Centre to launch Inst to pool Rural Tech

Bangalore, Dec 10: In an attempt to pool the rural technology developed by various institutions in the Country, Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) will start an Institute for 'Poverty Alleviation and Rural Technology', Director General Veena S Rao said today.

Speaking to newsperons, on the sidelines after signing an MoU between Centre for Sustainable Technologies (CST) of Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and CAPART here, she said that the new Institute would come into existence with the inauguration by Union Minister for Rural Development Dr Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, who is also CAPART Chairman, on December 14 in New Delhi.

She said that the need to have such an Institute was felt after learning that several Institutions like IISc, BIFR and other organisations were developing technology for rural sector, but it was not reaching the needy. Moreover even the Government was not aware of many of the technologies developed and NGOs were kept in dark.

''It was an attempt to pool all the rural technologies developed by various institutions and implement them by involving NGOs for overall development of the rural areas in the Country'', she added.

Ms Rao said that ''the institutions, which had developed rural technology, faced constraint in taking them to rural areas. Hence the role of NGOs, which can chanalise and carry the message of development made in various fields for the benefit of rural people. The MoU signed today heralds a new synergy aimed at achieving rural prosperity by harnessing the technical expertise of CST to develop need based and location specific technologies related to water and sanitation, household biogas and biomass, utilisation, sustainable building designs, information system for villages and to disseminate them through NGOs working in rural areas.

CST Chairman Prof N H Ravindranath said that the MoU aims to usher in a significant transformation in the quality of life of rural people, particularly, the under-privileged and the marignalised, through this endeavour.

He said that IISc is also undertaking innovative research projects for CAPART under its Advancement of Rural Technology Scheme (ARTS) in the fields of Small Biogas Plants for biomass at household level, Development and Dissemination of Bio Fuel Efficient Stoves and Agro-processing Drivers, developing and testing a domestic Photovoltaic-integrated Hybrid Solar-Still for Reliable Safe-water supply at household level and Pilot de-fluoridation study by IISc Method in fluoride-infested regions of Karnataka.

UNI