E-Paper
Empowering rural India through ICT
THE INDIAN Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), in order to mark the first year of the foundation of its extension campus at Amethi?Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Information Technology (RGIIT) ? is organising a three-day national seminar at the Amethi campus on ?Empowering Rural India through Information Communication Technology (ICT)? from April 15 to 17.
THE INDIAN Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), in order to mark the first year of the foundation of its extension campus at Amethi—Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Information Technology (RGIIT) — is organising a three-day national seminar at the Amethi campus on ‘Empowering Rural India through Information Communication Technology (ICT)’ from April 15 to 17.
The seminar, first of its kind in the area, will be inaugurated by Dr Sneh Bhargava, former director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, on April 15. The seminar will cover a host of issues related to rural empowerment, which include education, agro-business, rural connectivity, health care, micro-finance, legal education, and marketing and employment. Experts from a variety of fields will speak on the use of ICT in rural empowerment.
IIIT-A director Dr MD Tiwari, who is also the chief coordinator of the seminar, said IIIT-A plans to establish Gram Gyan Kenra Kiosks (GGK) in eight selected villages of Amethi and Rae Bareli, the backbone of which will be the Village Resources Centres (VRCS) of the ISRO.
At the seminar, the IIIT-A will launch four VRCS in Amethi and four in Rae Bareli. ISRO, Dr Tiwari said, would provide the connectivity and requisite support services whereas IIIT-A will be undertaking the management of VRCS and content development. Once the VRCS at these centers stabilise, they would be extended to other regions. The VRCS, he said, would facilitate effective development of the infrastructure, and integrated development and routing of enterprises and investment of boost rural development.
The seminar being held on the occasion of the first foundation day of the RGIIT, would showcase the initiatives, based on the Information Communication Technology (ICT), that can be implemented in rural India, he said. Telemedicines is one of the initiatives to be launched in the districts of Sultanpur and Rae Bareli. Besides, the seminar will highlight the view of multi-disciplinary experts for developing the roadmap for the socio-economic development of rural India with specific emphasis on the district of Sultanpur through ICT route. It will deliberate on the designing of the rural development initiatives, implement these and make successful rural development models available for replication in other states in India, he added.
The connectivity through VRCS, he said, would provide rural population of Amethi and Rae Bareli access to an expanding market for their agricultural and non-agricultural products. This would give them better price for their products, thus increasing their income and alleviating economic poverty. Also, he said, in association with ISRO, IIIT-A would be presenting a roadmap for implementing an agriculture Planning and Information Bank (APIB) for Amethi as a part of series of them being launched in Karnataka, West Bengal and the North Eastern Regions.
Some of the leading experts expected to converge at this national seminar include DR G Madhava Nair, chairman Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Bangalore, Dr A Bhaskarnarayana, director, SatCom Programme and Programme director, Indian National Satellite System, Bangalore, Dr LM Manjunath, executive director, SK Dharmshala Rural Development project, Ujire, Bangalore, and Raghvenra Saha of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Delhi.
Among the other leading experts who will give their opinion on various aspects of rural empowerment are Dr Nageshwara Rao, ISRO APIB Programme in NEA, Umiam Ribhoi, Meghalaya, Prof Ashok Jhunjhunwala, IIT-Chennai.
