Chancellor’s University – Village Connect -2

‘Rural Upliftment through Welfare Schemes at UBA Adopted and nearby Villages’20^th June 2023

UBA is a flagship program initiated by the Government of India, which focuses on the comprehensive development of rural areas by fostering sustainable solutions and promoting community participation.

Dr. V. Thirumurugan, Associate Director(CL) & Nodal Officer Unnat Bharat Abhiyan initiated the discussion forum with a welcome note summarizing various welfare activities done by the UBA-SRMIST team for the villages in different sectors, such as schools’ infrastructure, free education, women entrepreneurship, solid waste management, water conservation, skill training, tree plantation, personal hygiene, medical and healthcare for the betterment of the society. emphasized that reaching out to villages through academia is essential to the nation’s development.

Dr. M. Jawaharlal, Dean of Agricultural Sciences, insisted the village farmers shift to scientific farming instead of conventional methods, roof-gardening to cultivate vegetables, thereby increasing the profit from an acre of land and minimizing the pollution and soil degradation due to chemicals. SRM College of Agricultural Sciences always welcomes farmers to consult free of cost and suggests selective agricultural practices for their villages. The continued support and sustained efforts will ensure the villages become model communities, inspiring similar initiatives nationwide. The community's active participation in implementing and sustaining such initiatives has been discussed.

Hon. Chancellor Dr. T. R. Paarivendhar emphasized the importance of rural community-based development through higher education institutions, a fundamental activity of the SRMIST. Dr. T. R. Paarivendhar firmly believes that providing quality education could leverage the country’s overall development. He assured that SRMIST would render techno-economic assistance to the village community. He insisted that SRMIST keeps thriving for rural employment and skill development of youngsters in electrical, carpentry, plumbing, soft computer skills, etc. SRMIST is always keen on promoting numerous fruitful activities toward the sustainable development of villages and, subsequently, the nation's development. Hon. Chancellor informed Vice chancellors and Registrar, SRMIST to collect the requirements and grievances from School headmasters, village administrators, NGO officials, parents and students towards successful implementation to the rural developmental activities.

School headmasters, village administrators, NGO officials, parents and students have given feedback on the activities of UBA-SRMIST towards the village upliftment. The participants expressed that the UBA-SRMIST-adopted villages have significantly improved rural life by implementing welfare schemes. They further stated that UBA-SRMIST initiatives had enhanced infrastructure, agriculture, education, healthcare, and women empowerment, leading to upliftment. The welfare schemes implemented in these villages have significantly contributed to uplifting and improving rural communities. They have given their requirements and for further improvement and sustained development.