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here
are more than 600,000 villages in India and around 700
million people live in villages. Many villages are relatively
deprived in terms of basic amenities and services, especially
those related to education, health, sanitation and empowerment.
There is a need to improve the quality of life in villages
to achieve overall national development.
Indian Space Programme started in early 60’s has
become largely self-reliant with capability to design
and build satellites for providing space services
and to launch those using indigenously designed and
developed launch vehicles. Over the years, India has
achieved a notable progress in the design, development
and operation of space systems, as well as, using
them for vital services like telecommunications, television
& radio broadcasting, meteorology, disaster warning
as well as natural resources mapping, monitoring and
management.
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There
are more than 600,000 villages in India and around 700
million people live in villages. Many villages are relatively
deprived in terms of basic amenities and services, especially
those related to education, health, sanitation and empowerment.
There is a need to improve the quality of life in villages
to achieve overall national development.
Indian Space Programme started in early 60’s has become
largely self-reliant with capability to design and build
satellites for providing space services and to launch
those using indigenously designed and developed launch
vehicles. Over the years, India has achieved a notable
progress in the design, development and operation of
space systems, as well as, using them for vital services
like telecommunications, television & radio broadcasting,
meteorology, disaster warning as well as natural resources
mapping, monitoring and management.
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Department of Space/ISRO has evolved many useful applications
emanating from the Space Technology. While Indian National
Satellite (INSAT) system continues to provide regular
services in the areas of telecommunications, business
communication, broadcasting and meteorological services,
several initiatives have been taken to expand the application
of INSAT to new areas like Telemedicine. ISRO has also
been a champion in demonstrating the use of space technology
for societal good and has piloted several socially relevant
space application projects like the Satellite Instructional
Television Experiment (SITE), the Training and Development
Communication Channel (TDCC) and the Jhabua Development
Communications Project (JDCP).
With seven satellites, Indian Remote Sensing Satellite
(IRS)-1C, IRS-1D, IRS-P3, IRS-P4, Resourcesat, Technology
Experiment Satellite (TES) and CARTOSAT-I, in operation,
India has the largest constellation of remote sensing
satellites today providing data in a variety of spatial
resolutions and spectral bands. The data is used for
various applications in the fields of agriculture, forestry,
ground and surface water, drought assessment and monitoring,
flood mapping, land use and coastal studies etc. Space
technology, as the powerful enabler, provides alternate
route for holistic and rapid rural development. India
has been among the world leaders, in the areas of developing
end-to-end capability for both remote sensing and communication
satellites. The space-based remote sensing will get
further fillip with the launch of CARTOSAT-2 and Radar
Satellite - RISAT.
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ISRO has been interacting for the last three decades
with the Planning Commission, Departments of Central
Government and State Governments, District Authorities,
academia, industries, NGOs and others to effectively
utilize the space applications for national development.
As mentioned above, space technologies - satellite based
communication and remote sensing has demonstrated their
capabilities to provide services related to health care,
education, weather, land and water resources, agriculture
etc. To provide these space-based services to the rural
areas, Department of Space has initiated a programme
to set up Village Resource Centres (VRCs) in partnership
with concerned state, central agencies and NGOs.
Space based services, emanating from Satellite Communication
(SatCom) and Remote Sensing satellites hold considerable
value to transform village society. Remote Sensing enables
community centric spatial information up to cadastral
level in terms of geo-referenced land record, natural
resources, suitable sites for potable/drinking water
as well as recharge, incidence of wastelands for reclamation
through rural employment creation, watershed attributes,
environment, infrastructure related information, alternate
cropping pattern, water harvesting etc. Synthesizing
spatial information with other collateral and weather
information, Remote Sensing also facilitates locale
specific community advisory services. Disaster management
support, community based vulnerability and risk related
information, early warning and extreme weather information
dissemination mechanisms provide reliable disaster management
support at the village level. In order to disseminate
the services emanating from the space systems as well
as other Information Technology (IT) tools, to the rural
communities, a partnership between ISRO and Development
Alternatives was formed
The Development Alternatives (DA) Group comprises Development
Alternatives and its associate organizations in India:
Technology and Action for Rural Advancement (TARA),
TARAhaat Information and Marketing Services Ltd., TARA
Nirman Kendra and Decentralized Energy Systems India
Ltd. The DA Group, a pioneer sustainable development
enterprise was established in 1983 as a not for profit
research, development and action organization. With
two decades of experience and over 400 professionals,
the DA Group has had a profound impact on the creation
of sustainable livelihoods, specifically in the innovation
and application of appropriate technologies and their
distribution through micro enterprises in rural India.
It is recognized by the Ministry of Science and Technology
as a scientific research institution.
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Over the years, the DA Group has built up several initiatives
and networks at the field level in different parts of
the country. The partnerships established with over
500 NGOs and rural entrepreneurs across Madhya Pradesh,
Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar and Maharashtra
will be of particular interest to the VRC Programme.
TARAhaat was established as a social enterprise dedicated
to bridging the digital divide between rural communities
and the mainstream economy. It provides village communities
particularly the youth, access to information and livelihood
opportunities comparable to those available in urban
India. A broad portfolio of services is offered through
TARAkendras – the community knowledge cum business centre.
Initial focus has been on vocational training, community
development, information and e-governance through a
host of programmes customized for local communities
(e.g. TARAchetna, TARAMeljol). The next generation of
services focuses on the promotion of micro and small
enterprises through a unique Enterprise Development
Programme.
The entire network is underpinned by a sustainable business
model. Customers pay a fair price while multiple revenue
streams ensure financial viability of each TARAkendra.
The unique franchising model ensures that the bulk of
the profits reside with the local franchisee, accelerating
growth of the centre. A robust training and support
structure ensures the operational success of franchisees.
At the same time, the social enterprise model ensures
a balance between revenue and delivery of social services
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