Akshaya E Centre

About Akshaya E Centre

Information and communication technologies (ICT) have flooded the broader field of good governance for development through faster, inexpensive, and more systematic approach. Citizen empowerment is one of the key components of good Governance. Individuals and their democratic governance systems as a whole stand up for achieving benefit from better access to information and services. This will provide a transformative platform for the public sphere and increases their reachability to the Government.

As the population continues to grow in developing countries like India, more and more people will get isolated to the group of digital ‘have-nots’ unless Governments work together to dramatically expand access to information and knowledge. In order for e-government to be more inclusive, it must reach out to all segments of the population with e-services that meet the needs of the digitally disadvantaged by bridging the digital divide.

Kerala is the first State in India to take initiative for the mass transformation of ICT by the implementation of district-wide e-literacy project ‘AKSHAYA’ in 2002, with an intention of ‘Empowering Kerala’. The venture paved the way for the migration of Kerala to the first e-literate state.

Akshaya, an ambitious endeavor of the State of Kerala was inaugurated by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, on November 18, 2002. The Government’s focus on digitization of the State has entailed a revolution in the design and operation of public services through the reinvention of service delivery channels. Emergence of digital organizations to create services led to better opportunities to meet citizens’ needs directing to increased social inclusion.

Akshaya Centers have been emerged as a finest network of effective Common Service Centers (CSC) envisioned to deliver a multitude of G2C, G2B as well as B2C services to the public under a single roof. Presently, around 2,650 Akshaya e-centers spread across Kerala with at least 2 centers in each Panchayats. By bringing ICT to all segments of people Akshaya acts as a vehicle for improved quality of life, accessibility to information, transparency in governance and overall socio-economic growth.