The Ministry
of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has launched a programme called Unnat
Bharat Abhiyan with an aim to connect institutions of higher education,
including Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institutes of
Technology (NITs) and Indian Institutes of Science Education & Research
(IISERs) etc. with local communities to address the development challenges
through appropriate technologies.
The
objectives of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan are broadly two-fold:
i) Building institutional
capacity in Institutes of higher education in research & training relevant
to the needs of rural India.
ii) Provide rural India with
professional resource support from institutes of higher education ,especially
those which have acquired academic excellence in the field of Science,
Engineering & Technology and Management
Under this
programme, 132 villages have been identified for intervention by the following
16 institutes of higher education so far.
Background
and Need
As foreseen
by Gandhi Ji in his seminal work, ‘Hind Swaraj’, the western developmental
paradigm, based on centralized technologies and urbanization, has given rise to
serious problems like increasing inequity (leading to crime and violence), and
climate change due to rapid ecological degradation. To ameliorate these
problems, it is necessary to promote development of rural areas in tune with
Gandhian vision of self-sufficient ‘village republics’, based on local
resources and using decentralized, eco-friendly technologies so that the basic
needs of food, clothing, shelter, sanitation, health care, energy, livelihood,
transportation, and education are locally met. This should be the vision of
holistic development of villages. Presently, 70% of the population in India
lives in rural areas engaged in agrarian economy with agriculture and allied
sector employing 51% of the total work-force but accounting for only 17% of the
country’s GDP. There are huge developmental disconnects between the rural and
urban sectors such as inequity in health, education, incomes and basic
amenities as well as employment opportunities - all causing great discontent
and large-scale migration to urban areas. The imperatives of sustainable
development which are being felt more and more acutely all over the world also
demand eco-friendly development of the villages and creation of appropriate
employment opportunities locally. Increasing urbanization is neither
sustainable nor desirable. So far, our professional higher education
institutions have largely been oriented to cater to the mainstream industrial
sector and, barring a few exceptions, have hardly contributed directly to the
development of the rural sector. Unnat Bhārat Abhiyān (UBA) is a much needed
and highly challenging initiative in this direction.
History
The
conceptualization of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan started with the initiative of a
group of dedicated faculty members of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)
Delhi working for long in the area of rural development and appropriate
technology. The concept was nurtured through wide consultation with the
representatives of a number of technical institutions, Rural Technology Action
Group (RuTAG) coordinators, voluntary organizations and government agencies, actively
involved in rural development work, during a National workshop held at IIT
Delhi in September, 2014. The workshop was sponsored by Council for Advancement
of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART), Ministry of Rural
Development, Govt. of India. The program was formally launched by the Ministry
of Human Resource Development (MHRD) in presence of The President of India on
11th Novembter, 2014.
Vision
Unnat Bharat
Abhiyan is inspired by the vision of transformational change in rural
development processes by leveraging knowledge institutions to help build the
architecture of an Inclusive India.
Mission
The Mission
of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is to enable higher educational institutions to work
with the people of rural India in identifying development challenges and
evolving appropriate solutions for accelerating sustainable growth. It also
aims to create a virtuous cycle between society and an inclusive academic
system by providing knowledge and practices for emerging professions and to
upgrade the capabilities of both the public and the private sectors in
responding to the development needs of rural India.
Goals
To build an
understanding of the development agenda within institutes of Higher Education
and an institutional capacity and training relevant to national needs,
especially those of rural India.
To
re-emphasize the need for field work, stake-holder interactions and design for
societal objectives as the basis of higher education.
To stress on
rigorous reporting and useful outputs as central to developing new professions.
To provide
rural India and regional agencies with access to the professional resources of
the institutes of higher education, especially those that have acquired
academic excellence in the field of science, engineering and technology, and
management.
To improve
development outcomes as a consequence of this research. To develop new
professions and new processes to sustain and absorb the outcomes of research.
To foster a
new dialogue within the larger community on science, society and the
environment and to develop a sense of dignity and collective destiny.
How You Can
Participate in UBA?
You are
welcome to participate in the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan in any of the following
capacity as per your present status, competence and interest:
As a
prospective Mentoring Institute
As a
Participating Institute
As a Subject
Expert
As a
Voluntary Organization
As a
Developmental Agency
As a
Philanthropist or a CSR Promoter
As NSS
Member
As an
Enthusiastic Volunteer
For more
information in this regard, you may please visit the UBA website and contact
National Coordinator or Regional Coordinators (Mentoring Institutions).