Case study : On village development by using

technology and policies in india

Dev sanskriti vishwavidyalaya,gayatrikunj shantikunj haridwar(uttarakhand), ph.no.01334-261367,Email-info@dsvv.ac.in,web:www.dsvv.ac.in

Presented by : Rashmi Ranjan

BCA III year

Guided by : Mr.Gopal Krishna Sharma

BCA Co-ordinator

Case Study of Village Neriga, Karnataka, India:

Demography of the Village: Neriga Village is a small village near the outskirts of the city of Bangalore. It is located approximately 24 km from the city of

Bangalore. Neriga village is about 400 hectares and rests at an elevation of about 900 meters above sea level. In the village, there are no facilities such as

hospitals, banks, police stations or markets.

Population details:The current population of the village is 6,000 people. This is a significant increase from the census taken in 2001 that showed a number of

1,345.

Information on the population: The primary language spoken in the village is

Kannada. Many residents also speak fluent Telugu. The literacy rate lies around the range of 80%. The average yearly income of a family living in Neriga village is 15,000 rupees. The government has started a system called the “ration

card”, which sells goods to people at reduced prices. The number of people in Neriga village who have the ration card is 1600 people. The government also

provides school going children with free books and free lunch.

Occupation: The primary occupation of the residents of Neriga village is agriculture. The agricultural production includes paddy (rice), raagi, roja,

kanakambara and some vegetables. Sericulture is also practiced. The village is known for its Nilagiri plantations. Small-scale brick industries are also located

in the village. A number of about 100 people work outside of Neriga village

Schooling: Even though the literacy rate in the village is about 80%.An average of 20 people in the village finish school upto 10th grade. In Neriga village, there

is only a primary school. Students must go to a nearby village to study middle and secondary school.

The main reason for student dropouts are as follows:

Lack of awareness: Parents with little or no education awareness want their children to leave school.

Lack of funding: After grade 8, a small amount of money is to be paid in order to continue going to school. Some cannot afford this.

Work: Sometimes, children are needed to work to help improve the

family income. Children that leave school go and work in farms and make 25 – 50 rupees a day.

Marriage: Children get married and therefore stop coming to school.

Village Leadership structure: There is a fully functional local panchayat that

holds the leadership position in Neriga village. The head of the Panchayat is known as the Sarpanch. The village is a part of the Anekal Taluk of the state of

Karnataka.

Healthcare:There is no local hospital or health care centre in the village. The minimum distance a person must travel to receive proper healthcare is 8 – 9

kilometers in the town of Varthur. For Neriga village, there is one government appointed health worker who visits the village everyday. The health worker

provides first aid and some basic medicines that may be required by the people. Once in 3 months, a doctor visits the village and performs some regular checkups. These checkups include blood sugar tests, eye checkups and blood

pressure checks.

Availability of power: The village of Neriga only receives 8 hours of power

per day. There are no forms of backing up this power, by any form of generators and other such equipment.

Technology:As stated before 15 people have taken computer courses in the

village of Neriga. In the village, there is no access to computers or Internet. Students also cannot make use of this technology to their benefit. Surprisingly, cell phones are very common in the village of Neriga. Almost each household in

the village owns a cell phone. It is used as a family owned device, more than a personal device. The devices used, however, are very basic and capable of only

voice conversions.

Case for Action:

1. How can we harness technology to provide better livelihood options and

opportunities to the people of this community? 2. How can we apply technology to meet the healthcare needs of this village

community? 3. How can we create a technology aided solutions to improve the

educational level of this community, taking into account all the factors

that lead to a high school dropout rate? 4. How can we better the quality of life of the people of this community

while taking into acccount the challenges in terms of availability of resources?

Warana: The Case of an Indian Rural Community Adopting ICT

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can be used as an

effective tool for rural development. An example of the adoption of ICT by a rural community is the Warana

“Wired Village” project, in the state of Maharashtra, India. There, the local cooperative is using ICT to streamline the operations

connected with sugar cane growing and harvesting. This is benefiting small farmers, both in terms of transparency and time

saved on administrative transactions, as well as the cooperative, in terms of monetary gains.

