Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is a flagship program of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), and its second edition (Unnat Bharat Abhiyan) was launched in April 2018. The Unnat Bharat Abhiyaan aims to enable the higher education institutions to work together with the people of rural India and fulfill the sustainable development goals. The main objective of Unnat Bharat Programme is to identify the problems existing in the development areas and to suggest appropriate solutions to increase the rate of sustainable development in rural areas.
India has made extraordinary progress in the field of science and technology and created a strong base for industrial development, but it has failed to reach the large gamut of its vast rural population. Further, the need for sustainable development has been realized and felt more worldwide with the demand for more eco-friendly development, especially in rural areas, and to create employment opportunities more sustainably.
The Framework
With the growing westernization and urbanization, there is a rise in serious problems like increasing inequality causing violence and crime, change in climate due to fast ecological degradation. To address such problems and to promote rural development in India, the Government of India has launched the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan. The vision of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is in line with the Gandhian idea of making Indian villages self-sufficient using more eco-friendly technologies to fulfill the necessities of life such as clothing, shelter, food, health, sanitation, transportation, and education.
Currently, 70 percent of the Indian population resides in rural areas mainly engaged in agriculture and allied sectors and employs around 51 percent of the total workforce in India, contributing to only 17 percent of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This data shows a considerable disconnection and gap in the development of the rural and urban sectors. This developmental disconnection between the rural and urban areas includes inequalities in education, health sector, employment opportunities, necessities resulting in large-scale migration from rural to urban areas causing a detachment and dissatisfaction in the rural population. Thus, to bridge the gap b/w the rural and urban sectors and build the structure to create an inclusive India and provide a holistic development of villages, the Government has launched the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan.
Background of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan
The Unnat Bharat Abhiyan has re-called the vision of Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘Gram Swaraj’ development model creating more self-sufficient and sustainable rural economies. The Government of India under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi has attempted to fulfill the disenchanted dreams of Mahatma Gandhi after 70 years of Independence. Unnat Bharat Programme is a much-appreciated initiative to cater to the mainstream industrial sector in creating a strong base for indigenous development activities.
The concept of Unnat Bharat initiative commenced with the ingenuity of a group of faculty members of IIT Delhi functioning in the Rural Development area and creating a pertinent technology. The Unnat Bharat Program was formally launched by the Ministry of Human Development in October 2014 in consultation with members of technical institutes, active participation of NGO’s like Atmanirbhar Bharat Sena, Government agencies involved in the rural developmental programs. Thereafter, the National Steering Committee has approved the vision, methodology, structure, and mission of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan.
Gram Swaraj Model
One of the writings of Mahatma Gandhi has laid down his idea and vision of Atmanirbhar Villages in his influential writings on ”Gram Swaraj” is that the idea of Village Swaraj is to create a complete Republic that is independent of its neighbors for its vital wants and inter-dependent by growing its food crops and cotton for its cloth and then reserve it for its cattle and recreational activities for adults and children.
The Gram Swaraj Model of Mahatma Gandhi is the vision for the holistic development of the Unnat Bharat Programme and identifying different aspects through which the professional institutes can aid the visions of the programme.
Vision of the Program
The vision of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is to entail the professional and higher educational institutes towards creating a self-sufficient and making a sustainable village. The vision of Unnat Bharat initiative is in line with the Gram-Swaraj initiative propounded by Mahatma Gandhi and to accelerate the rapid growth of indigenous development of the rural economy.
Mission of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan
The mission of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is to develop adequate networking and required mechanisms among educational institutions, implementing agencies, and participates in the holistic development of village clusters by the use of more environmentally friendly technologies and creating adequate employment opportunities for proper implementation of the Unnat Bharat Programme.
Objectives
Following are the objectives of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan-
- Identifying the development and employment requirements of village areas and cater their needs through the mechanism of Panchayati Raj Institutions.
- Encourage the involvement of the professional institutes in making plans for development activities at the Gram Sabha, Panchayat Samiti, and Zila Parishad level by introducing and implementing sustainable technologies.
- Developing a portal for Unnat Bharat Programme to facilitate communication and share knowledge between all the stakeholders.
- To carry out different field projects towards making innovations in sustainable development models and creating rural entrepreneurship ideas by collaborating with various voluntary organizations.
- Address the technological requirements of rural areas and develop research and live projects for the students and faculties in professional institutes.
- To provide the periodic assessment of the progress reports of the execution of development plans to the State Governments, Zila Parishad, and the Central Governments.
- To encourage community communication with technical institutions to create a strong development plan by the use of technologies and promote self-reliance.
How to Participate in Unnat Bharat Abhiyan
The ways through which participating in Unnat Bharat initiative is possible is illustrated below-
How to Apply Online
Following are the steps to apply for Unnat Bharat Abhiyan-
Step 1- Visit the official website of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan that is http://unnatbharatabhiyan.gov.in/
Step 2- Click on the option JOIN UBA on the homepage of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan.
Step 3- Open a popup page for eligibility registration and click on the ”proceed” button to open a new page.
Step 4- A page for the registration form will be displayed on the screen.
Step 5- Fill in the information required for the registration form, such as name, address, mobile number, and click on the ”Submit Button”.
Step 6- A Login ID along with a password will be provided after filling the form to visit the authorized site of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan Scheme.
Documents Required to Apply Online for Unnat Bharat Abhiyan
Following are the documents required to apply online for Unnat Bharat Abhiyan-
- Valid e-mail Id and contact number details
- AISHE code
- Villagers name and proposal to adopt a number
- Coordinator and Head of Information Institute
- Bank statements and mandate form
- Letter to DC
Eligibility Criteria
Following are the eligibility criteria to apply online for the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan:
- The college must be an Indian Higher Educational Institute.
- Such Higher Educational Institute must obtain an AISHE code.
- The Higher Educational Institution must have the intent to get involved in the development activities of rural areas.
- The Higher Educational Institution must identify a minimum of 5 villages in their locality.
- The Higher Educational Institution must contain a minimum of two faculty members to get involved in rural development activities.
- The joining application of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan must be ranked on the selection basis laid down by the Ministry. The institutions must meet the eligibility criteria to be selected for the Unnat Bharat Programme.
Conclusion
The Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is a step towards transforming the rural development processes and build an inclusive India, and to develop the Indian villages economically and socially. The main aim of launching this scheme is to develop the village and impart higher education to people living in the village communities in association with IITs and NITs. With the launch of Unnat Bharat Programme, the Government of India has aimed to address the development challenges and issues arising in rural India and to bridge a gap between the rural and urban economies.
With the launch of Unnat Bharat Programme, the Indian Government has intended to fulfill the ambitious agenda by transforming the world by 2030 and adopt the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and to ensure inclusive growth of every member of the rural and urban economy. This will bring together the best of all communities and achieve the sight of Prosperity for all.
