This document summarizes the contributions of various institutes to the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan initiative. It describes how 16 institutes including IIT Guwahati, COEP Pune, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Indore, IIT Jodhpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, IIT Roorkee, IIT Ropar, IISER Bhopal, and MNIT Jaipur are working on projects related to rural development, adopting villages, and providing technological solutions focused on areas such as agriculture, water management, energy, education, and healthcare. The institutes
A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the face of the Environmental Crisis
Unnat Bharat Abhiyaan
1. 1 | P a g e S a n k e t G o m a s e - U B A R E P O R T
CONTRIBUTION
BY VARIOUS INSTITUTES
A total of 16 Institutes have been identified for the initial phase with a total of about 132 villages.
The following technological skills/research expertise are important in the context of UBA-
Organic farming
Water management
Alternate energy sources
Rural artisans and industries
Basic amenities for rural areas
IIT, GUWAHATI
Currently IIT, Guwahati is mentoring 10 distinct villages which include Amtola, Bodo Gaon,
Tiling Gaon, Ananda Nagar etc. A few activities conducted include-
Teaching programs for school teachers of North East in association with CBSE.
Development of a low cost machine for production of compressed feed block
fortified with micro nutrients to supplement the feed for Yaks and Mithuns.
Establishment of evening learning centers for adults, especially women.
Rainwater harvesting, scientific farming methods, animal husbandry etc.
2. 2 | P a g e S a n k e t G o m a s e - U B A R E P O R T
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, PUNE
COEP is a renowned institute started in 1854 by the government of Maharashtra. Initially, the
village clusters were identified, where contacts were made through NSS or IEEE activities. The
villages are Aalme, Godre, Narayangaon in Junnar Taluka, Shirvali, Chandivali, Sambhav in
Maval,, Ranje, Kusgaon, Khopi in Bhor, Khalad in Purandar. All these villages are near Pune at a
distance of 25 Km. to 100 Km.
An initial visit to each village was carried out with faculty and students. Data regarding location,
topography, population, details of schemes that were previously implemented, transportation
system, vehicle maintenance facilities and water supply system. Rain fall, sanitary and sewerage
system, waste disposal, education was collected in presence of Sarpanch and 10 to 15
representatives in the village. A meeting was conducted to identify problems.
Major problems in each village were identified, the major being water and energy. All the
representatives were invited to COEP to address their problems and a supportive environment
was created.
Some of its ongoing work in rural areas include-
Hybrid rickshaw for transportation.
Solar pump for drawing water/irrigation.
Permanent magnet motor projects.
Micro-grid (comprising of wind and solar).
Sensor development, super capacitors, solar tree etc.
Future plans-
Biogas technologies
Low cost housing
New techniques for road making
Food processing and preserving technologies
3. 3 | P a g e S a n k e t G o m a s e - U B A R E P O R T
Remote triggered and controlled pump for agriculture field by embedded systems
Efficient small scale rural industries: Electronics, mechanical, metallurgy and electrical
domains
Marketing village products
Mobile networking for agriculture disaster management
Developing websites for agro-tourism
Clean drinking water technology
Innovative agricultural appliances for increasing productivity : ploughing, sowing,
harvesting
Micro grid, fuel cells
Solar power utilities such as solar panels, pumps, refrigerators, dryers, solar battery
chargers
Electricity saving by capacitive compensation
Educational software : Training in skills
Health checkup kits
Some further projects that are in the pipeline-
Arranging lectures, demonstrations, films on science and technology awareness
Helping rural startups for generating employment
Arranging visits of rural youth to industries and visits of students of college to villages
Joint summer and winter academy
Arranging competitions for rural students
IIT, BHUBANESWAR
IIT Bhubaneswar has adopted a village Jorakul, district Cuttack in the state of Orissa. There
are about 1081 households with a population of about 4443 out of which, about 1700 are
laborers.
A few problems in Jorakul-
Inadequate sanitation
Unsafe drinking water
Farmers of these villages are totally dependent on the rainfall
Uncertainty and variability of rainfall force them to sometime skip the Kharif rice
due to lack of water and residual soil moisture
4. 4 | P a g e S a n k e t G o m a s e - U B A R E P O R T
The flood in the river Mahanadi; prolonged flood water logging damages the
standing crop
Flood water also causes degradation in soil quality with sand deposition on the
surface.
Proposed solutions-
Development of low cost soil moisture sensors.
Training of farmers to use advanced technology.
Setting up of “Kisan Call Centres” with the help of district level officers.
Use of household Filter type water treatment system for converting pond/lake water to
safe drinking water
Utilisation of industrial wastes in housing projects
All domestic units must be connected with sanitary toilet and septic tank system for
managing the black water
Low cost solar powered refrigeration system for cold storage of produce and medicines
in villages
Solar cooking system, biogas, vermicompost and so on.
