents including UTS ticketing and reduce pressure on counters
5. Utility bill payments.
6. Mobile ,DTH recharge, cable and MFI payments
7. Financial Inclusion ( banking correspondent)
8. Insurance
9. RailWire Kiosks can also become the extension counters for NIOS (National Institute of Open Schooling) and virtual skill development programs where a tablet café can be created especially power and shelter are available by GP.
Special Focus on Digital Payments can be achieved:
1. RailWire Saathi’s can be trained to evangelize digital payments and services of SBI and other PSU banks.
2. M-POS facility available on the Railwire Saathi platform can facilitate the utility of Rupay card in remote locations.