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can be used as an effective tool for rural development in India and elsewhere in the

developing world. An example of the issues involved with the adoption of ICT by a rural

community is given by the experience of the Warana Group of Co-operatives (WGC), which is using ICT to streamline the operations

connected with sugar cane growing and harvesting. Warana is a well-developed rural area located 30 kilometers northwest of

the city of Kolhapur, in one of the richest states of India, Maharashtra.

Much of Warana’s success is due to the presence of a strong co-operative movement, the WGC.

About 50,000 farmers live in 100 villages spread in the 25,000-sq. kilometer area covered by the co-operative.

The main economic activity is sugar cane growing and processing. ICT was brought to this area by the Warana "Wired Village" project, launched

in 1998 as a collaboration between the National Informatics Centre (NIC), the Government of Maharashtra, the Warana Vibhag Shikshan

Mandal (Education Department) and the WGC. The right conditions to bring ICT to Warana exist both in terms of human

development and of infrastructure, as, for instance, there is uninterrupted power supply in the area.

The Warana Wired Village Project

Goals of the Project The Warana “Wired Village” project was initiated in 1998 by the Prime

Minister’s Office Information Technology (IT) Task Force. The stated goal of the project is not only to increase the efficiency and

productivity of the sugar cane co-operative, but also to provide a wide range of information and services to 70 villages around Warana.

The project aims in fact at giving villagers access to information in local language about crops and agricultural market prices, employment

schemes from the government of Maharashtra, and educational opportunities.

However, some of the project’s features have not been implemented yet: these include distance learning at IT centers, the digitalization of land

records, and the connection of all of the cooperative’s “business centers.” Information on sugar cane growing and agricultural prices lies unutilized

and has not been updated since 1998; this information was centrally provided by NIC, and local staff was unable to update it independently.

Benefits from the project

The project has already increased the efficiency of the sugar cane

growing and harvesting process, both in terms of time saved by the farmers on administrative transactions as well as in terms of monetary gains.

Before computerization, it used to take two or three days for farmers to

find out how much they had spent and how much they had earned during the harvest, while now all it takes is a visit to the village kiosk.

And as a result of computerization, fertilizer stocks are now smaller and

better managed, which is said to have brought savings of about US$750,000 to the cooperative.

Potential for new ICT applications

The area around Warana Nagar is already quite well served by telephone

services.

Many households have a telephone at home and there are several local and long distance phone booths.

The community uses telephones mostly for social purposes, to keep in touch with other villagers and to organise weddings.

But the Internet could answer other needs. Farmers, for instance, express interest in accessing information on agricultural techniques and

innovations, as well as on crop prices. This information, if provided in the local language, would have a direct

impact on their livelihood, allowing them to raise productivity and to sell their products at a better price.

The younger generations, in turn, are more aware of the potential of the Internet. At an information kiosk which is connected to the Internet, for

instance, they are already paying 45 cents per hour to surf the web

(mostly for job searches and entertainment), and to email distant friends and relatives.

Young people also express great interest in computer training, as this will help them find better job opportunities.

Access to government services through the Internet would also benefit people in Warana.

Currently most grievances about government services are said to be solved through the local village committees (panchayats); but when the

panchayats cannot help, farmers have to go to the government offices in the city, which involves a great loss of time and money.

Thus, the usefulness of sending grievances and downloading government forms, as well as the possibility of accessing land records.

CRITICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR VILLAGE KNOWLEDGE

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM:

NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:

1. Land information systems: Village level land use maps, showing soil

characteristics, fertility, location and status of water sources and their quality, indicators of soil productivity status (Same, better or worse compared to the

benchmark, GPS based grid system to encourage precision farming to economise on external inputs and move towards low external physical inputs based sustainable agriculture. The GIS will incorporate farmer based plot level

information with the ability to monitor the state and the utilisation of future investments and their effect on risks mitigation.

2.Agro meteorological information base: Village level network of recording

type automatic weather stations with appropriate analytical tools to convert observations into indicators and inputs for decision support system.

3.On-farm research and technology development: Development of contingency crop and livestock options, blending farmers‟ innovations from

different regions to generate low costs affordable and adaptable solutions.

