MSSRF | IEC | NVA |Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) to support VKC

To take follow-up action on the announcement of the Union Finance Minister in his budget statement on 28th February, 2005 that the Government of India has decided to join the National Alliance for Mission 2007 : Every Village a Knowledge Centre and that it is proposed to allow NABARD to provide Rs.100 crores out of RIDF for the Mission, Smt. Ranjana Kumar, Chairperson of NABARD convened a Workshop on 4th April, 2005 at NABARD headquarters in Mumbai. The opening address of Smt. Ranjana Kumar is in Annexure I. The Workshop was attended by senior representatives of the Governments of Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttaranchal, Orissa and West Bengal. Smt. Sukhanya Rath, Secretary General of the National Alliance and Shri Senthilkumaran, Secretary, National Alliance explained the principal features of the Village Knowledge Centres and the work carried out by the National Alliance so far. Shri V.S.Sampath, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development participated in the discussion. Ms. Ankhi Das of Microsoft explained the capacity building programmes supported by Microsoft under its Unlimited Potential programme.

After about 4 hours of discussion, Prof. M.S.Swaminathan summed up the major conclusions as follows:

1. Bottom Line

The presentations of State Government representatives revealed unity of purpose but diversity of approaches. All are concerned with bridging the urban-rural digital divide. There has to be flexibility in the implementation of the project. The bottom line should however be the harnessing of ICT for the elimination of poverty and poverty-induced under- and mal-nutrition. The impact of the programme should be measured in terms of advances made in human development indicators and in achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals.

2. Content

Success will depend on content. Concurrent attention should be given to generic (eg. Government programmes for the poor and small and marginal farmers) as well as dynamic (market, weather, etc.). The information should be gender sensitive and gender mainstreaming of the programmes of VKCs is a must. There is also need for an end-to-end approach. Knowledge dissemination and the delivery of the inputs needed to use the knowledge must be synchronized in time and space. Adequate funds should be provided for content creation, based on the felt needs of rural families. The content must be demand driven and locale-specific.

3. Community Participation and ownership

The VKC should be located in a public space like village school or Panchayat building in order to ensure social inclusion in access. The Community should have a sense of ownership of the VKC. The programme should be based on the economics of human dignity and well being and not just on the basis of economics of commerce. Women should be enabled to play an active part in the management of the VKCs, since the available evidence suggests that this helps to improve the self-esteem and social prestige of women belonging to marginalized communities.

4. Multiplying Successes

There are several successful examples of extending knowledge connectivity in rural areas in different parts of the country. Such examples should be multiplied. Social relevance and sustainability should be the major goals of the ICT for Rural Prosperity Movement. This will call for a pro-poor and pro-women orientation to the programme.

5. Connectivity

Low-cost technologies are now becoming available. The internet-Community (F.M.) Radio combination will help to extend the reach at a lower cost. The hub and spokes model is ideal for connecting hamlets and small villages with an internet hub. The aim should be not only reaching the last mile but also the last person. Mobile Computer Training and knowledge dissemination services can be organized from the hub center. The experience of the Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation in providing Mobile Learning Service could be replicated. This is an effective and economic method of spreading computer literacy among rural children.

6. Training and Capacity Building

This has to receive overriding priority. Master Trainers can be identified in every village (preferably one woman and one man) and they could in turn impart training to others and to school children. The Ministry of Rural Development may be requested to provide Rs. 50 crores for organizing training and capacity building programmes for members of 10,000 ICT-SHGs (at the rate of 1000 SHGs trained in managing VKCs per State i.e. Rs. 5 crore per State). In addition, Microsoft has agreed to provide support for capacity building under its Unlimited Potential programme by providing IT skills training curriculum for this programme free of cost. The training has to be based on the methodology of learning by doing. The minimum educational level of those chosen for training may be 8th Class. The language used should be the local vernacular medium.

7. Jamsetji Tata National Virtual Academy for Rural Prosperty (NVA)

This Academy, established at MSSRF with support from the Tata Trusts, will help to identify grassroot Academicians who can become the torch bearers of the Rural Knowledge Revolution. Rural women and men who are able to master ICT technologies and use them for the benefit of the people in their villages will be elected as Fellows of the NVA by the Steering Committee of the National Alliance for Mission 2007. A Convocation will be held in New Delhi in June 2005 for the induction of the first 500 Fellows of NVA. The aim of NVA is to give recognition to grassroot ICT Managers and to build a cadre of about a million ICT grassroot leaders and master trainers over a period of time.

8. ICT Resource Centres for content creation and for development of educational tools in local languages

There is need for Technical Resource Centres in different parts of the country for preparing training material in local languages and for developing demand-driven content based on the felt needs of the village communities. Such ICT Resource Centres can be located in appropriate existing institutions/Universities. The possibility of establishing such centers under the Technical Resource Centre programme of CAPART may be explored by the National Alliance with the help of Shri V.S.Sampath. A national network of TRCs for ICT-SHGs may be formed by the National Alliance.

9. State Chapters of the National Alliance

An immediate need is the establishment of State Chapters in the ten States and one Union Territory identified for launching the first phase of the NABARD supported ICT-SHG movement. The Steering Committee of the National Alliance should hold discussions with appropriate State Government agencies and help to organize in each State a Chapter of the National alliance. The aim of the State Chapter should be to form a coalition of all concerned with connectivity, content creation, capacity building and monitoring and evaluation. The State Chapter should bring together the concerned State Government Departments, academic institutions like IITs, private sector industry, NGOs, Womens' Organisations, Panchayati Raj organizations and major industry partners like BSNL, TCS, WIPRO, HCL, HP and Microsoft. The State Chapters could develop a strategy for achieving the goal of "Every Village a Knowledge Centre' in the respective States by 15th August, 2007. By harnessing the power of partnership among all stakeholders, Mission 2007 can become a reality.

10. Launch of the ICT-SHGs on 15th August, 2005

The first phase of this national movement for a pro-poor, pro-women and pro-sustainable livelihood Village Knowledge Centre movement can be launched on 15th August, 2005 in the ten States and one Union Territory participating in Phase I of this national ICT for Rural Prosperity movement. NABARD will arrange to provide through State RIDF Rs. 1 lakh to every ICT-SHG for the purchase of the needed equipment. Ministry of Rural Development will be requested to provide Rs. 50,000 to each SHG for training, capacity building and essential software. All the private sector industry, NGOs and Academic institutions participating in the State Chapter of the National Alliance will extend appropriate help.

The State Chapter could help in achieving convergence and synergy among all on-going ICT for development and e-governance programmes. For example, BSNL plans to put up 1 lakh ICT kiosks and ITC plans to put up 1 lakh E-Chaupals. Microsoft (Unlimited Potential) plans to help many States in human resource development and capacity building. If symbiosis and synergy can be generated among all these programmes, progress in achieving the goal of providing knowledge connectivity in rural India and in ending the expanding urban-rural digital divide can be fast.

As proposed by the National Commission on Farmers, high priority may be accorded to establishing a coastal grid of VKCs to serve both the fisher and farming communities and to strengthen the coping capacity of coastal communities in the wake of disasters like Tsunami.

Based on the experience gained in organizing ICT-SHGs in Phase I of this national movement, the programme can be extended to all the States and Union Territories either in the later part of 2005 or during 2005-06.

- M.S.Swaminathan