ONDC, USOF, Prasar Bharati join hands to digitally empower rural India

New Delhi, March 12: In a bid to provide affordable and accessible digital services in rural parts of the country, Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) under Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Tuesday collaborated with Prasar Bharati and Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).

The aim of the MoU is to bundle broadband services with over-the-top (OTT) and the e-commerce platform for rural India, riding on BharatNet infrastructure under the USOF.

In addition, the ONDC, a leading player in digital infrastructure, will provide the technical expertise and necessary framework in enabling digital commerce in products and services.

"This will be expanded to cover more services like education, health, training, credit, insurance and agriculture, among others," ONDC said in a statement.

USOF has been instrumental in enabling high-speed broadband and mobile connections across gram panchayats (GPs) and villages in the country.

The collaboration will enable the bundled Prasar Bharati OTT as a service, including linear channels, Live TV and on-demand content, among the end consumers, while USOF will ensure efficient and high-speed broadband services in rural and remote areas.

Prasar Bharati will source and produce content that will run on its OTT platform.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi's unwavering commitment to foster a conducive environment for digital innovation underpins this truly unique collaboration, synergising connectivity, content and commerce to empower the rural India," said the ONDC.

Incorporated on December 31, 2021, ONDC is an initiative of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce to create a facilitative model that revolutionises digital commerce, giving greater thrust to penetration of retail e-commerce in the country.