4. Pests, disease and nutrient management at farm level: Incorporating non-

chemical pests management strategies to reduce, if not eliminate application of chemicals.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDICATORS:

5. Monitoring system for socio-economic indicators: Anticipating household level to stress due to market and non-market based fluctuations and their

varying effects on different classes of farming in different villages.

6. The monitoring of household level access to formal credit and flexibility in

its rescheduling and rehabilitation in the event of market or environment based risks.

7. Creating platform for informal lenders to share their terms and by legitimising competition among them, improving conditions of delivery.

8. Preventing fore closure of properties of small farmers through debt and providing insurance cover.

9. Tracking markets and their effects on farmers under stress: Social reporting system will need to be developed so that anybody noticed under

excessive stress and facing closure of most options is reported to the District Emergency Response System. The distress becomes despair after other options

are exhausted.

EDUCATION, HEALTH AND NUTRITION:

10. Monitoring educational and health status of various family members, particularly under economic stress, outside formal institutional lending or under default to the moneylenders.

11. Developing linkage between soil, crop and human health, anticipating implications of changing food habits because of grains distributed through PDS

or otherwise.

12. Monitoring chronic nutritionally deficit regions and households: Special

measures to be initiated for providing relief in such regions in a manner that women and children do not suffer excessively contributing to the family

distress.

13. Providing emergency health response in case of attempted suicide or

other socio-psychological indicators of depression: In the post crop failure and other such disasters, special counselling would be needed to avoid distress

becoming despair. It is understood that mere counselling may not help. But, it

might create room for manoeuvre for absorbing institutional slackness or inertia in responding to household level critical situations.

Global village

Today, tshe term "Global Village" can be used to describe the Internet

and World Wide Web.

On the Internet, physical distance is even less of a hindrance to the real-

time communicative activities of people, and therefore social spheres are

greatly expanded by the openness of the web and the ease at which

people can search for online communities and interact with others who

share the same interests and concerns.

Therefore, this technology fosters the idea of a conglomerate yet unified

global community.

According to McLuhan, the enhanced "electric speed in bringing all

social and political functions together in a sudden implosion has

heightened human awareness of responsibility to an intense degree."

Increased speed of communication and the ability of people to read about,

spread, and react to global news quickly, forces us to become more

involved with one another from various social groups and countries

around the world and to be more aware of our global responsibilities.

Similarly, web-connected computers enable people to link their web sites

together.

This new reality has implications for forming new sociological structures

within the context of culture.

Contemporary analysts question the causes of changes in community and

its consequences some potentially new sociological structure.

Most of them have pointed out the fact that the increased velocity of

transactions has fostered interactional density, making social networks a

technical catalyst for social change.

Across the global village people have reached out and transcended their

neighborhood.

They are involved in complex community networks stretching across

cities, nations, and oceans.

Yet the ease with which telecommunications connect friends of friends

may also increase the density of interconnections within already existing

social clusters.

Therefore, the global village's implications on sociological structures are

yet to be found, whether it fosters cultural exchanges and openness or not.

Globalization Impact on Employment, Education, Culture and Rural Development in India

Standard of living: Rural population has very low purchasing power than its

counterpart staying in urban areas. Occasional large scale purchases by few (affluent and cooperatives) are made from urban markets since rural markets are

underdeveloped. People living in villages close to cities get an opportunity to work as construction workers, vegetable sellers and contractual laborers.

Rural infrastructure: In Indian villages, people still live in houses made of

mud barring houses of few rich and progressive farmers. Houses constructed for people in the name of "Indira Awaas Yojna" are poorly designed and offer

limited accommodation.

Employment: Labor migration to cities from rural areas in search of employment is a common phenomena. There are various reasons for people

movement from villages to cities. These include desire for more comfort, higher income and numerous job opportunities

A policy of minimum wages to daily paid labors is more a political move than

the help rendered to poor people. Schemes like NAREGA or MNREGA need critical evaluation to make them welfare scheme before they turn game spoiler.

Roads: Government has initiated several developmental programs for uplifting

of living standards of poor people but full benefits have not reached to the targeted population due to corruption prevalent in administrative and political

systems.Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna has resulted in road connectivity in rural India but roads are of poor quality and without drainage support.

