CSIR Technologies for Rural Livelihood
Building Atmanirbharta with Science and Technology
A Joint Initiative of CSIR, UBA and VIBHA
Link https://unnatbharatabhiyan.gov.in/public/uploads/downloads/downloads-2771.pdf
Introduction As the country celebrates the 75th year of its independence, migration in search of employment still remains an important development challenge. The prominent face of migration became evident during the recent COVID-19 pandemic which triggered mass scale reverse migration reinforcing the loopholes in the unsustainable and non-resilient economic developmental model of the country. One of the most devastating impacts of COVID-19 crisis is the loss of livelihoods of the large population that lives at the bottom of country’s socio-economic pyramid.
Taking cognizance of the problem, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) coordinated by Indian Technology Delhi (IITD) and Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA) came together signing a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on July 28, 2020 with an objective to jointly work towards creation of livelihood opportunities in the rural areas of the country through CSIR Technologies. It is recognized that appropriate Science & Technology interventions can play a catalytic role in bringing equity and equality in the process of development. With this background the collaboration aims to focus on dissemination of CSIR Technologies for meeting the rural societal needs using the vast institutional network created under UBA and local chapters of VIBHA. CSIR having a vast countrywide network of 37 national laboratories, 39 outreach centres and 3 innovation complexes carries out research on hugely diverse spectrum of areas like oceanography, geophysics, chemicals, drugs, genomics, biotechnology, nanotechnology, mining, aeronautics, instrumentation, environmental engineering and information technology etc. It has over 3,000 active scientists engaged in research thereby developing a big pool of technologies. UBA has a network of about 3000 higher education institutes working closely with about 15000 villages across India. VIBHA is an organization with a national presence working through autonomous institutions and independent organizations. In line with the dream of Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, the collaborative effort is to strive towards making India’s villages Atmanirbhar through utilizing locally-available resources and empowering the weaker sections of the society. In this regard a launch ceremony to disseminate CSIR Technologies using higher education network of UBA and local chapters of VIBHA was inaugurated by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the then Hon’ble Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, and Health & Family Welfare, on 30th September 2020. Since then multiple technology demonstration and showcasing events have been organized in which CSIR technologies were showcased to potential technology seekers and other stakeholders interested in technology diffusion through online and offline modes. These technology demonstrations and showcasing have been able to generate huge interest among potential technology seekers across the country and they have come forward to understand their scope of implementation in specific geographies. One of the aims identified for sustained collaborative efforts for technology dissemination is the preparation of a repository of appropriate CSIR rural technologies. The repository would provide detailed information on CSIR rural technologies and feature their assessment on select parameters for enabling the identification of technologies based on the needs of a specific geographical area and sector.
This document presents the first such repository of 82 CSIR rural technologies (Appendix 1). Information on various technologies was collected from CSIR laboratories based on a set of parameters which were framed through consultations with CSIR, UBA national coordinating institute IIT Delhi, and field visits by the UBA Regional coordinating and participating institutions and VIBHA. iv Empowering Rural India through CSIR Technologies: A Qualitative Analysis This data was analyzed on parameters like gestation period, training days required to get familiar with the technology, investment required to put technology into production, whether technology can be a part of circular economy, status of technology commercialization, whether the resources required for production are made locally, region of the country where technology was developed and the state in which technology was developed. The trends emerging from the analysis are shown in the subsequent section. Summary of findings: The trends emerging from the data collected about 82 CSIR Technologies shows many interesting trends summarized as below:
