The second edition of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan was launched by the HRD Ministry in New Delhi.
- Under this Abhiyan students from 750 higher educational institutions from across the country will adopt villages and visit them to get acquainted with the lifestyle of people there and the problems faced by them.
- Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar said at the launch ceremony that the students are the real agents of change who can develop, empower and brighten the future of the country.
Aim
- The main objective of the program is to enable higher education institutions to work with the people of rural India in identifying development challenges and evolving appropriate solutions for accelerating sustainable development in rural areas.
Key facts
- This initiative will provide an opportunity to the students to learn about the basic challenges faced by rural people and to bring out practical solutions for their betterment.
- The minister advised the students to involve local village people at every stage of problem identification and solving issues relating to health, cleanliness, waste management, plantation, financial inclusion, women and child development.
- India had witnessed the migration of rural population in the past, but now the process of sustainable development through the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0 will help to reverse this migration.
- In order to cover the 45,000 villages of the country under this movement, the participation of 8,252 higher education institutions is required.
- Under the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0, the institutions have been selected on a Challenge Mode and the scheme has been extended to 750 reputed Higher Educational Institutes (both public and private) of the country.
- The scope for providing subject expert groups and regional coordinating institutes to handhold and guide the participating institutions has been strengthened.
- Institutes through their faculty and students, will carry out studies of living conditions in the adopted villages and assess the local problems and need.
- Each selected institute would adopt a cluster of villages/panchayats and gradually expand the outreach over a period of time.
- The institutes would be expected to closely coordinate with the district administration, elected public representatives of panchayat/villages and other stakeholders and will become a part of the process of development planning and implementation.
About Unnat Bharat Abhiyan
- It is a flagship programme of the Ministry of Human Resources Development, with the intention to enrich Rural India. Under the program, the knowledge base and resources of the premier institutions of the country will be leveraged to bring in a transformational change in the rural developmental process.
Aim
- The project aims to create a vibrant relationship between the society and the higher educational institutes, with the latter providing the knowledge and technology support to improve the livelihoods in rural areas and to upgrade the capabilities of both the public and private organisations in the society.
