NABARD Launches RSVC-AMRIT Platform for Rural Innovation

New Delhi, August 17, 2026: NABARD, in collaboration with the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India (OPSA), has developed the RSVC-AMRIT platform to strengthen rural innovation and technology transfer. The digital platform was launched on the 80th Independence Day by Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, in the presence of Dr. Shaji Krishnan V., Chairman, NABARD, and other stakeholders.

AMRIT, or Accelerated Medium for Rural Innovations and Technologies, is designed as the digital backbone of the RuTAGe Smart Village Centre (RSVC) ecosystem. The platform will support technology dissemination, collaboration, monitoring, impact assessment and feedback from rural communities, with the aim of improving access to validated technologies and solutions.

Speaking at the launch, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood said the platform would help bridge the gap between India’s innovation ecosystem and the needs of rural communities. He highlighted the need to ensure that scientific and technological solutions reach farmers, rural entrepreneurs and households at scale, noting that RSVCs can provide a structured mechanism for the last-mile dissemination of validated technologies and startup solutions through NABARD’s rural network.

Dr. Shaji Krishnan V., Chairman, NABARD, said the key challenge is not a lack of innovation but connecting rural needs with appropriate technologies, validation mechanisms, implementation agencies and finance. He described AMRIT as an enabler of faster and more transparent technology adoption, while highlighting the potential of Artificial Intelligence to help rural communities identify suitable, validated solutions.

The RSVC initiative facilitates the transfer of appropriate and affordable technologies from research institutions, innovators and startups to rural communities through village-level technology hubs. The technologies being promoted cover areas including agriculture, rural enterprises, renewable energy, education, assistive technologies, water and sanitation, and citizen services.

NABARD has earlier entered into a tripartite MoU with OPSA and NABFOUNDATION, a subsidiary of NABARD, and established a National Centre of Excellence on RSVCs. The RSVCs will be established with NABARD’s assistance as well as through collaborations with corporates under their CSR programmes, with NABFOUNDATION serving as an implementation partner for CSR-supported projects.