RuTAG full form is Rural Technology Action Group. It is an initiative of the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to the Government of India. Objectives of RuTAG is to have more of Science & Technology (S&T) dynamism and support for development and dissemination of appropriate rural technologies.
Key Aspects of RuTAG:
Demand Seeker: The impulses for RuTAG interventions are essentially rooted in the wants and demands felt at the grassroot level in rural community.
Technology Upgradation: It emphasis on upgrading the traditional knowledge and practice with the appropriate technologies generated by research organizations.
Technology Delivery: RuTAG ensures dissemination and diffusion of relevant technologies to the rural sector using different methods such as training, demonstrations, and other such methods.
Networking: It has synergetic and catalytic role of that brings together the various governmental agencies, S & T institutions, non-government organizations (NGOs), academia and corporate sector to address issues pertaining to rural technology development and transfer.
Focus on Marginal Communities: A key focus is on addressing the problems and improving the livelihoods of marginal communities in rural areas.
Not a Major Funding Mechanism: RuTAG primarily acts as a facilitator and coordinator rather than a major funding agency.
RuTAG Centers:
- IIT Bombay
- IIT Delhi
- IIT Guwahati
- IIT Kanpur
- IIT Kharagpur
- IIT Madras
- IIT Roorkee
RuTAG Initiatives and Rural Development:
The RuTAG initiative focuses on rural development in a number of ways such as:
- Understanding Technology Need: RuTAG interacts with rural communities & NGOs to understand their challenges and technology need in relation to agriculture, water management, energy, livelihoods…etc.
- Technology Development and Technology Modification: After the need identification, RuTAG centres work on developing a new technology suitable to their context or modifying existing technologies to make them more affordable, accessible and relevant for the context.
- Capacity Building: RuTAG promotes capacity building for rural communities for the technologies that it introduce by providing training and demonstration on how to use and maintain the technologies. This is important because it enables the local people to take ownership of the technology that they are introduced to.
- Promoting entrepreneurs: Likewise by introducing technologies that are improved and by providing training – RuTAG can also develop entrepreneurs in rural areas and enable people and communities to start small businesses that improve their economic standing.
- Quality of Life: RuTAG intervention ultimately strives to provide better quality of life in rural areas by promoting better tools, techniques, and solutions to improve their day to day requirements and livelihoods.
