History

SRI was mandated to innovate and transfer technology, as well as to create competent manpower at different levels, for managing new and emerging challenges and opportunities. This historic convergence was the culmination of collective developmental activities undertaken by the founders of SRI. They had ceaselessly strived towards this goal for previous five years in some of the most difficult locations for the weakest sections of the society.

The founders of SRI developed a philosophy of working, terming it “Philosophy of 3 Cs”- Competence, Confidence and Comprehension and declared Vision and Mission statements. Even, after 25 years, they remain unaltered.
The tasks before SRI were to:

• Bring in new technologies for rural use.
• Train rural youth to manage the technology.
• Infuse the spirit and strength of entrepreneurship to meet the challenges of time.

The first requirement for undertaking the tasks was to create an institutional infrastructure. Personal intervention by the then Prime Minister, Sri Rajiv Gandhi, active support from government of Bihar and generosity of several European donors helped to establish India’s first Resource Centre of Rural Technology in the outskirts of Ranchi in 1987.

It was soon realized that in addition to Technical Feasibility and Economic Viability, the Technology Management Package (TMP) requires a third component i.e. Social Acceptability in the rural context. This required a closer interaction between the innovators and users. To facilitate this process and urged by the then Prime Minister, Sri P. V. Narsimha Rao, SRI built the first Rural Technology Park in India at Angara block, 30 Km from Ranchi city.