The Hindu Business Line : Bridging the rural-urban divide

The Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology aims to encourage and promote voluntary action for the implementation of projects meant to increase rural prosperity, with an emphasis on using technology to make a difference. M r L. V. Saptharishi, who assumed charge recently as Director-General, Capart, shared with G. Srinivasan his vision for the organisation and how this can be translated into action to help rejuvenate Rural India.

Mr L. V. Saptharishi, Director-General, Capart

IN THE post-WTO economic milieu, the advancement of rural people, who appear to have been bypassed by the reform juggernaut, hardly assumes any importance, even in open democracies such as India, though the coalition government constantly pledges to ameliorate their lot. But a reality check reveals that the broad support the rural people receive in the scheme of things is not reflected in any distinct improvement in their quality of life.

However, one of the desirable fallouts of the World Trade Organisation regime is that it has spawned renewed interest in the non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which have espoused the cause of rural people and their livelihood concerns through concerted effort, sustained campaigns and plans of action.

The Ministry of Rural Development, operating with massive resources for development works in the rural areas, recognised the need for an organisation that would coordinate and catalyse the development work of countless voluntary agencies to ensure smooth flow of benefits to the under-privileged and the socio-economically weak sections. Thus, even two decades ago, it set up the Council for Advancement of People's Action and Rural Technology (Capart).

Capart was born in September 1986 out of the merger of two autonomous bodies — the People's Action for Development of India (PADI) and the Council for Advancement of Rural Technology (CART). Its explicit remit is to encourage and promote voluntary action for the implementation of projects aimed at increasing rural prosperity and promoting voluntary efforts in rural development, with an emphasis on injecting new technological inputs to make a difference to the lives of millions of the rural people.

In its chequered career, Capart has implemented a slew of rural development programmes initiated by the Centre. These include the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana, the Integrated Rural Development Programme, the Million Well Scheme, the Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programmes, the Central Rural Sanitation Programmes, the Indira Awas Yojana, and the Advancement of Rural Technology Scheme, besides watershed development and assistance to NGOs/voluntary associations.

While taking active part in all these government-sponsored rural works programme did help the organisation to hone its skills in reaching out to the needy, the liberalisation of the economy and the spread of market forces made Capart zero in on new challenges and convert them into opportunities.

To address some of the contemporary issues impacting the rural people and find solutions, the organisation, as the representative of the Government, in partnership with NGOs resolved to re-engineer and reposition itself to be of service to millions.

It is in this evolving scenario that Mr L. V. Saptharishi, a West Bengal IAS Cadre Officer, assumed charge as Director-General of Capart.

Mr Saptharishi was associated with the Ministries of Textiles and Commerce and the Designated Authority for Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD), besides having been the Director-General of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT). Having served as Special Observer of the Election Commission in Bihar during the 2004 general elections, he has distinguished himself by taking a holistic view of his various assignments.

He emerged as the champion of the domestic industry during his tenure at the DGAD by taking a stand against trade-distorting dumping by other countries. He was also instrumental in bringing to fruition the Rs 500-crore Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) for the plantation sector which helped the beleaguered sector face the worst price declines it had seen.

Less than a few months old at the helm in Capart, Mr Saptharishi shared his vision for the organisation and how this can be translated into action to help rejuvenate rural India so that the widening urban-rural divide is bridged and potential sources of tension are removed for ensuring a balanced development of the country.

Mr Saptharishi held dozens of meetings in different parts of the country where he interacted with hundreds of NGOs.

Based on the inputs so obtained, a National Brainstorming session was held in December 2004 here under the Chairmanship of the Rural Development Minister, Dr Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, who is also the President of Capart.

On February 24, Capart will launch a monthly magazine Business Rural India to highlight corporate social responsibility (CSR) in this significant domain.

The motto of the journal, Mr Saptharishi told Business Line, is " not to romanticise poverty but how to bring out opportunity, technology and market access for rural products in the era of globalisation and integration".

Excerpts from the interview:

On the National Brainstorming Session with the NGOs:

It was decided to form the Rural NGO Forum at the State level and an apex body at the national level christened `Confederation of NGOs of Rural India'.

In the global context in which the NGOs function in the Western world calls for an analogous role to be assigned to the Rural NGO sector in India through the State Federations and the National Federation for articulating their views to government on a range of issues that have a bearing on the rural masses.

These encompass eradication of rural poverty, enhancement of rural livelihood, better market access, increasing opportunities for rural prosperity, better rural infrastructure amenities, protection of intellectual property rights of agriculturists, rural artisans and those possessing traditional knowledge of medicines, varieties of agricultural practices using seeds, plants, herbs and innovative technologies hitherto unexposed to the outside world.

Augmenting the resources of Capart by the Government, including the establishment of a corpus with contributions from the corporate sector, bilateral and international agencies, and other sources.

This is all the more important now as the global village concept has begun to seriously impact upon the real villages of India, upsetting traditions and exposing a generation to both unheard of dangers and limitless possibilities for modernisation and advancement, tempered by local concerns.

On how this would be brought about:

Promoting connectivity in all its dimensions — physical, communication and digital; and donning the advocacy role and championing the cause of the rural poor in national and global fora with due recognition from the Government.

It is also proposed to assist the NGO sector in capacity-building through variegated human resource development programmes.

On the anvil is a plan to provide market access at the national and international levels for rural entrepreneurs promoted by NGOs through a package covering such facets as quality, standards, consumer acceptability, price-competitiveness, design intervention and innovative strategies to face the challenges of globalisation emanating from the end of import and export restrictions and free flow of goods and services across State and national boundaries.

There would be closer interaction, involvement and coordination with financial institutions such as Nabard, Small Industries Development Bank of India, IDBI and commercial banks for financing NGO-assisted entrepreneurs including self-help groups.

Efforts would be made alongside to identify the plethora of services as a major source of revenue to the government and employment opportunities for rural youth.

It is also proposed to broaden the scope and categories of programmes to be implemented by NGOs, including projects relating to development of water resources, appropriate technology for rural development, rural women empowerment, innovative rural housing, income generation and rural market development, integrated rural infrastructure, and information technology-enabled services for rural India.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Profit goals vs. public purpose

Airlines are rarely profitable

The impossible quadrangle

Bridging the rural-urban divide

`Heart of the market will be in C cars' — Mr David E. Friedman, Managing Director and President, Ford India

`Tsunami destroyed 70% of Nicobar's infrastructure' — Mr Mohamed H. Jadwet, President, Andamans Chamber of Commerce and Industry

`When liberty becomes licence, dictatorship is near'

Rural credit