02-23-2008, 12:38 PM
Recently A captain of the industry posed a question "What are the three ways technology can reduce the growing rural-urban divide in India"
The solution is
1) High Connectivity,
2) Renewable energy for Power,
3) Multiple economic opportunities for income generation
1) The Private Service providers can look at the vast unexplored market of rural India for connectivity .Reliance is the only company that has reached the corridor. But tremendous effort is required to bring telecommunication facility to the remotest area with internet technology and other related IT enabled technologies for bandwidth like VPN that can be easily installed. This will enable the gap in information flow and knowledge to be bridged. E governance systems that will bring about transparency and eradicate the exploitation of the simple minded rural folks
2) The rural sectors can be self sufficient in power supply by tapping renewable energy in Bio mass, Solar and gas fired digestors that can completely lessen the dependence on the urban supply. Since the rural sector is rich in natural resources this can be made easily adaptable on large scale.
3) Employment opportunity can be made galore by tele networking business and employment facility. This however requires public - private partnership in a proactive way. Rural BPO has caught up in Tamil Nadu with IIT Madras spinning several novel successful ventures under the leadership of Prof Junjunwala . This can be a role model for the entire country. Other than this we have Quality education systems from companies like TUTORVISTA which is an online education portal can be extended to the rural masses as well and make them more confident in their career profile .This again has double benefit. It gives quality support as well as generates quality employment options. Sitting at home or at regional centers people can apart from their traditional occupation work thro the telenetworking projects and increase their per capita income by selling their services and products online. A related success story is already there in e-Chaupal of ITC. Technology development Hubs can be set up in rural places that can retain good talents from the rural masses as well as overcome their attrition problem. A novel example is TITAN Watch making factory at Hosur .They were responsible for the development of a whole set of generation from the surrounding rural areas and contributed in building a talent pool with precision delivery systems with especially the women population. Bio technology can be used to promote contract farming and give a consistent revenue base for sustaining besides the traditional income .Agri business can bring sweeping changes if followed on the traditional organic methodology.A NGO named Development Alternatives has been using GIS spatial mapping for locating wet areas and ground water levels for building watershed management systems in rural arid areas that has changed the way cultivation is being done.
With numerous employment options and good income choice available via technology applications there is no reason for the rural mass to migrate to the urban centers and this will bring a holistic and healthy development between the urban and rural growth reducing the divide considerably.
Kishor Jagirdar : kishorjagirdar@gmail.com
The solution is
1) High Connectivity,
2) Renewable energy for Power,
3) Multiple economic opportunities for income generation
1) The Private Service providers can look at the vast unexplored market of rural India for connectivity .Reliance is the only company that has reached the corridor. But tremendous effort is required to bring telecommunication facility to the remotest area with internet technology and other related IT enabled technologies for bandwidth like VPN that can be easily installed. This will enable the gap in information flow and knowledge to be bridged. E governance systems that will bring about transparency and eradicate the exploitation of the simple minded rural folks
2) The rural sectors can be self sufficient in power supply by tapping renewable energy in Bio mass, Solar and gas fired digestors that can completely lessen the dependence on the urban supply. Since the rural sector is rich in natural resources this can be made easily adaptable on large scale.
3) Employment opportunity can be made galore by tele networking business and employment facility. This however requires public - private partnership in a proactive way. Rural BPO has caught up in Tamil Nadu with IIT Madras spinning several novel successful ventures under the leadership of Prof Junjunwala . This can be a role model for the entire country. Other than this we have Quality education systems from companies like TUTORVISTA which is an online education portal can be extended to the rural masses as well and make them more confident in their career profile .This again has double benefit. It gives quality support as well as generates quality employment options. Sitting at home or at regional centers people can apart from their traditional occupation work thro the telenetworking projects and increase their per capita income by selling their services and products online. A related success story is already there in e-Chaupal of ITC. Technology development Hubs can be set up in rural places that can retain good talents from the rural masses as well as overcome their attrition problem. A novel example is TITAN Watch making factory at Hosur .They were responsible for the development of a whole set of generation from the surrounding rural areas and contributed in building a talent pool with precision delivery systems with especially the women population. Bio technology can be used to promote contract farming and give a consistent revenue base for sustaining besides the traditional income .Agri business can bring sweeping changes if followed on the traditional organic methodology.A NGO named Development Alternatives has been using GIS spatial mapping for locating wet areas and ground water levels for building watershed management systems in rural arid areas that has changed the way cultivation is being done.
With numerous employment options and good income choice available via technology applications there is no reason for the rural mass to migrate to the urban centers and this will bring a holistic and healthy development between the urban and rural growth reducing the divide considerably.
Kishor Jagirdar : kishorjagirdar@gmail.com