Latest news with #UnnatBharatAbhiyan
Indian Express
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
When Gandhi meets Ambedkar: How higher education institutions can change our villages
Also written by Virendra Kumar Vijay and Vivek Kumar 'True India lies in its seven lakh villages,' Mahatma Gandhi once declared, envisioning Gram Swaraj — self-reliant, self-governed village republics — as the foundation of Indian democracy. In sharp contrast, B R Ambedkar, speaking in the Constituent Assembly, fiercely rejected such idealisation: 'What is the village,' he remarked, 'but a sink of localism, a den of ignorance, narrow-mindedness and communalism?' For Gandhi, the village was the crucible of true independence; for Ambedkar, it was a site of deeply entrenched caste oppression. These two conflicting yet coexisting truths have long shaped India's rural imagination. It is within this contested terrain that the idea of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) took root, not as a top-down policy directive, but as a determined initiative by the faculty at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD), committed to sustainable rural development and the use of appropriate technology. A shared vision What began as a campus conversation gradually evolved into a national movement — shaped by higher education institutions, grassroots organisations, educators, practitioners, policymakers, and Union ministries of education and rural development, among others. The objective was to empower rural India through meaningful partnerships between Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and villages. It also offered academia an opportunity to learn from the lived wisdom, resilience, and practices of rural communities — a symbiotic relationship nurturing both the village and the university. The Unnat Bharat Abhiyan was officially launched in November 2014 by the Ministry of Education. Coordinated by IIT Delhi, it encourages HEIs, designated as Participating Institutes (PIs), to engage with at least five villages each. To support this, a national ecosystem of 14 Subject Expert Groups and 50 Regional Coordinating Institutes provides technical guidance, mentorship, and capacity-building for impactful, sustainable, and context-specific interventions. In its early years, UBA selectively invited HEIs to join the initiative. By 2014–15, 170 PIs were working with 800 villages. The network grew rapidly. By 2017–18, 1,771 institutions engaged 7,893 villages. In April 2018, the programme was opened to all HEIs, significantly expanding its scale, reach, and impact. As of May 2025, 4,183 institutions are working with 19,783 villages across 35 states and union territories. To deepen impact, UBA has forged 18 strategic partnerships with key ministries — such as Panchayati Raj, Rural Development, and Tribal Affairs — and institutions including the National Cooperative Union of India, the Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India, the North East Centre for Technology Application and Reach, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, and the Rural Technology Action Group, among others. Transforming villages The HEIs are working closely with gram sabhas, elected representatives, district officials, and governments. The goal is to partner actively in shaping Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDP) and driving meaningful change from the ground up. Their work spans a wide spectrum — from promoting sustainable agriculture and clean energy to enhancing rural livelihoods, improving water and waste management, and facilitating effective implementation of government schemes, and more. The HEIs also help build skills, foster entrepreneurship, support startups, and expand digital literacy across villages. A quiet transformation is unfolding across India, delivering real, measurable change at the grassroots. For instance, in Haridwar's Gaindikhata cluster, IIT Delhi introduced lemongrass cultivation and set up an oil extraction unit, helping farmers earn Rs 8,000–10,000 per month during harvest. In Manipur, the NIT developed a low-cost water purifier providing clean drinking water to over 2,000 villagers previously reliant on a contaminated pond. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand's Chene village, a quiet revival is underway. With support from Jharkhand Rai University, the community has returned to millet farming and established a seed bank to preserve indigenous varieties and ensure long-term food security. Such collaborative, community-driven initiatives blend scientific innovation with local wisdom, proving that real change grows from the ground up. What sets the UBA apart is its emphasis on Village Adhyayan (village study) through Participatory Learning and Action, a people-first, bottom-up way to understand and engage communities. The UBA envisions a shift in how development is practised: Not by imposing top-down solutions, but by listening to and building on the needs and aspirations of rural people themselves. Its core belief is simple yet powerful. Development must serve the people, not sideline or marginalise them. Transforming higher education Through sustained, meaningful engagement, the UBA is redefining higher education's role in India. The programme urges academia to move beyond