The inception of Model Gaon draws its inspiration from the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, particularly the Gandhian vision of “gram swaraj” and Kalam’s concept of PURA (providing urban amenities to rural areas). Model Gaon is a meticulously crafted amalgamation of technology, human capital, skills, and entrepreneurial spirit, all converging towards the pursuit of sustainable rural development. This endeavour is anchored in the principles of financial viability, social equity, and environmental responsibility.

At its core, Model Gaon embraces the transformative ambition of elevating a conventional village into an exemplar of development, thereby serving as a stepping stone towards the cherished aspiration of becoming a fully developed nation.

The Model Gaon Project adopts a grassroots approach, focusing on strengthening the foundation of rural communities, which constitute the bedrock of the Indian economy. Model Gaon endeavours to reinforce and sustain this foundational strength.

With a vision for holistic rural development, IAS officer Dr Heera Lal is the pioneer of this ambitious programme.

Model Gaon is a remarkable exemplar of holistic rural development, making a substantial and enduring impact on the lives of more than 25,000 residents dispersed across six distinctive villages within the state of Uttar Pradesh. It is imperative to note that this initiative caters to a diverse and multifaceted population.

Supporting the vision of strengthening rural India, Munish Gangwar (Retd. CGM NABARD), translated Dr. Heera Lal’s development initiatives into a sustainable village development model called Model Gaon and leads the initiative as its President.

Saurabh Lall, Chief Executive Officer of Model Gaon , outlines their rural digitalfirst strategy with www.modelGaon.org serving as a hub for a three-pronged approach to holistic rural progress:

VILLAGE MANIFESTO

The Village Manifesto is a means to set the development agenda for villages. The manifesto is a detailed document with 25 development indicators which are used to create awareness amongst villagers on various aspects of rural development. With more than 1 lakh downloads, village manifesto today is becoming the tool to empower villagers.

CHANGEMAKERS

Building a cohort of a minimum of 15 potential changemakers in each gram panchayat, these are volunteers who are motivated to make their village a model village. These are the people who lead the development activities on the ground in their respective villages. We engage with more than 450 changemakers in the making across 28-gram panchayats in Uttar Pradesh who have formal agreements with Model Gaon to transform their villages into model villages.

BUILDING LOCAL ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEMS TO DEVELOP VILLAGELEVEL ECONOMY

The purpose of building a village-level economy is to foster local development by leveraging the unique strengths and resources of rural areas. By focusing on local resources, skills, and traditional practices, village-level economies can stimulate local production, create job opportunities, and retain wealth within the community. Model Gaon promotes entrepreneurship through skill training like digital skill training for women and promotes collectives like FPOs to develop micro production units.

Model Gaon operates in a phased manner which constitutes its standard operating procedure. It involves Identification And Selection Of Gram Panchayat, Preparation And Formal Association With Gram Panchayat, Establishment Of Communication Channels, Profiling The Gram Panchayat, Setting Priority Agendas, Implementation Of Activities, RecordKeeping, Documentation, Evaluation, And Impact Analysis.

KEY PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

Some illustrated achievements to date include:

• 28-gram panchayats have formally partnered with Model Gaon for village development.
• Model Gaon’s engaged panchayat Sahora in Shahjahanpur built a biogas plant through people mobilization, achieving energy selfsufficiency.
• More than 90% of villagers in Model Gaon’s gram panchayats are now aware of 25 development indicators on which local development should happen in their villages for their villages to become model villages.
• The primary school dropout rate in Sahora was reduced by 40%.
• Malnutrition eradicated in Sahora. 10 Waste Banks were established in Kanthari panchayat, Firozabad for efficient waste management.
• QR-enabled digital nameplates enabling Model Gaon to build a digital governance framework.

India lives in its villages and ensuring their holistic progress necessitates empowering villagers with knowledge knowledge is power. Enlightened villagers will actively participate in and drive the development they desire to see. Model Gaon aims not merely for rural development but for initiating a grassroots revolution.

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