The MHRD, Government of India (GOI) has launched the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan(UBA) for upliftment of the rural population through its Village Adoption Scheme. The programme aims to connect the professional organizations and higher education institutions with the villages through their programmesfor creation of ‘sustainable village clusters’ as envisioned in the idea of Mahatma Gandhi’s Gram Swaraj. In tune with the mission of selecting suitable rural clusters for holistic development through technology and resource inputs, IGNOU has effectively taken up the taskand opportunity for rural upliftment by adopting villages across the country through its network of Regional Centres. The Regional Centres undertake activities on the following themes: Organic farming, Waste management, Renewable energy, Artisans, industries and livelihood and basic amenties, which create awareness and provide access to avenues of higher learning and skill enhancement through IGNOU. The Regional Services Division of the University coordinates with the National Coordinating Institute, IIT Delhi, and oversees the activities done at the Regional Centres under the programme.

 

Our RCs are working with state Governments, district authorities and non governmental bodies for arriving at suitable solutions for improving the social and economic well being of the villages. The activities undertaken by the RCs include, awareness campaign about health related issues, organizing free health checkup camps, cleanliness drives, meeting with elderly people to persuade young generation towards education, digital literacy campaigns, conducting meeting with women to orient them for maintaining health and hygiene in day to day affairs, creating channels to the mainstream of education for the weaver community and other such communities,  livelihood support, economic growth, agriculture and entrepreneurship with the help of district collectors, block development officers, Gram Sabha and Gram Panchayat and other civil administration and NGOs etc.

IGNOU has received seed money of amount Rs 50,000/- for activities to be conducted under the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP).