The government is planning to revive the defunct Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) with additional funds and capacity and link it to e-governance for transparency, said Union Minister for Rural Development Nitin Gadkari on Thursday.
Speaking at the launch of the web portal of the Bank of Ideas and Innovations by former President A.P.J Abdul Kalam, Mr. Gadkari said funds through CAPART would help handlooms, handicrafts and weavers. CAPART was mired in corruption after funds were spent without accountability and there were cases filed against NGOs.
Apart from the web-portal, an Innovation Quest will also be undertaken, in partnership with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in select themes where innovations are identified and awarded. Dr. S. Parasuraman, director of TISS, said the Ideas Bank would identify assets and make it work for people. Dr. Vipin Kumar of the National Innovation Foundation said the organisation was maintaining a register of national innovations since 14 years and there are over 200,000 grassroots innovations.
Mr. Kalam said innovations will have value only if you find commercial and industrial application and the Ideas Bank needs to partner with industries and industrial associations. Innovators present at the meeting spoke of low-cost hearing aids, cycle mounted ploughs and crop innovations.
The website www.ruralinnovations.gov.in will be a one stop shop for all rural innovators who can submit their ideas.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Meena Menon
Quelle/Source: The Hindu, 15.08.2014
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