Sandhya’s Story

Sandhya is a 35 year old who runs an Akshaya centre (Akshaya, an innovative project implemented in the State of Kerala aimed at bridging the digital divide, addresses the issues of ICT access, basic skill sets and availability of relevant content), and an SBI Kiosk.

The centre offers a wide range of services including UTI PAN, Encumbrance certificate, KSEB (Kerala State Electricity Board) related services, Aadhaar services, and SBI account opening and withdrawals.

The Akshaya centre is located in a rural area in the hilly/forest district of Wayanad. Banks and other service points are hard to come by. Much of the population rely on this centre for banking, bill payments, and other government related services.

Sandhya used to work as a computer operator the first few years of her marriage. She took care of her mother-in-law and one year old daughter, so she had to quit that job. However, she took a course on Tally and some other computer courses and made sure to use and practice on her computer at home. When her daughter was two, she started applying for jobs and that's when she joined the Akshaya Centre. Her Diploma in Computer Science formed the basis for everything she does now- like net banking and online money transfer.

She joined this e-literacy centre as a staff member, which then turned into a partnership. The set up was difficult- she would have to teach till very late, and also cost her around Rs. 2,20,000. She also invested in an Aadhaar system, along with a few other Akshaya entrepreneurs who shared the cost of Rs.1,40,000. Additionally to the rent of the space, she and her staff would have to spend on travelling till this centre and there weren't many transport options. Her husband was supportive despite all these challenges and even negative comments from other relatives and acquaintances.

This centre that she runs for e-literacy was especially beneficial for the women of the rural community. She is from this community herself, where the women never really stepped out. They also mostly spoke Kannada, whereas the literacy initiatives were usually in Malayalam. Since she spoke both Kannada and Malayalam, community members, especially girls and women, started to come to learn to use computers.

She played a key role in starting camp ABCD (Akshaya Big Campaign for Document Digitalisation) where individuals from tribal communities living in remote areas were given IDs, bank accounts and DigiLocker services. In trying to help these communities avail insurance, they realised that they do not have bank accounts, nor the documentation to open bank accounts. So they started with one camp. This camp was a success and the success led to many more camps in the district.

Sandhya has worked extensively for tribal communities. She has faced challenges in helping these communities understand the relevance of getting IDs, bank accounts and other services. She observed that they think these things are only done for the Akshaya staff's or the government's benefit. Due to lack of knowledge and literacy, they also hold her accountable for any problems that come up.

Sandhya has become an integral part of the village, so much so that customers are aware of her schedule and timings. They know that she will arrive at the centre by 10:30 or 11 on a specific bus after her visits to the government offices and bank, so some of them time their visit according to her schedule. She never loses her patience with customers, often despite their rude behaviour. She feels that she is treated like family- when it is sadness, frustration, or happiness, they share it with her.

Since the introduction of e-KYC, she feels that the account opening process has been easier. Earlier she would have to print nine pages, and now it can be done on her laptop by adding Aadhaar details and taking biometrics. She earns INR 20 on each account opening, it is not the most lucrative of all the services she offers, she earns more commission on bill payments.

We observed a bank account opening she did. The process was slowed down as there were multiple instances of server failure- she had to do the customer enrolment step 4-5 times. The laptop is also slightly outdated, with keys not pressing when she types. Despite the hiccups, she doesn't appear frustrated or to lose patience. She finishes the process, gives the customer her number and asks him to call her in two days to check the account activation and start the process for PAN application, since he didn't have one.