Electricity: Life in rural India is miserable due to non-availability of electricity.

Several states in India claim that 40, 50 or even 100 percent villages have been electrified. But supply of electricity to villages that have been electrified is not

more than 3-4 hours per day.

Education: School buildings are available in few villages but number of teachers is inadequate in primary schools. Benches, boards and other facilities

are of sub-standard quality. There is, however, one positive development that girls are attending the schools in the villages. Also the number of students

attending graduate and post graduate courses is increasing but awareness among students from rural areas lacks towards technical education

Technology: Technology has failed to percolate to villages in absence of electricity and other communication infrastructure. Few people know about the

internet. However, well-to-do families have availed DTH and dish TV facilities. Mobile connections are increasing in rural areas but at slower pace. There are no small scale industries in villages to provide employment to educated youth.

Government is trying to push the technological changes in the agriculture to make it a profitable venture. Efforts have resulted as success stories in selected

cases. Lack of irrigation facilities in rainfed areas has blocked the progress of agriculture.

Agriculture: Globalization does not have any positive impact on agriculture.

Government never thinks to pay more to farmers so that they produce more food grains but resorts to imports. On the other hand, subsidies are declining so

cost of production is increasing. Even firms producing fertilizers have to suffer due to imports. There are also threats like introduction of GM crops, herbicide

resistant crops etc.

Policies:

Gram Tarang: Delivering Internet Banking Technology to 4850 villages in

India

Although India is one of those forerunners in the race of developing countries in the world, it is interesting to note that 70% of India lives in its 6.6 lakh villages.

80,000 villages have a population of more than 2000

1.5 lakh villages – 1500 to 2000 people per village Rest, have a population less than 1000 people per village

So what do banks do from their end?

Bank agents from the villages submit their hard copy data to the nearest bank branch. This is then sent as soft copy forms to the technology partners of Gram

Tarang like TCS, Genpact etc. After a thorough check, the technology partner will provide a smart card to each applicant. Beneficiaries can virtually transact

with the smart card by visiting the agent and giving their thumb impression. Their account then pops up for them to transact. After the transaction is done, the agent also issues a receipt from the printer. The data will then reach the

server of the technology partner which is later sent to the banks.

What is Gram Tarang’s Role?

Gram Tarang Inclusive Development Services Pvt Ltd acts as the execution partner for the nationalised banks in the country. Nationalised banks’ bids are

taken by technology companies. Gram Tarang works closely with these technology partners to implement the inclusive banking model in villages in

India. Gram Tarang is involved in the selection process of agents, training agents, monitoring them etc.

Started in 2010 by Venkat Sivanand Kumar, Gram Tarang Inclusive

Development Services currently

Has 400 bank agents in Assam

Works in 4650 villages in 8 states of India Andhra Pradesh – 2650 villages West Bengal – 850 villages

And in several parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Chattisgarh, and Tripura

We want to service 25000 villages in 3 yrs, directly servicing 3 million beneficiaries.

We are planning to venture into solar energy space. These areas have

rampant power cuts. This is a big hindrance to our work especially with the agents using a

laptop. We are actually planning to give them solar kits, train the bank agents on using solar kits and also ask them to cross sell to other

villagers. We are in touch with SELCO for this project,” concludes Venkat

Sivanand Kumar, Founder, Gram Tarang Inclusive Development Services.

One village, one computer

Is information technology any use to poor and uneducated populations? 1V1C

has trained villagers not only to use computers, but to put them to productive use in solving local problems. Surekha Sule reports.

It has been a widespread misconception that Information Technology (IT) is for

urban, better-off, literate and technology-savvy people. Is IT any use to poor, uneducated rural populations? One Village One Computer is turning the

conventional wisdom on its head, getting near-illiterate, simple village folks to not only handle computers but also solve some of their pressing problems

through computer applications.

In the village of Manvat, in Maharashtra's Parbhani district, the local youth generated a computerized database of unemployed persons eligible

for the central government's Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS) and communicated through the Internet with the administration. This two-way

flow of information brought the area around Rs.70 lakhs worth of development investment in agriculture, water works, and sanitation,

employing 4000 persons from 22 villages around Manvat.

