Gumoria is a village in Assam inhabited by marginal farmers and landless laborers. This has been transformed into one of the model villages following the formation of 50 self-help groups and about 500 women of the village are engaged with the groups, which not only improved the economy of the village, but also improved the level of education as with the extra income, the people of the village can now send their wards to schools.

With the help from the Government, the self-help groups of the village started rearing ducks and assistance was given to the women in the form of training, marketing, veterinary aid etc, while, apart from the assistance given by the Government, the banks also provided financial support to the groups. The groups have so far earned more than Rs one crore against the investment of Rs 26 lakh, which includes a bank loan of Rs 7.50 lakh.

Women of the village are maintaining about 15 to 20 thousand ducks on an average and the weekly income of each family varies from Rs 150 to Rs 300. The egg production in the village ranges from 25 to 30 thousand a week. The eggs are sold in local market and some traders from Guwahati also visit the village regularly to buy eggs. Apart from eggs, the women of the village also sell extra male ducks to earn additional money.

Before the launching of duck rearing project, the womenfolk of the village used to assist their husbands in the fields and some used traditional looms for making their own dresses. But the formation of the self-help groups completely changed the face of the village and the women are spending most of their income in education and health care of their children. The savings of the families of the villages also has increased considerably over the years.

The members of Periyar PURA in Vallam, Thanjavur district in Tamil Nadu have created a strategic partnership with Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) of Japan. During the last eight months people of Periyar PURA villages technologically supported by Periyar Maniammai College of Engineering for Women have worked with experts from JETRO on various products for which core competence and raw material is available in Thanjavur district. They developed proto types for 123 products such as bed sheets, table runner, cushion cover, brass drum, curtains, bread basket etc. Interaction with JETRO specialists included comparison of Japanese product, discussion on raw material selection, technical advice on product development and final quality inspection. Based on this intensive interaction, Vallam people produced 123 products and JETRO selected 40 out of them for international market.

These 40 finalized products were displayed in an exhibition at New Delhi during February 2007 and they are being taken for display in Interior Lifestyle 2007 Exhibition at Tokyo to be held between 6th and 8th June 2007. The feedback from each exhibition has been used for improving the product so that the customer acceptability of the product gets enhanced. The local technical consultancy support for improving the product has been provided by Periyar Maniammai College of Engineering for Women. This co-operative venture has enhanced the innovative ability of the village people and transformed them to develop and produce internationally acceptable product. Once the product is finally accepted in the interior lifestyle exhibition, it will be converted as a commercial business proposition which will enhance the economic activity in all the 65 villages in the Periyar PURA rural cluster. Now, let me talk about another example which has transformed the livelihood of the people in Assam.

NIF has identified a number of innovative practices which have lead to over 100 patents including few international patents. The important aspect of this work is the innovation practices and products have been generated at the grassroot level without any external assistance. The World Bank may like to study the innovative practices as reported by NIF and select a few that has potential to make a change in the life of the rural people. This approach will facilitate finding of solutions for rural problems in a natural way by keeping the local conditions in mind. Hence, the topic "Society - Technology - Innovation - Prosperity".

We now discuss certain rural programmes that have been carried out by district administration, NGOs, self-help groups, institutions and individuals which are benefiting rural areas in a few States.

Sialguchi village where the entire community is proudly engaged in the production of famous Assam silk sarees. The whole village population of about 2500 families are busy in nurturing silk worm, converting as silk thread, weaving the fabric and creating multiple designs through hand loom. What is needed for increasing the earning capacity of Sialguchi people is the infusion of incremental technology in a big way. I would like to present how it can be done based on our experience in Kancheepuram silk industry in Tamil Nadu. The silk industry in Kancheepuram is one of the fastest growing industries in India. The industry currently employs more than 30,000 weavers in the art of saree making. The industry had to compete with the synthetic fiber industry in many aspects. The industry was on the brink of extinction due to the obsolescence of the designs and design making procedures. This is because, design adds splendor to a saree and forms an integral part of its exquisiteness. Introduction of computerized Jacquard borders in Kancheepuram silk saree has helped in the revival of the industry. The use of ICT has not only helped in creating new and complex designs but also reduced the time involved in the design. There has been an increase in the exports. The acceptance of these silk sarees by the consumers has also increased with the automation of designing process.