The\nnotion of rural development has been conceived in diverse ways by researchers,\nranging from a set of goals and programmes to a well-knit strategy, approach or\neven an ideology. If we read through the relevant literature, we realise that\nits scope and content are vague and does not have well-accepted analytical\nboundaries. As has often been noted, however, this may be viewed both as a\nweakness as well as strength. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
India\nis a land of villages and seventy percent of India\u2019s population lives in\nvillages is an oft-repeated cliche but there is no getting away from the truth\nof it. In many ways, the rural areas have benefited from the developments in\nscience and technology indirectly as well as directly. Scientific inputs in\nagriculture are of direct importance to the rural sector. So are the expansion\nefforts in telecommunications and roads, though much remains to be done in\nthese fields. Technology for rural areas must be aimed at creating gainful\nemployment, recycling wastes to create value-added products, human welfare\nthrough better housing, drinking water, sanitation, elimination of drudgery,\npromotion of non-conventional energy and decentralised techno-economic systems,\nparticularly for remote areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\nthe last few decades, there has been a major effort to implement the spirit of\nthe Scientific Policy Resolution (SPR). However, due to various reasons,\nparticularly because of the large and continuing increase in population, it has\nnot been possible to truly bring about an impact of scientific advances on the\nlife of the people to the extent expected, but the desire to do so has been\nthere throughout. It is recognised worldwide that science and technology are\namong the most powerful forces to bring about dynamic changes in the society;\nand that appropriate and wise application of science and technology to all\nfacets related to human welfare can bring about desired social and economic\ntransformation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\na country of India\u2019s size and diversity, where more than 70% of the population\nresides in the rural areas, inputs of science and, technology in agriculture,\nirrigation, water management, education, health, energy, industry, transport,\ncommunications, employment generation, housing, etc. are crucial. The size of\nthe land holdings is very small and becoming smaller with increase in\npopulation; technological inputs are, therefore, essential to increase\nproductivity and economic viability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\nalso require a major attitudinal change; rural development does not mean only\nuse of simple and what many regard as appropriate technologies which may be\nobsolete and inappropriate. In fact, the word \u201cappropriate\u2019 should be looked at\nin the larger context i.e. what is it that would be most appropriate for the\nrural areas to fulfill their basic needs and to improve the quality of life of\nthe people taking note of the available skills, financial and natural\nresources. Some of the technologies appropriate in this context may involve\nadvanced concepts and use very recent scientific developments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Science\nand Technology can develop in rural communities a learning and innovation\ncapacity that increases the effectiveness of their efforts to solve problems\nand improve their lives. Science and technology empowers these communities and\nincreases the effectiveness of their development efforts through informed\ndecision making to achieve the objectives of poverty eradication, food security\nand sustainable development in rural areas. However, technological applications\nare largely restricted to urban areas. Rural areas have not reaped enough benefits\nfrom them. Science and Technology have played an important role in promoting\nagriculture during the last few decades. The role of television and radio in\nrural education and extension services has been well documented. These\ntechnologies will continue to play a crucial role in and along with new\ninnovations in Science & technology. The technological revolution is\nleading to the need to develop a new paradigm for agriculture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\nthe context of agriculture, there are five key services or functions that are\nvery closely related to Science & technology. An access to information\nthrough different types of Agricultural Information Systems (AIS); Monitoring\nthe situation of natural resources and environmental impact through different\nInformation Processing Tools (i.e. analysis of environment deterioration, soil\nerosion, deforestation etc.); Education and Communication Technologies that are\nplaying a very important role in generating new approaches to learning and\nknowledge management; Networking where
\nScience & Technology can contribute greatly to relating people\/institutions\namong them and facilitating the emergence of \u2018Virtual Communities of\nStakeholders\u2019 that generate and exchange information and knowledge among\nthemselves; and Decision Support Systems (DSS) through which data and\ninformation provide relevant knowledge inputs for informed decision-making are\nplaying an important role in converting information systems into knowledge\nsystems. In fact, if well managed, networking is the first step in the direction\nof developing interactive knowledge development processes that may lead to\nlearning networks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Energy\nis essential for agriculture for inputs such as fertilisers, for delivery of\nwater and for transportation. It is also needed to bring about rural industrialisation.