UNNAT BHARAT
A SUMMARY FROM IIT MADRAS
Devendra Jalihal
Coordinator, RuTAG
IIT Madras, Chennai
Summary of Activities
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Reach: In several states
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TN, AP, Maharashtra, Keral, Karnataka, UP, Uttarakhand, Odisha,
WB and Rajasthan
Range: In diverse areas
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Housing, Energy, Water, Agriculture, Education, Health-care,
Banking, Traditional and Modern rural enterprises
Involvement: Faculty (50+), students (200+) and project staff
(200+) from several departments
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Strategy for scaling: demonstrate the idea through pilot in
one or more village and incubate companies to achieve scale
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Representative List of Villages
Name
State
Description of the work
Agency
#
villages
Ariyur, Nagar,
Thirumangalam
TN
Farm advisory for agri crop with 25+ farmers
RTBI
3
Gummadipoondi,
Pollachi
TN
Working with rural polytechnic institutes for
improving skills
SkillVeri
2
IOCL Multiskill
Dvlopment Center
Digboi Assam
Working with polytechnic for improving skills
SkillVeri
1
Bhoi Sahi Tirimal
Odisha
Uninterrupted DC supply and Solar
IITM
1
Palaguttapalli
Chittoor Dist, AP
Participatory water shed planning to create
Model Watershed project
IITM
1
Budhoda
Latur Dist,
Maharashtra
Modified handloom for improved productivity
for mat weaving
RuTAG
1
Srivilliputhur
TN
Modified pirn winding machine for use in
handloom
RuTAG
1
Communities
TN
Mobile Eye Surgical Unit
IITM
Many
Communities
Murshidabad and
Nadia dist, WB
Arsenic removal by IITM Technology
IITM
Many
Communities
Kerala
GFRG based housing, EWS housing for
Kerala Housing Board
IITM
Many
Affordable Rapid Housing
Technology
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GFRG (Gypsum waste from
fertilizer factory) based
housing with reduced use of
cement, sand and bricks
Upto 8 storied, earth-quake
structures,
40% cheaper than
conventional construction
and faster
Increasing numbers in
Maharashtra and Kerala
Water : Arsenic and Metal Removal
by IITM Technology (AMRIT )
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Nanotech based technology
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No power, no waste water
More than 1000 installations in West Bengal,
in districts of Murshidabad and Nadia
About 200 installations in Karnataka
Water : Watershed management
with active community involvement
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Uses opensource GIS and Android based
apps
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Community participation in mapping, model
development and natural resource
management
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Inexpensive
Community involvement in data collection,
Work supported by Dept of Land Resources
Agriculture – Personalized Agri
Advisory
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Unique integrated call center approach
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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
Energy – Uninterrupted DC supply
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Introduces the idea of
brown-outs
Guarantees 100 W
DC supply to every
house-hold /consumer
DC appliances are
known to be more
energy efficient than
AC
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Special devices
developed (UDPM)
A brown-out is
effected remotely
which cuts off AC
loads leaving only DC
Pilot implementation
presently at Odisha
Healthcare – Mobile Eye Surgical
Unit
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Cataract is a leading cause
for blindness
Technology solution
developed with Sankara
Nethralaya
MESU is a stable, selfreliant, mobile platform for
high-quality cataract
operation
More than 1000 operations
performed in villages of TN
Education
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Evaluation and monitoring of national programs
in primary education and health in TN
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Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik
Shiksha Abhiyan since 2008
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13 districts of TN with 40 schools from each dist
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MHRD funded, faculty, research staff and students
Other field surveys include areas such as Micro
finance, non-agri employment, ALM
Financial and Banking - Gramteller
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Low-cost low-power ATM (Gramteller)
developed on demand
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A separate company incubated
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More than 1500 deployed in 13 states
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Rajasthan, WB, Gujarat, Bihar, Odisha, Punjab,
Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, MP, AP, TN, UP,
Maharashtra
RuTAG - IITM
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Working since 2004
Linkages with NGOs and
rural groups
Working in 5 states
Textiles: Handloom and
weaving
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Looms and fibers
Rural enterprises
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Coir ratt, pottery,
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More than 1000 Pirn
Winding machines
installed in TN
handloom sector
25 specialized looms
for mat making
installed in Latur,
Maharashtra
Rural Business Incubator (RTBI)
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Unique initiative from IITM, supported by DST
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
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4 companies and presence in 4 states
Ivil and NSS @ IITM
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Ivil = IITians for Villages, a student body working for a
number of years
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Involves local SHGs
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Takes an integrated view of the village
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Water, energy, education, waste-management
NSS at IIT is 500 students strong group
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Sensitization to the problem, possible solutions with active
involvement of villagers
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Many projects in Indic languages
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Buckingham Canal project, a 400 km long canal that runs through
Chennai
UBA – Organization, Some thoughts
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Office with skeletal staff
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1-2 persons retired from senior positions from govt, academia and
industry for liaison
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For coordination among various activity groups and with UBA nodal
office
IITM will support office space, furniture etc.
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Intends coordinated activity with interested faculty, RuTAG, RTBI,
NSS etc.
Seeks support
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budgetary ₹ 10-15 lakhs per year
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Active intervention from Delhi when needed
Thank you.