Lok Sabha Question No. 5913 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-30
Subject: Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0 in Andhra Pradesh
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri G M Harish Balayogi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5913

ANSWERED ON 30.03.2026

## Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0 in Andhra Pradesh

## 5913 . Shri G M Harish Balayogi :

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a)  the  status  of  implementation  of  Unnat  Bharat  Abhiyan  (UBA)  2.0  in  Andhra  Pradesh, including  the  number  of  Higher  Educational  Institutions  participating,  villages  adopted  and students engaged, district-wise, especially in Konaseema district; (b) the details of sectoral interventions and technology-based solutions under UBA 2.0 in Andhra Pradesh,  including  sustainable  agriculture,  water  management,  sanitation,  rural  energy  and livelihoods, district-wise, especially in Konaseema district; (c) the coordination mechanism between the Participating Institutions, Regional Coordinating Institutes and the District Administration in Andhra Pradesh for implementation of UBA 2.0; (d) the amount of funds allocated, released and utilised for UBA 2.0 in Andhra Pradesh during the last three years, year-wise and district-wise; (e) whether any assessment has been undertaken by the Government to evaluate the impact of UBA 2.0 in Andhra Pradesh in terms of rural development outcomes and student engagement, district-wise, if so, the details thereof; and (f) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to strengthen and expand UBA 2.0 in Andhra Pradesh, particularly in Konaseema district?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR)

- (a) Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) is a flagship scheme of the Ministry of Education launched in September 2014. It connects Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), also called Participating Institutions (PIs), in the country with the villages and local communities to identify challenges

faced by the rural communities. UBA aims to bring students closer to the village communities and  other  government  organizations  with  the  ultimate  goal  of  sensitizing  students  about  the socio-economic conditions of villages. It has created a wide network of stakeholders, viz., HEIs, government organizations, youth, NGOs, etc., to work across villages. The scheme focuses on sensitizing students of HEIs to the problems faced by villages and encourages them to work with villages to develop feasible solutions to these problems.

Under UBA, a network of over 4,806 PIs has been enrolled, covering more than 22,000 villages across  35  States/UTs.  Indian  Institute  of  Technology  (IIT)  Delhi  serves  as  the  National Coordinating  Institute  (NCI)  for  the  programme.  For  effective  implementation,  50  Regional Coordinating Institutions (RCIs) have been designated across the country and 15 Subject Expert Groups (SEGs), coordinated by institutions of national importance, have been constituted to provide domain-specific technological solutions.

428 HEIs in Andhra Pradesh are enrolled as PIs under UBA and are working with 2030 villages with active involvement of students and faculty. Further, there are 12 PIs in Konaseema District engaged in UBA activities and are working with 60 villages. These institutions are mentored by the  Regional  Coordinating  Institutes,  namely  Andhra  University  Visakhapatnam  and  Sri Venkateshwara Veterinary University (SVVU), Tirupati. Thousands of students are involved in the UBA activities in these institutes. A one-time grant of Rs.50,000 has been sanctioned and released to each of the 428 PIs in the State of Andhra Pradesh for carrying out village study and related activities. The detailed list of PIs in Andhra Pradesh is available on the UBA portal at: https://unnatbharatabhiyan.gov.in/list-participating- institutes?csrf\_uba=594d8e100b4e321d7aeb4a452dde65dd&aishe\_code=&institute\_id=&state \_id=2&district\_id=&submitSearch=

(b) Under UBA 2.0, 24 sectoral interventions and technology-based solutions  have been sanctioned  in  various  districts  of  Andhra  Pradesh,  including  sustainable  agriculture,  water management, sanitation, rural energy and livelihoods.

(c) The effective implementation of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) 2.0 in Andhra Pradesh has  a  well-structured  coordination  mechanism  among  the  Participating  Institutions  (PIs), Regional  Coordinating  Institutes  (RCIs),  and  the  District  Administration.  The  RCI  &  PI coordination ensures proper planning, execution, monitoring, and evaluation of activities in the

UBA  network  villages.  The  District  Administrations  also  play  a  crucial  role  in  facilitating convergence with government schemes and providing administrative support.

(d) During the last three years, a total amount of Rs.91.63 lakh has been released in Andhra Pradesh under the UBA Scheme. This amount includes, Rs 16.63 lakh to RCIs, Rs. 66.50 lakh to PIs, and Rs. 8.50 lakh sanctioned for Technology Interventions.

(e) The Government has assessed the progress and effectiveness of UBA through periodic national-level  evaluations  by  independent  agencies.  The  scheme  was  first  evaluated  by  the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj in the year 2020-21. This has been again evaluated by the Indian Institute of Public Administration in 2025-26. These evaluations covered all States including Andhra Pradesh, and have concluded that UBA is a highly relevant and  effective  programme,  uniquely  combining  academic  objectives  with  grassroots  rural development.  It  has  also  concluded  that  the  scheme  has  created  a  strong  foundation  for participatory governance, social responsibility, and social innovation.

(f) Government has taken several measures to strengthen and expand UBA 2.0 across the country,  including  in  the  state  of  Andhra  Pradesh  and  Konaseena  district.  IIT  Delhi  is  the National Coordinating Institute (NCI) of UBA to ensure ground level implementation of the scheme along with 50 RCIs which ensure the region-specific management of the HEIs. The scheme  is  supported  by  RCIs  and  SEGs  in  coordination  with  State  Governments,  All  India Council  for  Technical  Education  (AICTE)  and  University  Grants  Commission  (UGC)  to strengthen monitoring and expand coverage to more rural clusters.

Ministry of Rural Development has been requested to collaborate with UBA scheme through District Collectors/ District Magistrates/ other concerned officers of the districts. To expand the program to more rural clusters, Government is promoting the scheme by regularly communicating with the State Governments, District Administrations and line Ministries for providing adequate support to institutes engaged under UBA.

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