Union Minister Inaugurates Samriddh Gram Pilot for Phygital Services in Umri Village, Madhya Pradesh
Guna, Madhya Pradesh – March 14, 2026:
Union Minister of Communications and Development of North Eastern Region, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, will inaugurate the Samriddh Kendra, a pilot Phygital (Physical + Digital) Service Centre, at Umri Village in Guna district, Madhya Pradesh. This initiative is part of the Samriddh Gram Phygital Services Pilot by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
The inauguration will also include demonstrations of key services, interactions with local beneficiaries, and a health awareness initiative focusing on cataract screening. Shri Scindia will address the public and highlight the importance of integrated digital services for rural development.
The Samriddh Gram initiative leverages BharatNet, one of the world’s largest rural broadband programmes, to deliver integrated services at the village level. The Samriddh Kendra located in the Panchayat Bhawan acts as a one-stop hub offering services across multiple sectors, including:
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Education and Skill Development
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Agriculture Support
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Health and Telemedicine Services
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e-Governance and Digital Access
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Financial Inclusion and e-Commerce
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Surveillance and Community Safety
Umri Village has been selected as a model village for this pilot. Similar centers are being set up in Narakoduru (Guntur, Andhra Pradesh) and Chaurawala (Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh), each serving surrounding villages within a 5 km radius.
The Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) is partnering with DoT for field operations and community mobilization. The pilot aims to provide actionable insights into replicable models for rural digital transformation, focusing on converging connectivity, service delivery, and community engagement.
This initiative underscores India’s vision of bridging the rural digital divide and demonstrates how high-speed broadband infrastructure can strengthen socio-economic development in villages across the country.