Public Service Centres and Rural Development: Digital Service Delivery and Women’s Empowerment in Varanasi District

Public Service Centres (Jan Seva Kendras) serve as important points of contact between rural citizens and digital governance at the local level. The present study is based on a survey of 280 respondents from Varanasi district and seeks to examine the findings of digital service delivery through Jan Seva Kendras. The study reveals that 91 percent of the respondents were aware of Jan Seva Kendra services, while 96 percent had benefited from these services. About 88 percent of the respondents used these centres for obtaining caste certificates, while 64 percent used them for education-related work. Furthermore, 74 percent of the respondents reported that the status of rural women was improving through access to Jan Seva Kendra services. The study interprets these findings in the context of digital governance, social inclusion, rural development, and women’s empowerment.