Rural Technology / Development
Technological up-gradation and inclusive growth have been focal development points in rural India. Higher and better productivity, socio-economic equality, harmonizing modern technology, and sustainable growth can be considered the pillars for a nation’s progress. The Government of India has rolled out schemes from education to financial literacy and agritech to skill development that caters to nearly 900 mn people living in rural regions. It is admirable to see that the central and state governments are united with a vision for the betterment of rural India. Digital literacy and connectivity have strengthened the labour market and provided a platform to educate and become financially independent. Enhanced innovation has helped the rural areas improve their growth prospects, and the policymakers support reforms beyond subsidies and sector-specific approaches.
Agriculture
Rural India is home to 65% of the total population of our country. Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data from the consumer pyramid household survey shows the share of agriculture in total employment has gone up from 35.3% in 2017-18 to 36.1% in the year 2018-19 and further to 38% in 2019-20. The Center has promised to work shoulder-to-shoulder to implement specific schemes and technological advancements in agriculture.
In April 2016, the Government of India launched e-NAM (National Agriculture Market), an online platform for farmers that integrates agricultural markets pan-India with a theme of one nation, one market. The platform aids farmers and traders to view all Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) related information, commodity arrivals, and buy and sell trade offers, thus helping farmers bid for the best prices across markets. The objective was to promote uniformity in agricultural marketing and remove the information asymmetry between the buyers and sellers. The number of registered farmers has risen to 1.66 crores, while 1.28 lakh traders transact on this platform. More than 1000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) have also been enrolled on this platform.
The government is also investing in mapping all of India’s aquifers. The National Program on Aquifer Mapping and Management (NAQUIM) aims at 3D mapping the aquifers and characterising them in terms of quantity, quality, and spatial and temporal distribution of water level and resources. The Jal Shakti Abhiyan primarily focuses on saving and conserving rainwater for creating appropriate rainwater harvesting structures in urban and rural areas of all the districts in the country.
The union budget of 2022 has also pushed for an array of digital technologies and drones to propel growth in the farm sector. The promotion of drones to monitor the produce and spray insecticides will help scale up precision farming massively.
Alternate sources and sustainable livelihoods
To effectively realise the positive impact of the fourth industrial revolution, it is essential to use technology to bridge the gap between skilled and unskilled labour. Nearly three-quarters of the Indian population is employed in low-productivity agriculture, making growth and advancements critical in these areas. The use of technology to increase productivity in these sectors would be an essential public policy endeavour in the future. As more and more men from rural areas start to migrate to urban areas in search of employment opportunities, the brunt of agriculture is being borne by women who now have to perform highly labour-intensive roles on their own, resulting in lower productivity levels. They further face a lack of access to land, irrigation, credit, inputs, and markets. The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana was also launched to improve water-use efficiency and expand irrigation on every Indian farm.
Digitalisation will go a long way in reducing traditional bottlenecks such as shrinking markets and low density that have been roadblocks in building long-term and sustainable rural economies. Often, issues like these can lead to economies of scale, wherein skilled individuals from rural areas cannot find the right employment opportunities, and small businesses lose out on opportunities to grow. Digitalisation can provide new growth opportunities and opportunities for better and more diverse occupations in rural areas. Reduced trade times and prices, the exchange of unique sorts of products and services, and disruptive ways to work and join the labour market are some of the benefits of the digital era that might be beneficial for rural communities.
Technological advancements can lower trade expenses, allowing rural areas to tap into new markets. Rural goods and services are likely to reach more distant markets at a lesser cost and faster than they are now, thanks to new technologies. Driverless vehicles, for example, can operate 24 hours a day and travel far further distances than traditional trucks, lowering transportation costs and shipment times. Drone-based deliveries are also expected to be deployed in their initial phase in rural areas, where regulations are less stringent, and roads are not populated by high rise buildings, making it easier for drones to maneuver. This type of delivery system can help rural regions overcome geography and infrastructure challenges.
In rural economies, new technology can help to improve the entrepreneurial business environment. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in rural areas benefit from technological advancements. Cross-border e-commerce, or commerce through digital platforms, has proven critical in lowering entry barriers for enterprises and SMEs looking to sell in worldwide markets. Similarly, new technologies such as additive manufacturing, for example, 3D printers, have the potential to lessen the need for economies of scale by making small-scale production more cost-effective. Small businesses can use 3D printers to create items and standard parts according to local demand without importing or storing vast quantities of materials from elsewhere, reducing their dependency on imports.
Government Schemes for Technology Enabled Rural Development
Technological Advancement for Rural Areas (TARA):This scheme under the Skill Enhancement Education & Development Program (SEED) is critical in providing long-term core support to science-based voluntary organisations and field institutions in rural and other disadvantaged areas to promote and nurture them as “S&T Incubators” and “Active Field Laboratories” to work and provide technological solutions and effective delivery of technologies for livelihood generation and societal benefits.
Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission: The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) aims to develop the infrastructure necessary to support India’s integrated digital healthcare infrastructure. It will use digital highways to bridge the distance between diverse players in the healthcare industry.
Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA): Achieving safer and more efficient digital health records originates with ABHA. A digitally secure ABHA permits health data access and sharing with participating healthcare providers and payers. Anyone who wants to join ABDM and has digital health records must first create ABHA. People are identified authenticated, and their health records are threaded across many systems and stakeholders (with their informed consent).
E-Shram: e-Shram is a platform designed by the Ministry of Labor and Employment to benefit unorganised workers who are not Employees’ State Insurance (EPFO) or Employees’ State Insurance (ESIC) members. Signing up for the Shramik Yojana and acquiring an e-Shram card entitles many benefits. The government’s acceptance of social security measures will also assist workers.
National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN): All state capitals, districts, and headquarters have OFC connectivity down to the block level. The country’s 2,50,000-gram panchayats would be linked. This will be done by using existing Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) fibres (BSNL, Railtel, and Power Grid) and laying new fibre to connect to gram panchayats when needed. The gram panchayats will benefit from the increased bandwidth created by the dark fibre network. This will be called the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN). Thus, the connectivity gap between gram panchayats and blocks will be filled.
Common Service Centres (CSC): The CSC programme is one of the Digital India Programme’s mission mode projects. CSCs serve as the access points for essential public utility services, social welfare programmes, healthcare, finance, education, agriculture services, and a variety of business-to-consumer (B2C) services to citizens living in rural and distant areas of the country. It is a pan-India network that caters to its regional, geographic, linguistic, and cultural diversity, enabling the government to fulfil its mandate of a socially, fiscally, and technologically inclusive society.
Digital India Programme: Digital India is India’s flagship initiative to transform the country into a knowledge-based economy and a digitally empowered society. Digital India covers three essential areas: digital infrastructure as a utility for all citizens, governance and on-demand services, and citizen empowerment through digital technology.
Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP): A central sector scheme aims to leverage existing commonalities in land records to develop an appropriate Integrated Land Information Management System (ILIMS). Individual states can also add state-specific requirements as deemed necessary and proper.
