Namaste Indya to take e-pothi kiosks to K'taka, UP

To install 4,000 public utility kiosks in Gujarat.

Ahmedabad-based Namaste Indya Communications Pvt. Ltd (NICPL) is in talks with Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh governments to install 'e-pothi', a public utility kiosk developed by the company.

Offering free Internet and a range of other information supports, the kiosk is already being set up in Ahmedabad and will soon be installed in other cities like Jamnagar, Vadodara and Surat by the information management company.

"It is for the first time that a private sector company has undertaken to finance and manage public utility information kiosks on such a large scale. Over a period of 2-3 years, we plan to install 4,000 such e-pothis across Gujarat. Initially, 500 of these will be set up in Ahmedabad in a phased manner," said Praful Lakhani, chairman of NICPL.

The total cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 80 crore.

Apart from online information like government websites and the Railways, the kiosk will also provide offline information on local municipal bodies. The kiosks will be installed at prominent public locations like airports, hospitals and tourist spots.

Set up at a cost of Rs 2,07,000 per kiosk, the project is expected to generate an employment of 4.25 persons per kiosk, said Lakhani.

"With around 4,000 kiosks around the state, the project will generate an overall employment of 17,000," he added.

The company expects to earn revenues through advertisements to cover its operating cost of Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 per kiosk.