New Delhi: The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) have launched the RSVC-AMRIT digital platform, aimed at strengthening technology-led rural development and accelerating the adoption of appropriate technologies in rural areas.
Principal Scientific Adviser Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood launched the platform on the occasion of India’s 80th Independence Day. Developed by NABARD in collaboration with the Office of the PSA, AMRIT will serve as the digital backbone of the RuTAGe Smart Village Centre (RSVC) ecosystem.
The platform is designed to support the entire technology lifecycle, including technology discovery, validation, deployment tracking, collaboration, monitoring and knowledge management. It will progressively bring innovators, technology providers, startups, academic institutions, funding agencies, implementation partners, accelerators and rural communities onto a common digital platform.
Speaking at the launch, Prof. Sood said AMRIT would support the complete lifecycle of the RSVC initiative and help connect stakeholders involved in developing and deploying technologies for rural communities. The platform is expected to strengthen collaboration and help take suitable technologies closer to the last mile.
NABARD Chairman Dr. Shaji Krishnan V. highlighted the need to bridge the gap between India’s strong ecosystem of scientific institutions, startups and technology providers and the specific requirements of rural communities. AMRIT seeks to address this challenge by connecting rural needs with suitable innovations, institutions and implementation mechanisms.
The RSVC initiative facilitates the transfer of affordable and appropriate technologies from research institutions, innovators and startups to rural communities through village-level technology hubs. Its areas of focus include agriculture, rural enterprises, renewable energy, education, assistive technologies, water and sanitation, and citizen services.
NABARD currently supports eight RSVCs, with AMRIT expected to gradually evolve into a national repository of rural innovations, technologies, best practices and collaboration opportunities.
The initiative adds a digital layer to India’s efforts to promote grassroots technology adoption, potentially enabling rural communities to access innovations more efficiently while giving innovators and technology providers a structured mechanism to reach underserved markets.
