Exploring the Impact of Mobile Technology Adoption on Financial Sustainability of Telecentres: The case of India

Developing countries, with limited ICT resources available, are heavily dependent upon Telecentres for delivery of e-Government services to citizens, especially in rural areas. As a result, success of e-Governance initiatives in these countries is largely dependent on the financial sustainability of the Telecentres. Technology for delivery of e-Government services is gradually shifting from PC-based model to the mobile-based model. Using exploratory research methodology in context of Common Service Centers in India, this paper examines the impact of this technology shift and aims to understand the issues pertaining to financial sustainability of Telecentres as mobile adoption increases. Our research suggest that it will be difficult for the CSCs to be sustainable in the future and we recommend that government should take steps towards helping the key Telecentres stakeholders develop new capabilities and skills for a new role in the changing environment to retain their relevance and sustainability in the future.