\nAccording to a report, the global average per capita energy consumption has\nbeen consistently increasing. Between 1970-2014, average consumption increased\nby approximately 45 percent. This growth in per capita energy consumption does,\nhowever, vary significantly between countries and regions. Most of the growth\nin per capita energy consumption over the last few decades has been driven by\nincreased consumption in transitioning middle-income (and to a lesser extent,\nlow income countries). There is a significant increase in consumption in\ntransitioning BRICS economies (China, India and Brazil in particular); China\u2019s\nper capita use has grown by nearly 250 percent since 2000; India by more than\n50 percent; and Brazil by 38 percent. India has increased its focus on\ndeveloping alternative sources of energy, particularly nuclear, solar and wind\nenergy. The primary energy consumption in India is the third biggest after\nChina and the USA with 5.6% global share in 2017. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Water\nis the most crucial single resource for the survival of human life. Efforts are\nneeded to improve the availability of drinking water in rural areas; it is\nnecessary to devise and implement scientific methods for water harvesting,\nconservation and recycling. Potable water supply in the rural areas has to be\ngiven the highest priority. This effort calls for community participation,\ntechnology transfer, evaluation and assessment of existing rural water supply\nsystems, studies on maintenance of water distribution system, development and\nrehabilitation of springs and use of hydraulic rams for water supply in hilly\nareas, use of solar energy for rural water supply, development of integrated\npackage for water treatment, to make the water potable; etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Housing\nis a key area in rural development. Several technologies have been developed in\nthe area of low cost building materials, designs and construction techniques.\nCentral Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee and Structural Engineering\nResearch Centre (SERC), Madras, have done a great deal of work in these areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biotechnology\nis a promising segment in the context of rural development. In the field of\nbiotechnology, developments relating to bio-fertilisers, aquaculture, biomass\nproduction through tissue culture techniques, embryo-transfer technology to\nupgrade cattle, herds, etc. have enormous potential for employment generation\nand increasing efficiency and productivity for activities in daily life in\nrural areas. Mechanisms to make these techniques effective on a large scale\nhave to be worked out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Use\nof Information Technology in sectors like agriculture, irrigation, energy,\nhealth, family planning, education, employment and transportation is vital for\nbringing about a major transformation in the rural sector. Information related\nto local resources, skills and need is important to carry out effective\ndecentralised planning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Space\nand Technology is also very important for rural development. There are a wide\nrange of applications of remote sensing technology in areas of disaster warning\nfor coastal fishermen, inland\/marine fisheries, minor
\nirrigation, water targeting for drinking water, wasteland identification,\nvegetation mapping, drought monitoring, etc. Already, with the use of space\nimagery, ground water potential zone maps have been prepared for more than 370\ndistricts in India which include 91 Drought Prone Area Programme (DPAP)\ndistricts and 20 District Domestic Product (DDP) districts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite\nthe promises that technology holds, there remains a need for substantial\nincrease in old-fashioned investments to catch up with the backlog in physical\ninfrastructure and education to achieve a geographically more dispersed\ndevelopment away from the big cities. Around 25% of Indian adults cannot read\nor write, and the gender divide must be addressed with investment, particularly\nin rural women\u2019s education and training. Geographical application of new\ntechnologies is still limited in rural areas; many farmers remain unaware of\nthese advances. Insufficient connectivity in rural areas along with a lack of\nbasic computer knowledge and literacy hinder development in rural areas.\nSubstantial investment is needed in physical infrastructure, power, broadband,\ntransportation and education, particularly in rural regions and among the\npoorest populations. \n\nThe utility of Science and Technology will be paramount in achieving the\naim of rural development as it is the most important and effective tool for\nensuring poverty alleviation, food security, life skills, and educating the\nmasses. But only scientific and rational outlook can help us determine whether\nthe technology is in harmony with nature or not. Else it may adversely affect\nour natural resources, flora and fauna. Only on inculcating this rational and\nlogical thinking, we will be able to achieve the goal of sustainable\ndevelopment. Technologies should be used in a sustainable manner and only to\nthe extent that they do not interfere with the nature and ecosystem. The key to\na developed and prosperous village lies in the sensible and rational usage of\ntechnologies which are in harmony with nature.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The notion of rural development has been conceived in diverse ways by researchers, ranging from a set of goals and programmes to a well-knit strategy, approach or even an ideology. If we read through the relevant literature, we realise that its scope and content are vague and does not have well-accepted analytical boundaries. As has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=493"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":494,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493\/revisions\/494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.competitionreview.in\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}