Adoption of Villages Under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has launched the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) on 11th November, 2014 to enable higher educational institutions to work with the people of rural India in identifying development challenges and evolving appropriate solutions for accelerating sustainable growth. The Ministry of Human Resource Development has advised all the higher educational institutions which are funded by the Central/State Governments and all Institutions which are under approval by the regulatory bodies to adopt clusters of backward Gram Panchayats/ villages in their vicinity and apply their knowledge and expertise to improve the infrastructure in the Gram Panchayats (GPs). The details regarding the UBA can be accessed at http://unnat.iitd.ac.in. Higher educational institutions have been advised to give special emphasis on issues pertaining to sanitation, drinking water supply, energy, agriculture and allied activities, irrigation, education, health, etc. and provide innovative solution in consultation with Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRI). So far, 128 villages have been identified for intervention by institutions of higher education. This information was given by the Union Human Resource Development Minister, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani today in a written reply to a Rajya Sabha question.
