AI And Geospatial Tech To Boost Rural Employment Act

This will boost transparency and operational efficiency of MGNREGA projects and improve resource allocation.

The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) to boost efficiency in managing MGNREGA assets using geospatial and artificial intelligence technologies. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) is a step under the project BhuPRAHARI .

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) generates and manages assets for rural employment. The BhuPRAHARI project aims to leverage ground and space-based geospatial technologies along with artificial intelligence to monitor and manage the assets under MGNREGA. 

This will boost transparency and operational efficiency of MGNREGA projects. The aim is to modernise the way in which rural development projects are planned, executed and monitored. It will improve resource allocation and accountability as well.

This project will be executed by HydroSense lab headed by Prof. Manabendra Saharia. The lab is a part of IITD and focuses on Monitoring and mitigating natural hazards. They have been using artificial intelligence and Machine Learning, Remote Sensing, Data Assimilation and High-Performance Computing etc for monitoring the same and are working on improving their efficiency.

The MoU formalised the partnership between MoRD and IITD in applications of geospatial and artificial intelligence technologies. This puts the BhuPRAHARI project into immediate effect. It is a classic example of applying technological innovation to social good.