Bhilwara, Rajasthan:
At a small village in Rajasthan's Bhilwara, job searches have gone high-tech. Villagers can now find jobs provided by the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, simply with a touch of their finger.
At a kiosk set up by the NGO OneWorld Foundation India, the worker can just place his thumb on the scanner, and his job status will pop up on the screen. It is also delivered by a recorded voice.
"Earlier, we used to go to the village council office to apply for a job. Now, we can come to the information service centre and apply through the computer. We can also check our job card, register complaints or get a payment receipt simply at the touch of your finger. This centre has made our lives easier," said Sumitra, a resident of Bhilwara.
Workers can apply for future jobs by sending a message to a central helpline, using a special sms service.
Any complaints can be registered online and are addressed by the district administration.
"Workers come here and whatever complaints they have, whether it's related to the bank or the payment, or distribution of work, they come here and register their complaint online," said Ashish Maheshwari, a district administration official.
The service is so impressive, that the rural development ministry plans to extend it across the country.