Rural ATM kiosk with biometric identification: Rs. 27,000¹

Low-cost Internet café: Rs. 50,000²

A kit consisting of BP, Temperature, ECG measurement and Stethoscope: Rs. 10,000 [Midas]

Local language software: Free.

The Internet café includes telephone, net, multi-media, a PC with web-camera, printer and power back-up.

Revenue for Government

Government can earn from the expenses on e-commerce by taking service charges from the companies using it. The charges can be fixed as a small percentage of overall worth of transactions.

E-Microfinance for Rural Empowerment

Micro finance is clearly a powerful tool to fight poverty and hunger in both developing and developed countries alike. One of its beauties is that it treats the poor as responsible, intelligent citizens, rather than recipients of handouts. As such, microfinance can enhance not only the physical well-being of its clients, but also their confidence, capacity and their human dignity

The poor are bankable; successful initiatives in micro finance demonstrate that there need not be a trade-off between reaching the poor and profitability - microfinance constitutes a statement that the borrowers are not 'weaker sections' in need of charity, but can be treated as responsible people on business terms for mutual profits.

1 Developed at IITM. Also available from Midas Electronics.
2 Prices of Midas Electronics.

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* Contributed by -
Meenal Nigam & Vivek Patni,
NITIE, Mumbai.