IIT, BOMBAY
Projects in about 27 villages are going on under the banner of CTARA (Centre for Technology
Alternatives for Rural Areas). Some of the key functions include-
Bring all pre-existing programs under the common umbrella of UBA.
Protocol
Methodology development
Mentorship
Joint Research
Identification and solution of a real life problem that caters to rural India
5. 5 | P a g e S a n k e t G o m a s e - U B A R E P O R T
IIT, DELHI
IIT, Delhi is the chief coordinating institute for the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan. A total of 32 villages
have been identified where the work will begin.
Some of the technologies that IITD has developed for the benefit of the rural areas are-
-Treadle Pump: Improved Design to Reduce Drudgery in Operation of the Human-
operated Treadle Pump for Irrigation
ADPM Applications: Utilization of the Standardized Animal Driven Gear Box for Multiple
Rural Applications
Micro-hydel: Technology Standardization and Development of Testing-cum-Training
Facility for Ultra-Micro (Pico) Hydel Power Package for Rural Applications.
Fru-wash machine: Facilitating the Use of ‘Fru-wash’ Technology for Extending Shelf Life
of Fruits and Vegetables
BDT: Improving the Design of Bullock Driven Tractor to make it more users friendly.
Tulsi-mala: A Device for Making Tulsi Mala Beads
ADPM: Standardization of Animal Driven Gear Box.
Biogas Engine Conversion Kit
A Machine for De-husking of Minor Millets.
Improvement in Furnace Design and Working Conditions for Making Bangles.
Technology Standardization and Development of Testing –cum- Training Facility for Ultra-
micro Hydel Power Packages for Rural Applications.
6. 6 | P a g e S a n k e t G o m a s e - U B A R E P O R T
Solar operated treadle pump: Design of Treadle Pump using Solar Power
A Technology Package for Garlic Processing for Value Addition.
Design and Development of Sheep Shearing Machine and Spare.
IIT, HYDERABAD
IIT, Hyderabad is currently working with the three villages of Aliabad, Gunthapalle, Utharpalle.
Some of the work undergoing includes-
Water mapping/lake water desilting.
Low cost diagnostics/online nutrition monitoring.
Village informatics center.
Solar lamps/electronic technologies.
Link village industry to markets.
IIT, INDORE
IIT, Indore has adopted two villages namely, Simrol and Asrawad Khurd. Some of the steps
undertaken include-
Waste disposal/pollution control.
Electricity generation.
Nanotechnology in water purification.
Education on water borne diseases.
Training in machining, carpentry, blacksmithing, welding etc.
IIT, JODHPUR
IIT Jodhpur has adopted two villages Karwar and Ghadav. A description of their work-
7. 7 | P a g e S a n k e t G o m a s e - U B A R E P O R T
Maintaining solar farms
Technological intervention in providing clean water
IIT, KANPUR
IIT, Kanpur has gone beyond its way to adopt 12 villages under the RuTAG (Rural Technology
and Action Group) initiative.
Some of its objectives are-
Creating ethos to attract professionally trained youth, institutions and senior 'experts' to
this program
Interactions with the relevant grassroots based NGOs and S&T institutions for identifying
problems, needs and demands from the area and creating a mechanism to provide the
best possible S,T&M inputs in a comprehensive manner to this sector.
Work undertaken-
Technologies for physically challenged and inclusive technology for vulnerable sections
of the society
The Rutag team has made visits to glass-ware cluster of Firozabad, metal-ware cluster of
Moradabad, perfumery of Kannauj, leather cluster of Kanpur and amla/food
processing cluster of Pratapgarh. A detailed survey of Pratapgarh is being taken up
this month to document the processes and develop a shelf of projects.
Summer Internship programme of 8 weeks involved 4 teams of students in the mentorship
of professors ran successfully. Two projects got completed- solar dryer and amla pricking
machine for the amla cluster of Pratapgarh. The prototypes have been demonstrated to
the users and were well received. Based on the inputs of users, students are now working
on making improvements in the machines.
8. 8 | P a g e S a n k e t G o m a s e - U B A R E P O R T
Project to improve the metallurgy of horse shoes has progressed well in the leadership of
Dr S Sangal and Dr Nilesh Gurao. Researchers have developed improved processing
technique that has given encouraging results. Testing has been done on 12 horses and
80 horse shoes.
Some future endeavors-
Nurture NGOs which are nearby IIT Kanpur campus and Pratapgard.
The technology is developed and demonstrated on prototype/lab scale.
Invite the students to campus during summer/winter vacation to nurture the idea and
develop prototypes.
Will consider creating Unnat Bharat Cell.
Adopting Villages! And Recognition by Peers.
IIT, KHARAGPUR
IIT Kharagpur plans to adopt 13 villages under UBA.
