Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications Dr. Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar inaugurates the Samriddhi Kendra at Narakoduru village in Guntur district on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: T. VIJAY KUMAR
Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications Dr. Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar inaugurated the Samriddhi Kendra at Narakoduru village in Guntur district on Saturday (June 6, 2026). It was established as part of the Samriddhi Gram Project under the Centre’s Bharat Net Udyami scheme of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The facility was inaugurated in the presence of Ponnuru MLA Dhulipalla Narendra Kumar.After the inauguration, the Minister inspected the centre and reviewed its 11 service divisions, including a Health ATM for medical diagnostics, a postal office, a Jan Aushadhi Kendra, FTTH broadband services, Quad Play connectivity, a skill development centre, PM-WANI Wi-Fi facilities, drone-based agricultural services and digital public service platforms. He also interacted with students undergoing skill development training.Addressing the gathering, Dr. Pemmasani said that the centre was designed to provide multiple public services under one roof and serve as a model for rural development. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision was to create employment opportunities within India and reduce migration from villages to cities. The pilot project, he noted, aims to transform rural aspirations into opportunities through technology-driven services.The Minister said the Health ATM would offer around 60 diagnostic tests at affordable rates, while medicines at the Jan Aushadhi Kendra would be available at nearly half the market price. Services such as passport applications, Aadhaar updates, utility bill payments and mobile recharges would also be available. He added that the centre would support farmers through soil testing, drone spraying services and expert guidance from agricultural scientists.MLA Dhulipalla Narendra said the centre would benefit youth, women, students and farmers by providing digital connectivity and access to government services. During the programme, certificates were distributed to 15 students who completed AI training through the centre, while 100 farmers received PMDS seeds.This is one among the three pilot projects undertaken by the Telecom Centres of Excellence (TCoE) in the country. It has signed Agreements with leading implementation partners - Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF) in Ari & Umri in Madhya Pradesh, I-Novate Infotech Private Limited in Chaurawala, Uttar Pradesh and Corpus Enterprises Private Limited in Narakoduru, Andhra Pradesh, in October 2025.The Samriddh Gram Phygital Services Pilot aims to transform rural India through a seamless integration of physical and digital services, leveraging BharatNet infrastructure.Several officials from the Department of Telecommunications, local public representatives and villagers attended the event. Published - June 06, 2026 07:26 pm IST
