Rural Technology

Introduction : Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to the Government of India conceptualized a mission called Rural Technology Group (RuTAG) with an aim to provide a higher level of science and technology intervention and support for development and dissemination of appropriate technologies for rural areas in 2003-04. RuTAG is centered in 7 IITs (Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, and Roorkee) at present. The office of the PSA also initiated RuTAG chapters attached to RuTAG Centers. The first chapter was opened at University of Jammu, attached to RuTAG IIT Delhi in 2014.

Objective: To identify the technology needs for rural areas, available technology solutions and problems encountered in adopting the existing technology at grass root level; find technology solutions through government agencies , S&T institutions, S&T NGOs, academic institutes, corporate sectors and other voluntary agencies; and disseminate refined technology to rural areas.

Technology Interventions: The technology interventions of RuTAG are essentially demand driven, could be for technology upgradation, hi-tech delivery, technology training and demonstration or through any other innovative method and have focus on problems associated with marginal communities in rural areas for livelihood creation, drudgery reduction, increase in efficiency/productivity of processes, provisions of higher income, generation of employment, downsizing of existing technologies, and local resource management and knowledge generation for further applications in rural context.

RuTAG acts as a synergizing and catalyzing mechanism for rural technology development and delivery, and not a major funding mechanism.

1. Microfine-Neem-Biopesticide
2. Nisargruna-Biogas-plant
3. Phosphate & Zinc-fertilizer
4. Rapod-composting
5. Soil-Organic-Carbon-Detection-Kit
6. Trichoderma-biopesticide