On India’s 80th Independence Day, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India, launched the RSVC-AMRIT digital platform in New Delhi, alongside NABARD Chairman Dr. Shaji Krishnan V. The platform, developed by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in collaboration with the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (OPSA), serves as the digital backbone of the RuTAGe Smart Village Centre (RSVC) ecosystem. It aims to connect rural communities with appropriate technologies from research institutions, startups, and innovators, addressing a persistent structural challenge in India’s rural development landscape.
What Is the RSVC-AMRIT Platform?
AMRIT stands for Accelerated Medium for Rural Innovations and Technologies. It is a comprehensive digital ecosystem designed to support the complete lifecycle of the RuTAGe Smart Village Centre (RSVC) initiative. The platform handles everything from technology discovery and validation to deployment tracking, collaboration, monitoring, and knowledge management across rural geographies.
At its core, AMRIT functions as a unified digital interface that brings together a wide range of stakeholders. These include innovators, technology providers, startups, validators, accelerators, implementation partners, funding agencies, academic institutions, and rural communities. By connecting all these groups on a single platform, AMRIT seeks to move technology transfer from an ad hoc process to a structured, monitored, and scalable framework.
The platform was built by NABARD in collaboration with the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (OPSA) to the Government of India. NABARD, established on 12 July 1982 under the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act, 1981, is India’s apex development financial institution for the rural economy. It is headquartered in Mumbai and is wholly owned by the Government of India since 2018, after the Reserve Bank of India’s residual 0.4% stake was acquired by the Centre.
How AMRIT Fits into the RSVC Ecosystem
The RSVC-AMRIT platform is the digital layer that sits on top of the physical network of RuTAGe Smart Village Centres. These centres serve as permanent technology hubs at the Panchayat level, designed to cater to the technological needs of 15 to 20 villages over several years. Each RSVC operates on a “Hub and Spoke” model, with the hub at an IIT and spokes in rural areas. The centres conduct baseline studies, provide feedback, and deploy technologies through demonstrations in local languages.
NABARD currently supports eight RSVCs across the country. The AMRIT platform is expected to evolve into a national repository of rural innovations, technologies, best practices, and collaboration opportunities, supporting wider technology adoption as more centres are onboarded.
The RuTAGe Programme: Background and Evolution
The RSVC-AMRIT platform builds on the foundation laid by RuTAGe (Rural Technology Action Group), a mission conceptualized by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) in 2003-04. The original RuTAG programme was designed to provide a higher level of science and technology intervention for the development and dissemination of appropriate technologies for rural areas.
RuTAG is centred in seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs): Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, and Roorkee. Each IIT serves as a regional hub that identifies technology needs for rural areas, finds solutions through government agencies, S&T institutions, academic institutes, and the corporate sector, and then disseminates refined technology to rural communities.
The programme’s objectives are threefold. First, it identifies the technology needs of rural areas and the available solutions, along with the problems encountered in adopting existing technology at the grassroots level. Second, it finds technology solutions through government agencies, S&T institutions, S&T NGOs, academic institutes, corporate sectors, and other voluntary agencies. Third, it disseminates refined technology to rural areas.
RuTAG 2.0: From Innovation to Market-Ready Products
In April 2023, the Office of the PSA launched RuTAG 2.0, marking a significant evolution of the programme. While the original RuTAG focused on technology development and dissemination, RuTAG 2.0 shifted emphasis to commercialisation and broader dissemination of developed technologies as products, ensuring wider accessibility and socio-economic impact.
The RuTAG 2.0 initiative focuses on translating innovation into market-ready products, reflecting its commitment to driving transformative changes in rural areas and empowering communities for sustainable development. This transition from prototype to product is critical because many rural innovations fail to reach the communities that need them most, not because the technology is inadequate, but because there is no structured pathway from lab to last mile.
The technologies developed under RuTAG cover a wide range of sectors, including agriculture, textiles, energy, livelihood, post-harvest and food processing, water conservation, animal husbandry, aquaculture, dairy, environmental conservation, and healthcare. The programme’s extensive outreach to NGOs, Self-Help Groups (SHGs), and community organisations has facilitated the effective penetration of innovative solutions into rural communities.
Sectors Covered and Key Technology Tracks
The RSVC initiative facilitates the transfer of affordable and appropriate technologies from research institutions, innovators, and startups to rural communities through village-level technology hubs. These centres cover a wide range of domains that address the most pressing needs of rural India.
The 12 technology tracks offered at RSVCs include:
| Track | Focus Area |
|---|---|
| Agriculture and Waste Management | Pre-sowing to post-harvest technologies, in collaboration with Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) |
| RuTAG Technologies | Innovations from 7 IITs, developed under the Office of the PSA |
| Livelihood and Entrepreneurship | Local entrepreneurship promotion through schemes like NRLM and TRIF |
| Renewable Energy | Solar hybrid and wind technology solutions, with technical assistance from SELCO Foundation |
| National Innovations | Technologies from Manthan, Pune Cluster, and IIT Madras |
| Affordable Housing | Innovative housing technologies from Manthan and HR Corporation Pvt Ltd |
| WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) | Waste management, water, and sanitation solutions, including IIT Madras Aquamaps and weVois technologies |
| FinTech | Financial inclusion apps and AR/VR technologies developed by IISc and XR Group |
| Capacity Building | Research and capacity-building initiatives with Tier 2 and Tier 3 colleges |
| Government Scheme Apps | Dissemination of government schemes through citizen-centric apps |
| Assistive Technologies | Solutions for differently abled individuals through the Assistive Technology Foundation |
| Custom Solutions | Deployment of technologies based on local needs, including animal intrusion prevention and electronic medical record-keeping |
The centres ensure quality and feasibility through anchor leads from institutions such as SELCO, IIT Madras, and the Assistive Technology Foundation. These entities guide the RSVC team in the on-the-ground deployment of technologies from platforms like Manthan and RuTAG.
Market Linkages and Digital Integration
Beyond technology deployment, RSVCs also emphasise market linkages through collaborations with platforms like ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce), Amazon, and Market Mirchi, a RuTAG innovation by IIT Bombay. These partnerships ensure that rural producers have access to larger markets and can sell their goods effectively. Additionally, a Government Schemes Help Desk at each RSVC provides villagers with crucial information on available financial assistance and government welfare programmes.
The Strategic Significance: Bridging India’s Rural Technology Gap
India’s rural technology adoption gap has long been identified as a structural barrier to inclusive growth. While the country possesses a rich ecosystem of scientific institutions, innovators, startups, and technology providers, connecting appropriate technologies with specific rural needs remains a persistent challenge. The AMRIT platform attempts to institutionalise this pipeline, moving from ad hoc technology transfers to a monitored, ecosystem-wide framework.
According to NABARD Chairman Dr. Shaji Krishnan V, India has a rich ecosystem of scientific institutions, innovators, startups, and technology providers, but matching appropriate technologies with rural needs has remained a structural challenge. The platform seeks to bridge this gap by linking rural requirements with innovations, institutions, and implementation mechanisms on a single digital interface.
The significance of this initiative lies in its potential to address the last-mile delivery problem that has plagued rural development for decades. Research institutions generate innovations, startups create products, and government schemes allocate funds, but the connection between these three pillars and the actual villages that need them has historically been weak. AMRIT aims to create a seamless digital thread that ties all these elements together.
Connection to the Viksit Bharat Agenda
This initiative comes amid a broader government push to integrate digital infrastructure with grassroots development programmes under the Viksit Bharat agenda. The platform’s ambition to become a national repository of rural innovations aligns with the government’s vision of a developed India by 2047, where technology serves as an equaliser between urban and rural areas.
The RSVC model also supports India’s commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). By creating a structured mechanism for technology transfer to rural areas, the initiative contributes to building resilient infrastructure and fostering innovation in underserved regions.
The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser: A Key Institutional Player
The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India plays a central role in this initiative. Established in November 1999 by the Cabinet Secretariat, the PSA’s office provides pragmatic and objective advice to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet on matters related to science, technology, and innovation. The office focuses on the application of science and technology in critical infrastructure, economic, and social sectors.