Some of the services provided are-
Village Adoption for conversion to Model Village
Technology development and dissemination Programmes
Student Design Projects
Micro-Specialization in Rural Development & Rural Technologies
Rights Programmes/Alumni Participation
9. 9 | P a g e S a n k e t G o m a s e - U B A R E P O R T
IIT, MADRAS
IIT Madras caters to the need of about 11 villages. Some of the notable achievements are-
Rural Business Incubator (RTBI)
Supports business models with innovative products and services in rural sector.
Works in Agriculture (advisory), Rural BPO, Health (antenatal and infant), Higher
education (Rural Engg Colleges), Biological Waste disposal, Dairy.
RuTAG
Working since 2004
Textiles: Handloom and weaving
More than 1000 Pirn Winding machines installed in TN handloom sector
25 specialized looms for mat making installed in Latur, Maharashtra
Financial and Banking – Gramteller
Low-cost low-power ATM (Gramteller) developed on demand
A separate company incubated
More than 1500 deployed in 13 states-Rajasthan, WB, Gujarat, Bihar, Odisha, Punjab,
Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, MP, AP, TN, UP, Maharashtra
Education
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan since 2008
13 districts of TN with 40 schools from each district
MHRD funded, faculty, research staff and students
Other field surveys include areas such as Micro finance, non-agri employment, ALM
10. 10 | P a g e S a n k e t G o m a s e - U B A R E P O R T
Healthcare – Mobile Eye Surgical Unit
Cataract is a leading cause for blindness
Technology solution developed with Sankara Nethralaya
MESU is a stable, self-reliant, mobile platform for high- quality cataract operation
More than 1000 operations performed in villages of TN
Energy – Uninterrupted DC supply
Introduces the idea of brown-outs
Guarantees 100 W DC supply to every house- hold /consumer
Special devices developed (UDPM)
A brown-out is effected remotely which cuts off AC loads leaving only DC
Pilot implementation presently at Odisha
DC appliances are known to be more energy efficient than AC
Agriculture – Personalized Agri Advisory
Unique integrated call center approach-Allows expert to view farm/farmer specific
dashboard, displaying the entire history
Deployed to two districts of TN interacting with more than 200 farmers
Extension of connection to marketing and financial institutions planned
11. 11 | P a g e S a n k e t G o m a s e - U B A R E P O R T
IIT, ROORKEE
IIT Roorkee has adopted five villages-
1. Bhangedi
2. Telliwala
3. Chharba
4. Khanjarpur
5. Kalsi
The strategies include-
Leverage the Technical Expertise of IIT to develop rural India
Focus on Research that impacts Society
Facilitate Rural Entrepreneurs
Polish local skills to improve livelihood
IIT, ROPAR
IIT Ropar has adopted the village Khauspura in the district of Ropar.
IIT Ropar will utilize its infrastructure and its talent pool in providing technological
up-gradation to farmers and people practicing other trades.
UG students of IIT Ropar will be encouraged to take up design and
developmental projects that provide solutions to farmers and other artisans of
Punjab.
High School students of Punjab will be invited to IIT Ropar at periodic
intervals and will be provided laboratory facilities and facilities in our Innovation
12. 12 | P a g e S a n k e t G o m a s e - U B A R E P O R T
Center to bring out their creativity and hidden talent , as well as, for vocational
(skill development) training.
IISER, BHOPAL
IISER Bhopal has adopted 5 villages-
CREST, a Center of Excellence, is coming up at IISER Bhopal supported by the Ministry of
Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India, under its Centres of
Excellence (CoE)-Frontier Areas in Science and Technology (FAST) programme.
Several researchers from different disciplines have participated in the joint proposal
Under this centre, several new programs can be supported to develop sustainable
environmental technologies for the benefit of rural population.
MNIT, JAIPUR
MNIT, Jaipur plans to adopt 8-10 villages in its vicinity. Some of the proposed measures in this
direction are-
Provision of quality potable water through community involvement.
Medical Health talk on general awareness and hygiene in schools by Doctors followed
by health quizzes.
Awareness of cleanliness and personal hygiene through posters, pamphlets, talks,
electronic media, nookad nataks.
Organize camps for Career Counseling for youth as per their skill and knowledge set.
13. 13 | P a g e S a n k e t G o m a s e - U B A R E P O R T
Organize 3-4 recruitment drives every year for these skilled and semi-skilled rural youth
training in demand driven areas through Placement cell.
To incubate rural technology for viable commercial business option.
Plantation of trees and saplings.
Save electricity campaign: through use of energy saving technology such as LED lighting,
solar power generation etc.
Popularization of ICT based activities/E-banking etc.
Activities undertaken by the Departments shall be monitored by a central team.
For all of these activities MNIT Jaipur shall work in tune with rural development/
Panchayati raj, concerned BDO’s.