ENGINEERING TOOLS FOR RURAL INDIA: A REVIEW

Abstract

Engineering education is mainly a technical education. The role of the engineer and engineering education in addressing the issues of electricity, water, shelter, site planning, infrastructure, food production and distribution, communication, poverty and human welfare has been rather limited in rural India. It is therefore doubtful whether human welfare could be optimized through engineering education and practice in India for current and future generations. The presence of solar energy at any location in a village or on a farm makes its use attractive for such an environment. This paper briefly explores the development and deployment of innovative solar power based systems. This paper describes the various innovation in solar field such as solar power well, solar power centralized food preservation facility, solar powered vehicles, solar powered waste management, solar power booster for mobile communication, solar powered rural homes/huts, etc. The main objective for this paper is to provide advanced solar equipment in such a manner that it must be cost efficient and easily available for rural people. The examples of technologies that are in need of solar power for rural areas include home appliances, farm implements, waste management and crop transport. Today, for an increasing number of power needs, solar cell electricity is the cheapest and best way to generate electricity. The end result of this effort is the identification of the final design and manufacturing process.