Unnat Bharat Abhiyan can help transform rural India

On August 22, 2014, Prime Minister Modi urged the directors and chairpersons of IITs to develop appropriate technologies to fast-track their progress. On November 11, 2014, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) launched Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) with a noble aim of connecting institutions of higher education including Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and Indian Institutes of Science Education & Research (IISERs) to support local communities to address their challenges through customised technology development, diffusion, and social interventions.

UBA is not just a government scheme, it’s a revolutionary mechanism to transform rural India through capability and capacity enhancement. Some of the above-mentioned institutions pioneered advancement of technology and product developments for the corporate world, which immensely benefited society at large. However, the local communities surrounding these institutions had limited access to such technology, innovations, and knowledge transfer. Most of such institutions have produced world-class technocrats, doctors, engineers, and scientists — serving many multinational companies in their respective domain. Unfortunately, villages/communities hardly a touching-distance from such institutions still struggle to find viable solutions to a host of issues including healthcare, sanitation, drinking water, energy, education, irrigation, agriculture, housing, and waste management.

One may argue that such deficiencies need to be addressed by the elected bodies or government. Generally a massive plan outlay to the tune of Rs 9,000 crore per annum by the Department of Rural Development (DoRD), ground-level situations demand improved performance delivery; therefore a holistic involvement of all stakeholders is inevitable. Conventionally, the orientation of people is to leave all developmental activities to the government; thereby scope for safe escape is high. Time has come to challenge the existing notion of “leave to the government or let the government do”. A fundamental change in mindset from ‘allegation’ to “accountability” leading to collaboration and co-creation of value must be built into the system. Perhaps, ‘New India’ — where prosperity, equity, sense of ownership and belongingness must be central to the development story. New India needs ‘out-of-box thinking’ collectively executed through shared responsibility.

MHRD’s initiative for an inclusive growth of local community through participation of national level institutions is a path-breaking step to make such institutions an architect of rural transformation. I believe all institutions under UBA have necessary wherewithal to help local communities convert challenges into opportunities.

UBA has been launched with manifold objectives which include: “(i) building institutional capacity in Institutes of higher education in research & training relevant to the needs of rural India, and (ii) provide rural India with professional resource support from institutes of higher education, especially those which have acquired academic excellence in Science, Engineering & Technology and Management.”

Technical institutions are invited to work in partnership with the DoRD to enhance efficacy of government investments in various sectors, especially in: “water conservation through watershed approaches, use of new technology and local materials and designs in rural housing programmes, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana — gramin, solid and liquid waste management, and Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana”.

Under UBA, leading institutions like IITs and IIMs have taken up the responsibility of developing villages to achieve a ‘developed India’. In the first round of UBA, coordinating institutions would adopt villages from 92 districts for developmental activities. These institutions have varied expertise, which could be utilised for holistic development of villages with emphasis on: (i) augmenting basic infrastructure, (ii) skill development, enhancing marketability of agro-products, (iii) strengthening primary healthcare through telemedicine, (iv) invigorating primary education, (v) improving energy accessibility, and (vi) improving rural income & livelihood generation.

During our UBA team’s recent visit to a couple of villages in Amethi district, it was observed that despite high-level of government support to attract children to school; primary education remains a big concern. I was surprised to find an upper primary school in a village operating without electricity, while the lower primary school in the same premises has electricity connection. There is a wider gap between student enrolment and actual attendance.

Changing market dynamics demand primary schools must provide exposure to students in science, arts, sports, culture, and history. In this connection, the higher education institutions are willing to act as catalysts in the transformation process.

Under UBA, the emerging symbiotic relationship between academic institutions and government will weed out several challenges of the local community.

The author is the Head of Department of Management Studies at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology