1 VS Hegde & Remilla LN MURTHYSpace Technology based Village Resource Centres (VRCs) for Rural Development VS Hegde & Remilla LN MURTHY Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Lucknow October …, 2007
2 … we must be second to none in the applications of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society …” .. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai
3 Space for Societal DevelopmentAn Illustrative List of Applications COMMUNICATIONS REMOTE SENSING & GIS Education/ Awareness Healthcare/ Hygiene Training/ Skill development Info Dissemination Strengthening Panchayat Raj Rural Empowerment Agriculture Water Resources Watershed development Drinking water Drought assessment, monitoring & proofing Flood/ cyclone monitoring Fuel wood/ fodder assessment Land Information Systems Wasteland mapping & monitoring Groundwater prospecting Potential Fishing Zone Rural roads connectivity ….
4 VRC: The Roles of PartnersNeed Assessment PRA, RRA Infrastructure Building with Civil, Electrical facilities to house VRCs; Additional Multi-media Computers, etc. Manpower 2-3 Skilled Persons at each VRC Services Arrangements with Expert Centers & Experts, Hospitals & local Doctors, Teachers, … Contents, their updation, … Maintenance of Equipment After initial 3 years Partner Agency Connectivity VSAT, associated Communication Equipment, low-end AV Equipment Satellite Bandwidth Telemedicine Minimal h/w (EKG), s/w Tele-Education s/w NR Database Available and customized, along with minimal Query and Analytical tools Maintenance of Equipment First 3 years ISRO ... 'social inclusion' is the bottomline
5 Unique Features of VRCsInteractive Video Broadcast Technology One way Broadcast & selective IP based Return Video Seamless Access to Far-flung, Remote & Island territories Synchronous as well as Asynchronous Learning … and a ‘Partnership based’ Effort’
6 VRC: The Initial NetworksAgriculture, Horticulture, Fishermen dominated areas Schools & Rehabilitation Centres; Involvement of Corporates Farmer Distress Hotspots
7 Set-up/ Functioning & PartnersTN MSSRF, Amrita ,, Sathyabama Kerala Amrita, KSPB, MSSRF Kar Karuna, MYRADA,UAS Maha MSSRF, BAIF, Gomukh,RuralCom Rajasthan MSSRF, SDS, BMB&STC, TBS, Vatsalya, MGCS, SPWD, SBCT AP MSSRF, DHAN, Byrraju Gujarat SEWA, Abhiyan UP IIIT-A, NH, DA MP NCHSE, DA Delhi DA, IIIT-A Bihar SRI,DA Jharkhand KGVK, SRI,RKM Orissa CYSD, PREM, Agragamee, GV Assam ABITA Uttarakhand HIHT,SBMA, Chirag, INHERE Nagaland NASTEC WB RKM Sikkim RD&RM,DST HP HPVHA,YSPUHF Being Set-up A&N A&N Admin. TN DHAN,VITU Guj SEWA,AKRSP Village Resource Centres (VRCs) ~ 50 Expert Centres/ Hospitals includes 8 at ISRO/ DOS Centres (IIRS, NRSA, NE-SAC, 4 RRSSCs SAC) 21 37 58 34 18 15 30 2 Set-up: Being Set-up: Status As on October 01 , 2008 66 444 1 24 26 19 44 12 5 10 40 8 4 6 11
8 VRCs: A Snapshot of ActivitiesAgri. Dev. related Interactive advisories - crop pest, diseases, fertilizer/ pesticide Soil health, water management Seeds, market, organic farming, kitchen gardening, weeds Horticulture, floriculture Crop insurance Livestock management Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ) Education, Training, Skill Dev for Livelihood support E-Learning, computer literacy Supplementary teaching Micro-enterprise, micro-finance, marketing Skill dev - Nursing, Plumbing, Lab technician, Electrician Healthcare Awareness creation - TB, Malaria, Chikungunia, Dengue Child & women healthcare Eye-care, dermatology, camps & consultations Traditional/ herbal medicine Cardiac Check - ECG Camps Social Empowerment Right to Information (RTI) Domestic violence, sexual abuse Disabilities Career plan/ counseling Birth/ death/ property registration Governmental schemes Job opportunities Legal advisories Natural Resources Management Water resources - ground & surface water assessment, management Wasteland development Watershed based planning Alternate landuse plan Soil health Environmental aspects Other Summer camps for children Interactions with elected representatives of Panchayats/ Self Help Groups Workshops Screening of educational CDs Rural Yellow Pages Local News Papers Display of rural/ cottage products
9 ISRO-MSSRF VRC in TN: Activities>3000 Programmes >100,000 Participants Interactive Advisories to Farmers Rabi Pre-season Training Programme Gingili, Ground nut, Oil seeds cultivation Agro-meteorology related Organic farming Crop Insurance Livestock Management Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ) Health camps Interaction with authorities
10 ISRO-MSSRF VRCs in TN: Activities … contd.>3000 Programmes >100,000 Participants Key Factors that contributed .. Tele-Education - Awareness Camps - Computer Literacy - Functional/ Adult Literacy Alternate Livelihood related Micro-Enterprises Marketing Rural Yellow Pages Accounting Software Training Virtual Congress on Medicinal Plants Blend of Technologies Integration of Expertise/ Core Competence Peoples’ Participation
11 ISRO- AMRITA VRCs in TN & Kerala: Activities11 Nodes - Kerala (7), TN (2), 1 Exp. Centre; 1 Hospital 3 in Schools, 3 in PHCs, 1 in Orphanage, 2 in Tsunami Relief Camps Emphasis on School-centric & Awareness creation Programmes >750 Programmes conducted; reaching out to >15,000 beneficiaries E-Learning Workshops on Tribal Dev. Awareness in IT Applns, Fisheries, Floriculture, Forest, Environment, Personality Dev., … Healthcare
12 MYRADA VRCs, Karnataka: Activities15 VRCs, 2 Expert Centres, 2 Hospitals > 100 Programmes in 5 months; > 11,500 Participants Emphasis on Human rights & Societal empowerment Programmes included: Right to Information (RTI) Birth Registration Domestic violence with Women & Sexual abuse Disabilities Health awareness classes on HIV/ AIDS, Common Diceases, … Career plan Summer training camps on Pot/ Block Painting, Flower arrangement, …
13 Karuna Trust VRCs in Karnataka: ActivitiesVRCs located in PHCs 19 VRCs, 1 Expert Centre, 2 Hospitals > 85 Programmes in 4 months > 6000 participated Programmes included: Traditional/ Herbal medicine Awareness creation in various diseases Health Insurance Training/ Skill building in Healthcare - Medical Officers, Primary Healthcare Workers, … Community Microfinance
14 Gujarat VRCs: Activities13 Nodes - 10 VRCs, 1 Expert Centre, 2 Hospitals Healthcare/ Awareness Chickenguniya, Malaria, Eye Diseases, TB cure, Dental diseases & care,… Womens’ Health - Gynec. Problems, Breast Cancer, Safe Delivery of Child, .. Child Healtcare & Diseases, …. Balanced Diet, Nutrition values of Indian Food, Nutrition for Pregnant Women, …. Live stock Contageous diseases & miscarriages in animals Increasing milk production from cattle Cropping Advisories Drip & Sprinkle irrigation, Salinity control, Organic farming, Land & seed Preparation for sowing, …. Diseases in Mung, Groundnut, Bajra, Cumin crops, …. Crop insurance & Farmer credit card for Dry farming Soil testing Societal Empowerment Role & Responsibility of Panchayats, …
15 Pre- Arranged Consultation for Dermatology TreatmentGujarat VRCs Pre- Arranged Consultation for Dermatology Treatment
16 Some Success Stories - from Gujarat VRCsTtreatment for Skin ailment - Kutubbhai Fakruddin Parmar of Kauka village of Dholka Blk, Ahmedabad dist. Some Success Stories - from Gujarat VRCs Increasing Milk Production - Tele-treatment for buffalo - Jasiben from Simej village, Ahmedabad dist in interactive session with Anand Agri Univ.
17 Sathyabama Univ. VRCs, TN: ActivitiesPuthalam Training Courses in: Lab Technicians (26 Boys; 232 Girls) Nursing Assistant (9 Boys; 336 Girls) Electrician (234 Boys; 3 Girls) Plumber (35 Boys) Each Course - 6 Hrs/ Week Participants - Max 20/ Course/ VRC Sathyabama Univ. VRCs, TN: Activities 15 VRCs, 2 Exp Centres, 1 Hospital In all 304 Boys 570 Girls Emphasis on Vocational Training [for livelihood support]
18 VRCs and Village Knowledge Centres (VKCs)External Connectivity Coordination, Content Generation, Web-casting, Capacity Building, M&E, ... Connectivity, Trained Personnel, Need Assessment, Boundary Partnerships, Intra-net Access, Contextual Contents, Delivery of Services - Advisories, Community News Paper, Field Level Services, Lower-end Connectivity, Knowledge Workers, Knowledge & Info. Access, Delivery of Services - Notice Boards, Cable TV Network, In-person Interactions, Community-level Interventions, … Main Hub - MSSRF Data Managers Connectivity & Content Info portal web-based, interactive Info. Users [Rural Families] Hub & Spokes Model for VKCs Block level Hub VRC VRCs and Village Knowledge Centres (VKCs) Layered Approach for Aggregation & Reaching the Services - MSSRF Model
19 VRCs: ISRO’s Plans for Near FutureVRC - A major player in National Knowledge Empowerment Movement ISP in remote areas - Islands A part of multi-tier rural knowledge network, with backhaul links to WiFi/ WiMax hotspots, other terrestrial networks ISRO/ DOS Centers as VRC Expert Nodes; links to NRC/ NRDB/ NDEM portals/ servers Content Server for contextual knowledge & services, with search engine/ tools in local/ regional languages Links with national/ global weather/ disaster alert/ information networks A few VRCs in friendly neighboring countries ~ 4000 VRCs in larger clusters [at least one VRC - in each Rural/ semi-Urban Block/ Taluk of the country] Eventually State/ Regional Hubs/ Servers
20 ... thanks