UNNAT BHARAT A SUMMARY FROM IIT MADRAS - DEVENDRA JALIHAL COORDINATOR, RUTAG IIT MADRAS, CHENNAI

UNNAT BHARAT
A SUMMARY FROM IIT MADRAS

       Devendra Jalihal
     Coordinator, RuTAG
     IIT Madras, Chennai

Summary of Activities
●   Reach: In several states
    ●   TN, AP, Maharashtra, Keral, Karnataka, UP, Uttarakhand, Odisha,
        WB and Rajasthan
●   Range: In diverse areas
    ●   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
●Strategy for scaling: demonstrate the idea through pilot in
one or more village and incubate companies to achieve scale

Representative List of Villages
Name                State               Description of the work                         Agency      #
                                                                                                    villages
Ariyur, Nagar,      TN                  Farm advisory for agri crop with 25+ farmers    RTBI        3
Thirumangalam
Gummadipoondi,      TN                  Working with rural polytechnic institutes for   SkillVeri   2
Pollachi                                improving skills
IOCL Multiskill     Digboi Assam        Working with polytechnic for improving skills   SkillVeri   1
Dvlopment Center
Bhoi Sahi Tirimal   Odisha              Uninterrupted DC supply and Solar               IITM        1
Palaguttapalli      Chittoor Dist, AP   Participatory water shed planning to create     IITM        1
                                        Model Watershed project
Budhoda             Latur Dist,         Modified handloom for improved productivity     RuTAG       1
                    Maharashtra         for mat weaving
Srivilliputhur      TN                  Modified pirn winding machine for use in        RuTAG       1
                                        handloom
Communities         TN                  Mobile Eye Surgical Unit                        IITM        Many
Communities         Murshidabad and     Arsenic removal by IITM Technology              IITM        Many
                    Nadia dist, WB
Communities         Kerala              GFRG based housing, EWS housing for             IITM        Many
                                        Kerala Housing Board

Affordable Rapid Housing
                  Technology
●   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 )
●   Nanotech based technology
    –   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
●   Uses opensource GIS and Android based
    apps
    –   Inexpensive
●   Community participation in mapping, model
    development and natural resource
    management
    –   Community involvement in data collection,
●   Work supported by Dept of Land Resources

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

Energy – Uninterrupted DC supply
●   Introduces the idea of   ●   Special devices
    brown-outs                   developed (UDPM)
●   Guarantees 100 W         ●   A brown-out is
    DC supply to every           effected remotely
    house-hold /consumer         which cuts off AC
●   DC appliances are            loads leaving only DC
    known to be more         ●   Pilot implementation
    energy efficient than        presently at Odisha
    AC

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

Education
●   Evaluation and monitoring of national programs
    in primary education and health in TN
    –   Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik
        Shiksha Abhiyan since 2008
    –   13 districts of TN with 40 schools from each dist
    –   MHRD funded, faculty, research staff and students
●   Other field surveys include areas such as Micro
    finance, non-agri employment, ALM

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

RuTAG - IITM
●   Working since 2004         ●   More than 1000 Pirn
●
    Linkages with NGOs and         Winding machines
    rural groups                   installed in TN
●   Working in 5 states            handloom sector
●   Textiles: Handloom and     ●   25 specialized looms
    weaving                        for mat making
    –   Looms and fibers           installed in Latur,
●   Rural enterprises              Maharashtra
    –   Coir ratt, pottery,

Rural Business Incubator (RTBI)
●   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
    –   4 companies and presence in 4 states

Ivil and NSS @ IITM
●   Ivil = IITians for Villages, a student body working for a
    number of years
    –   Involves local SHGs
    –   Takes an integrated view of the village
        ●   Water, energy, education, waste-management
●   NSS at IIT is 500 students strong group
    –   Sensitization to the problem, possible solutions with active
        involvement of villagers
    –   Many projects in Indic languages
    –   Buckingham Canal project, a 400 km long canal that runs through
        Chennai

UBA – Organization, Some thoughts
●   Office with skeletal staff
    –   1-2 persons retired from senior positions from govt, academia and
        industry for liaison
    –   For coordination among various activity groups and with UBA nodal
        office
●   IITM will support office space, furniture etc.
    –   Intends coordinated activity with interested faculty, RuTAG, RTBI,
        NSS etc.
●   Seeks support
    –   budgetary ₹ 10-15 lakhs per year
    –   Active intervention from Delhi when needed

Thank you.