Did you know that almost 70% of India’s population dwells in villages? Yes, this is the truth. Therefore it becomes important for the government to focus on them extensively. Smart Village Scheme aims at boosting the sustainable and all-inclusive development of the villagers. The idea is to boost farm productivity, agriculture, rural ecology, and promote better standards of living. 

The Bigger Picture: Imbalance Caused

The current trend is you will find a majority of villagers shifting to cities for better livelihood. They come in search of jobs. Due to land acquisition problems and unavailability of opportunities in villages, a lot of youth come to cities to work as laborers. 

The problem is this is slowly depleting the village culture and also adding stress to the cities. Firstly it leads to desertification of villages, no improvement in agricultural procedures, and zero growth. On the other hand, more people in the cities will increase more pollution, crimes, overburdening of civic amenities, and infrastructure. 

Integrated Village Development  Project: How to create a balanced approach?

• The first and foremost task is to garner electricity in every household. Where people in the urban areas are implementing AI to power their day to day activities, some villages are still in darkness. This disparity should be mitigated. Officials should ensure the electrification of homes at affordable and negligible cost. The Surya Roshni initiative harnesses solar energy to mitigate the demand for electricity in rural areas. Since it is an eco-friendly and cost-effective solution it will work for everyone’s benefit. 
• For an additional source of income officials from NGOs can create opportunities for women that will help them in earning on their own. We all know that crafts thrive in the nooks and corners of each village.  So, taking the responsibility of letting women indulge in making pottery, jewelry, paper, and glass craft will be a great initiative. There is an immense potential for exporting these artifacts. 

• Even for the youth, it is going to be beneficial if new opportunities in work come into being. This will reduce the stress on the youngsters to migrate to a different environment. It is imperative that the local authorities along with government aid,  plan on effective strategies to educate the children. Primary, secondary schools along with skill training institutes and development centers should be set up. Also facilitating loans to farmers will be a great boon to most. 

Conclusion:

Officials at the Victas Foundation are using all its resources to create a better dwelling place for the villagers. A place that is capable of administering all the basic amenities like unadulterated food,  pure drinking water and safe shelter that has a proper power source.