Internet connectivity has changed beyond recognition the way people search for information, communicate within and across borders, do business, and even entertain themselves. Internet connectivity has been associated with growth and development to an extent that it is often taken to be a necessary and even sufficient condition for empowerment of a population. However, Internet access in itself may not guarantee progress of a region. If any person is newly introduced to information technology, the use of internet towards productive capacities would be limited to the extent to which s/he can develop a productive agenda that connectivity may forward dramatically.
DEF’s Digital Smart Village (DSV) is an effort to take connectivity to the last mile and created digitally enabled village for bringing socio economic approach in villages. Using the hub-and-spoke model, DSV model involves inclusive and decentralized use of ICTs in critical aspects of village development especially improving and scaling up of their entrepreneurship and livelihoods skills. The programme seeks to identify it as a development model rather than a business model. Together, the hub and the spoke entrepreneurs aim to create digitally-equipped and information-rich communities, thereby setting an example of model smart villages in India.