In Nitrud, in Beed district, villagers collected 4 lakh litres of water through a simple percolation technology after applying Jal Chitra's

software (see box) for water mapping and auditing that identified key shortages and possible solutions to meet the demand.

In Rodpali, in Raigarh district, villagers' land was acquired by the

government during the development of New Bombay. The village youth prepared a computerized database on their educational background and

negotiated placement of 21 young persons in the company that came up on the land they once tilled.

Anil Shaligram, the brain behind 1V1C, worked hard for five years to realize

his dream project with the initial help of the Maharashtra Foundation in Washington.

Now 1V1C is a multi-agency, multi-location joint venture planning to go into

action in 500 villages this year. Already it has taken root in 70 villages in Maharashtra with IT training provided to over 1600 persons, young as well as

old.

Even shy and coy village women are getting comfortable in front of the TV screen with typewriter.

1V1C now has IT Sewa Kendras (service centers) in Murbi, Rodpali (Raigad),

Karad (Satara), Manvat (Parbhani), Alangul (Nashik), Nitrud (Beed), Dara, Padalada (Dhule), and Mod (Nandurbar).

1V1C's core competency is in training and capacity building of village

volunteers who are trained in short duration camps to themselves act as trainers all over Maharashtra.

Empowered with knowledge, training, hardware and software, these volunteers

form a network to solve village problems.

As part of Year of Scientific Awareness 2004, recently 1V1C organized three camps in New Mumbai - the first for 10 days providing training in computer

operations and the use of Jal Chitra software.

The second camp for five days was exclusively for 150 women from all over Maharashtra.

The third for five days was open to all and was attended by 125 persons from all walks of life - farmers, village youth, activists etc from all over Maharashtra.

From hereon, the training will be held in different districts, aiming to spread computer literacy throughout the region.

Jal-Chitra

Dr Vikram Vyas, a physicist comfortably settled abroad, decided to return to India about a decade ago. Struck by the extreme hardship in pursuit of drinking water in Rajasthan villages. His software Jal-Chitra has been adopted by 1V1C

and was successfully implemented for solving water problems in several villages.

Some of the salient features of Jal Chitra:

Allows the users to make an interactive water map of the village.

Allows the community to keep record of amount of water available from each of the water sources.

Facility for keeping record of water quality testing. Facility for keeping record of maintenance work required and the

maintenance works that has been done. Estimates the water demand for domestic use, for livestock, and for

agriculture. This is done by keeping record of human population, livestock population, and farm records.

The farm records also suggest the optimal water irrigation required depending on the crop planted and the amount of rainfall.

Generate future monthly water budget based on the past records, as more

monthly records are kept the corresponding budget become more reliable. Informs community as to how much of its annual water need is being met

from underground water and the approximate amount of recharging that is taking place.

Finds out the reliability of covered rainwater harvesting systems. Shows the amount of the community's need that is being met through

rainwater harvesting systems and how it compares with total potentiality of rainwater harvesting in the given village.

1. Space Technology Enabled Village Resource Centre (VRC)

Village source Centres (VRCs) for Societal Development

There are more than 600,000 villages in India, wherein around 700 million

people live.

Many of these villages are considerably deprived of basic amenities and services, especially in the areas of education, healthcare, sanitation and

empowerment. Improving the quality of life in the villages is an integral part of the overall national development endeavour in the country.

Space technology, as the powerful enabler, provides a variety of vital inputs for

holistic and rapid development of rural areas, and villages in specific.

India has been among the world leaders in developing end-to-end capability in both satellite remote sensing and communication.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has made remarkable progress in building state-ofthe- art space infrastructure such as the Indian National Satellite

(INSAT) for communication and the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites for earth observation.

ISRO has also been a champion in demonstrating the use of space technology

for societal good. ISRO has piloted several socially relevant space application projects like the

Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE), the Training and Development Communication Channel (TDCC), the Jhabua Development

Communications Project (JDCP) using INSAT; and finding prospective groundwater zones to provide drinking water in villages, providing land and

water resources development plans at watershed level using IRS. Space based services, emanating from Satellite Communication (SatCom) and

Earth Observation (EO) hold much value in transforming the village society.