classrooms and labs, engaging directly with rural life through grounded, empathetic, and socially relevant research. The UBA aims to foster stronger, self-reliant communities while nurturing scholars attuned to rural realities and aspirations. Here, the village is not merely a site for fieldwork or theoretical inquiry; it becomes a dynamic space for collaborative, action-oriented research, where knowledge and solutions are co-created through active community participation. Rural knowledge, lived experiences, and community priorities are no longer peripheral; they actively shape learning, research, and knowledge production within institutions. In its first decade, the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan has made important strides. But much more remains to harness India's vast academic network — over 1,000 universities and more than 42,000 colleges — to engage meaningfully with rural India, where two-thirds of the population lives across more than six lakh villages. Bridging the rural–urban divide demands sustained, equal partnerships between universities and communities. In its second decade, the UBA aims to rapidly expand its reach, especially in remote areas. Only then can we build rural futures rooted in Gandhian self-reliance and Ambedkar's vision of justice and dignity for all. The writers teach at the Centre for Rural Development and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, and coordinate the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan
Hindustan Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Viksit Bharat: Engineering empowerment through entrepreneurship and women's inclusion
As India strides towards the ambitious vision of Viksit Bharat@2047—a fully developed, self-reliant, and globally influential nation—it becomes essential to examine the transformative engines shaping this journey. Among them, entrepreneurship and engineering stand out as key drivers, with the potential to reshape India's socio-economic framework. But this transformation must be inclusive, particularly of women, if it is to truly reflect the nation's full potential. Entrepreneurship is no longer restricted to metropolitan startup hubs. It is taking root in smaller towns and rural areas, stimulating local economies, creating employment, and introducing innovative solutions. India, with over 90,000 recognised startups and more than 100 unicorns, now has the third-largest startup ecosystem globally. Yet, numbers alone do not define Viksit Bharat—transformation does. India produces more than 1.5 million engineering graduates every year, yet many remain underemployed. This gap highlights the need to view engineering not as a qualification but as a mindset, where problem-solving, innovation, and entrepreneurship intersect. New models of training are responding to this challenge by combining hands-on learning with access to national and international coding competitions and hackathons, giving students a chance to apply skills in real scenarios. Among the most significant shifts is the rise of engineers from tier-2 and tier-3 cities who are securing roles at companies like PayPal and Swiggy without the conventional IIT label. The story of one KodNest alumna receiving a ₹34.4 lakh package from PayPal is often cited as proof that with the right support system, institutional pedigree need not define success. It also reinforces the value of performance-focused training ecosystems that offer high returns without high entry barriers. Women's inclusion in engineering and entrepreneurship remains a challenge and an opportunity. Women account for just 12–15% of the engineering workforce, and their representation in core branches remains limited. Platforms like KodNest have reported growing female participation, especially from conservative regions, driven by a supportive, mentorship-led environment. If Viksit Bharat is to be more than a slogan, rural innovation and inclusion must form its foundation. Imagine women in tribal areas using solar-powered tools designed by rural engineers, or self-help groups supported by local polytechnics building blockchain-based supply chains. These aren't future fantasies—they are already taking shape under initiatives such as Unnat Bharat Abhiyan and the National Rural Livelihood Mission. What's needed now is greater visibility, financial literacy, and access to digital tools. Engineering colleges can act as incubators while women-led microenterprises grow into strong local economies. In this model, both engineers and entrepreneurs become architects of grassroots development. The government and private sectors must come together to invest in Centers of Innovation, Engineer Startup Corps, and gender-responsive education. These investments will not only close the employability gap but also help reimagine Indian families, schools, and workplaces as spaces that promote risk-taking, inclusion, and creativity. As we look ahead to 2047, the triad of entrepreneurship, engineer empowerment, and women's leadership must be more than policy points—it must be embedded in the cultural and economic DNA of the nation. Let's not just imagine a developed India. Let's build it—engineer it, innovate it, and include everyone in the process. This article is authored by Akash Pandey and Prabhakaran, founders, KodNest.
