There are three segments Saral Services seeks to serve as these work towards improving the life of rural people:
There are 100,000 Not for Profit organizations in India with paid staff size greater than ten. Approximately 25,000 are engaged in community and social work. Of these, more than 3000 NGOs have participated in the Bank linkage program of NABARD. It appears that not many NGOs are leveraging the power of ICT beyond accounting software or basic communication.
In India, there are 3.37 million SHGs promoted by more than 3000 NGOs and Government (as per NABARD). These SHGs access 40.95 million poor households. More than 2000 crores have been mobilized from Banks to SHGs, and over 100 crore has been pumped through SIDBI alone. Repayment rates remain structurally sound above 95%.
However, field data shows infrastructure gaps: a survey in AP revealed only 16% of groups were considered good due to irregular meetings and poor quality bookkeeping. Since SHGs are the most viable channel to reach the poorest, they require technological strengthening to survive.
There are about 100,000 cooperatives in India consisting of farmers and milk producers. While some regions face challenges due to low transparency, PACS remain a massive force in states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Rajasthan. Making these delivery points digitally effective directly benefits the rural poor.
The Digital Divide Challenge
Digital awareness among these segments is in its initial stage. If we do not focus on leveraging the power of ICT for these organizations, the digital divide will widen and efficiency barriers will continue. Low awareness, dependence on external funding, and ideological reservations often lead institutions to view ICT as a high-technology complexity rather than a human solution.
Furthermore, mainstream IT vendors are heavily occupied with corporate clients and government systems, leaving this critical social sector underserved.
Our Approach & Solution
Saral Services acts as an agency to demonstrate the usefulness of ICT by automating frequent, routine, but complex data management into simple operational systems. Embracing ICT brings transparency, reduces transaction costs, and injects speed into the deployment of financial, livelihood, educational, and healthcare services for disadvantaged regions.