While SatCom provides the conduit for effective delivery of information and services across vast regions, the EO provides community-centric spatial

information in terms of geo-referenced land record, natural resources, sites for exploiting groundwater for potable and recharge, incidence of wastelands

having reclamation potential, watershed attributes, environment, infrastructure related information, alternative cropping pattern, etc.

Space based systems are effective in supporting disaster management at

community level, wherein the vulnerability and risk related information, early warning, forecast of unusual/extreme weather conditions, etc., provide for

building resilience at village community level.

ISRO has embarked upon VRC programme to disseminate the portfolio of

services emanating from the space systems as well as other Information Technology (IT) tools, directly down-the-line to the rural communities.

VRCs essentially have: digital connectivity (for videoconferencing and

information transfer) with knowledge centers and specialty healthcare providers enabled via INSAT; spatial information on natural resources generated using

IRS data; a host information pertaining to management of natural resources and socio-economic relevance; and facilities for primary healthcare services and

distance education.

With the involvement of stakeholders, VRCs will catalyse rural entrepreneurship; and facilitate e-Governance and other services of social

relevance. ISRO is implementing VRC programme in partnership with reputed NGOs, Trusts and other agencies including the Governmental ones.

VRC Services – Portfolio Tele-education: Focus is on imparting vocational training at local level - aimed at skill development and capacity building to

catalyse livelihood support in rural areas; supplementary teaching to rural children; and non-formal and adult education.

Tele-healthcare: Thrust is on both preventive and curative healthcare at

primary level. The Telemedicine system at VRCs consists of customised medical software, with certain medical diagnostic instruments. With the help of

local doctor/ paramedic, expert medical consultation and counseling are provided to the villagers from specialty hospitals. Healthcare awareness is also a

major activity of VRCs. Land and Water Resources Management:Information on land and water

resources extracted from satellite images is organised in Geographical Information System (GIS), and provided to the villagers through the VRC. The

local farmers, availing the support of the skilled/ trained personnel managing VRCs, utilise this information for better management of their land resources.

Interactive Advisory Services: VRCs facilitate interactions between the local

people and experts at knowledge centers - Agricultural Universities, Technical Institutions, etc - on a wide range of subjects such as alternative cropping

systems, optimisation of agricultural inputs-like seeds, water, fertilizer, insecticides, pesticides, produceroriented marketing opportunities, crop

insurance, etc.

Tele-fishery: VRCs located at coastal tracts are being provided with near real time information on satellite derived Potential Fishing Zones (PFZ).

Information pertaining to inland fisheries, aquaculture, etc., is also provided through VRCs as relevant.

e-Governance services: The services include information and guidance to local

people on village oriented governmental schemes on agriculture, poverty alleviation, rural employment, social safety nets and other basic entitlements,

animal husbandry and livestock related, micro-finance related, etc.

Weather Services: Short, medium and long-term weather forecasts, at local level; and agrometeorology advisory services are being enabled.

Others: Depending on the local needs, each VRC

provides a host of other services.

Cyber transparency:

Another initiative introduced under the project is the web based program OMMAS. The Online Management, Monitoring and Accounting System provides information and data on various aspects of road building .

The data includes details of the facilities available at each project village, its

habitation, the type of road project undertaken, name of the contractor, the standard bidding document and the progress of the project.

In addition, a Geographic Information System (GIS) has been set up in HP and

Rajasthan on a pilot basis.

The website provides information on the physical features of the villages and districts. This knowledge helps in selecting the area for road building or for

upgrading.

Geographical Information System:GIS has been developed as a useful tool for planning, budgeting and program monitoring of the Rural Roads Project.

It provides linking of maps with the software for on-line management, monitoring and accounting.

The program provides total transparency and is accessible to all citizens as well

as those involved with the program.

Road Information System (RIS) will be added to the GIS. It is a detailed data with geographical display of various information about the roads.

A web version of GRIMMS allows the user to access GIS on rural roads

database. It lists all the habitations, the tourist places, the condition of the roads, the stage of construction, the road length, and boundaries with different States

and parliamentary constituencies.

It also mentions all the services available in a village and whether it is connected with an all-weather motorized road or not. The public can access this

site.