Like many firms begun in the infamous dot-com era of the late 1990s and early 2000s, Drishtee’s roots come from a strong ability to recognize opportunity combined with an expertise in designing and delivering technology.  Started in the year 2000 in Dhar (Madhya Pradesh, India), Drishtee’s first project was to develop and implement a web-based software for “Gyandoot”, an e-governance initiative to deliver government services to the rural poor at their doorstep.
Gyandoot rapidly gained international recognition, leading to the Stockholm Challenge Award later that year.  More importantly, Gyandoot sowed the seed of Drishtee by providing its founder, Satyan Mishra, with the vision that ICT and rural entrepreneurship could spread across rural India, leveraging technology and new business models to offer solutions for rural development.

Though Drishtee is a for profit business, its social roots remain strong.  When Drishtee first started, its service offerings were aimed largely at land holding farmers. As the model has evolved, Drishtee’s focus has shifted towards improving the entire community in an economically sustainable way. Whereas some services provide immediate returns to the customers, others have future payoff to society, such as providing education to village youth to improve their employability. About 15% of an average village population takes advantage of the kiosk services, and this percentage is likely to increase with expansion in Drishtee's service offering.

Frustrated and helpless, there is no option but to move to nearby town. Every year lacs of such migrants flood cities for better living standards- which could be as low as just two meals per day! And as a consequence, the erosion of valuable resources from cities as well as villages increases at an alarming pace.