RuTAG 1.0 is an initiative conceptualized and supported by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India. Since 2004, it has functioned as a mechanism to provide high demand-driven science and technology interventions for rural areas through IITs and other technical institutions. This pan-IIT initiative acts as a catalyzing mechanism between technical institutions and grass root organizations, encouraging the development of science to meet urban and rural needs.
To develop technology devices,equipment, human resources and research facilities to innovate rural technologies by utilizing the existing source and creative involvement of people from rural areas and NGOs.
To become an innovative rural technology development group, comprising academicians, scientists, personnel from NGOs, Governmental agencies and technical institutes, traditional craftsmen and artisans, farmers and social entrepreneurs with a passion to serve the rural people.
As part of technology development activities, RuTAG IIT Madras has developed demand driven technologies with inputs of S&T through development, adaptation, adoption, transfer, demonstration and replication of appropriate and successful technologies.Rural Technology Action Group, IIT Madras envisages identifying scope for use of Science & Technology to improve quality of life, focusing on rural and marginalized sections. To enable transformation of these aims into tangible deliverables, RuTAG IITM functions as a catalyzing mechanism between organizations and individuals expressing the need for an intervention and Academic R&D institutions with the required expertise.A dynamic and dedicated team at RuTAG IITM will facilitate Technology need Identification workshops, R&D projects,technology trials and dissemination.RuTAG IIT Madras will continuously strive to expand the network of involved stakeholders and contribute to the pool of rural technology resources available across the country.
(1) Prototype development and field trials for selected needs.
The sub-work elements identified are the identification of needs, prototype development and field trials.
(2) Technology Development & Prototyping, dissemination and development methods for mass production RuTAG Technology Development & Prototyping aims to identify and develop affordable and sustainable technological solutions to address the challenges faced by rural communities in India. It Involves collaborating with local communities, NGOs, and other stakeholders to understand their needs and challenges. Based on the problem statements identified and screened, RuTAG reaches out to faculty members in IITM who have previously worked with them, gauging their interest in the current problem statement. Departments are also approached via communication channels to identify potential collaborators. Additionally, collaboration and open-source development are becoming more common in the technology industry, allowing for greater innovation and progress. To ensure optimal feedback on projects, user research, surveys, prototyping, testing, and feedback mechanisms are implemented at different stages of development. The specific methods may differ depending on the project goals.
Prototype development will continue to be towards livelihood improvements, with a special focus on mass production. This will be achieved by the enabling of “Last mile fabrication” paradigm in design efforts from the initiation of a project. Another significant effort of need identification will be towards identification of emissions/energy impact, so that technology solutions will strive towards “Netzero”. A flexible yet closely connected field personnel are also envisaged to achieve prototype development with these qualitative features. RuTAG IIT Madras will engage with state agencies in search of technologies, and find affordable and efficient solutions. Added advantage of this engagement will be immediate commercialization by state agencies themselves, leading to 100% success of RuTAG efforts. A strong commercialization push from RuTAG IIT Madras will involve 2 novel yet potentially critical elements. These include the development of local fabrication, adaptation and innovation in the engineering domain, and the enabling of bank credit channels in the finance domain. One of the primary means of technology dissemination will continue to be through State & Central Agencies and NGOs involved in rural development. A model example of this is the development and dissemination of Electronic Jacquard Handloom for grass weaving in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and other states.