The Department of Telecommunications is set to inaugurate a Samriddhi Kendra, an integrated phygital service centre, in Umri village of Guna district, Madhya Pradesh. The centre is part of the Samriddh Gram Phygital Services Pilot Initiative and is designed to show how BharatNet-based rural broadband can support integrated citizen services at village level.
What the Pilot Initiative Covers
The Samriddh Gram pilot aims to combine physical access with digital delivery. It uses the high-speed connectivity created under BharatNet, one of the world’s largest rural broadband programmes. The model seeks to improve access to public and private services in rural areas through a single service point.
Services Offered at Samriddhi Kendra
The centre functions as a one-stop hub in the Panchayat Bhawan. It provides services across several sectors:
- Education and skill development.
- Agriculture support.
- Health and telemedicine.
- e-Governance services.
- Financial inclusion and e-commerce access.
- Connectivity, digital access, surveillance and safety.
Other Pilot Villages and Coverage
Umri is one of three pilot villages selected for the initiative. The other two are Narakoduru in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh and Chaurawala in Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. Each Samriddhi Kendra is intended to serve several surrounding villages within a 5 km radius. This allows the model to test service delivery across different demographic settings.
Implementation and Policy Significance
The pilot is being implemented by the Department of Telecommunications with support from the Digital Empowerment Foundation as the field operations and community mobilisation partner. The initiative is expected to generate lessons on how connectivity, service platforms and community participation can be converged for rural development. It may also serve as a replicable model for strengthening rural digital service ecosystems.
Last Modified: April 29, 2026