The PSA’s functions include enabling future preparedness in emerging domains of science and technology, formulating and coordinating major inter-ministerial S&T missions, providing an enabling ecosystem for technology-led innovations and techno-entrepreneurship, and driving innovation towards solving socio-economic challenges for sustainable growth.
Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood: The Current PSA
Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood has served as the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India since April 2022. He is also the Chairperson of the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC) and a National Science Chair Professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore.
Prof. Sood holds a Doctorate in Physics from IISc Bangalore, with research interests in the physics of quantum materials and soft and active matter. He has published more than 495 papers in peer-reviewed journals and holds several patents. His work has been recognised with numerous awards, including the Padma Shri, the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, and the G. D. Birla Award for Scientific Research. He was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society, UK (FRS) in 2015, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) in 2025, and the Australian Academy of Sciences (FAA) in 2026.
Prof. Sood has previously served as President of the Indian National Science Academy (2017-19), President of the Indian Academy of Sciences (2010-12), and Secretary-General of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), Trieste, Italy (2013-2018). Under his leadership, the PSA’s office has driven national missions related to AI, quantum technologies, deep ocean exploration, and the One Health Mission.
Former Principal Scientific Advisers
The PSA’s office has had only four holders since its establishment in 1999:
| PSA | Tenure |
|---|---|
| Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam | November 1999 to November 2001 |
| Dr. R. Chidambaram | November 2001 to March 2018 |
| Prof. K. VijayRaghavan | April 2018 to April 2022 |
| Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood | April 2022 to present |
The Way Forward
The launch of RSVC-AMRIT marks the beginning of a structured attempt to digitise and scale rural technology transfer in India. However, several challenges remain. The ecosystem is currently thin, with only eight RSVCs operational across the country. For the platform to fulfil its ambition of becoming a national repository, it will need to onboard significantly more centres and attract meaningful participation from the private sector and academic institutions beyond the initial network.
NABARD and the PSA’s office will need to demonstrate that the platform can move beyond a well-intentioned pilot to a programme that delivers measurable impact. The key metric will be how many rural communities adopt validated technologies through the platform in the coming years. The government has also announced plans for 20 new RSVCs across India, along with a Techpreneurs (Foot Soldiers) programme that will empower women entrepreneurs to sell and promote technologies in their local communities, ensuring the sustainability of the model.
Scaling Through Partnerships
The success of AMRIT will depend on the strength of partnerships it can forge. The platform already connects stakeholders such as SELCO Foundation, IIT Madras, the Assistive Technology Foundation, Manthan, and ONDC. Expanding this network to include more private sector players, international development agencies, and civil society organisations will be critical.
The initiative also aligns with NABARD’s broader innovation agenda, which includes the RuralTech CoLab platform designed to co-create smart, scalable, and inclusive solutions for agriculture, rural development, and rural financial services. Together, these platforms represent a shift in NABARD’s approach from being purely a refinancing institution to becoming a catalyst for technology-driven rural transformation.
Key Takeaways
- The RSVC-AMRIT platform was launched on 15 August 2026 by Principal Scientific Adviser Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood and NABARD Chairman Dr. Shaji Krishnan V on India’s 80th Independence Day.
- AMRIT (Accelerated Medium for Rural Innovations and Technologies) is a digital ecosystem developed by NABARD in collaboration with the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (OPSA) to support rural innovation and technology transfer.
- The platform serves as the digital backbone of the RuTAGe Smart Village Centre (RSVC) ecosystem, covering technology discovery, validation, deployment tracking, collaboration, monitoring, and knowledge management.
- RuTAGe (Rural Technology Action Group) was conceptualized by the Office of the PSA in 2003-04 and is centred in seven IITs (Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, and Roorkee).
- NABARD, established on 12 July 1982 under the NABARD Act, 1981, is India’s apex development financial institution for the rural economy, headquartered in Mumbai and wholly owned by the Government of India since 2018.
- NABARD currently supports eight RSVCs across the country, with plans to expand to 20 new centres and evolve AMRIT into a national repository of rural innovations and best practices.
- The Office of the PSA, established in November 1999, has had only four holders: Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Dr. R. Chidambaram, Prof. K. VijayRaghavan, and Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood.
