IndiaAI Pre-Summit Event 2026
On the #RoadToImpact, the 'AI for Socio-Economic Development and Inclusive Livelihoods' pre-summit explored how artificial intelligence could transform agricultural productivity, fishery management, and rural livelihoods. Convened by Viksit Labs Foundation, the gathering united farmers, fishers, entrepreneurs, researchers, civil society organisations, academics, and government representatives to translate grassroots needs into safe, trusted, and actionable AI solutions.
Our collaborators include:
IEEE Local Group
Cachar College, Silchar, Assam
Our Supporters:
IIT Ropar, Awadh
NEADS Assam
Event Report: Link
The Case for Grid Connected Solar Irrigation Pumps
Paper link without Paywall: Click here
India’s solar irrigation programme is going seriously astray. Off-grid solar pumps waste two-thirds of the energy they generate. Maharashtra’s solar agricultural feeders avoid energy waste but continue driving groundwater depletion through free power for irrigation. Gujarat’s innovative pilot, Suryashakti Kisan Yojana, has net-metered 4,300 solarised tube wells and now purchases farmers’ surplus solar power under a 25-year guarantee. We present unassailable statistical evidence revealing SKY’s significant behavioural impacts. Scaling out a revamped SKY can not only phase out power subsidies but launch a frontal attack on India’s pernicious energy–water–food nexus.
The work is published at Economic and Political Weekly
Geo-Innovation Challenge 2025
The Geo Innovation Challenge aims to recognize, encourage, and nurture innovation among the youth of our nation. It serves as a platform for ideas that could evolve into full proposals, potentially receiving support from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, in the future.
Dates: 6th - 8th February 2025
Event Link: https://www.geoinnovation.viksitlabs.in
Location: NIT Silchar
Collaborators:
Supported By:
Supporting Rural Entrepreneurs in Meghalaya
Under this program, Viksit Labs is providing technical inputs to standardize the food products of rural entrepreneurs identified by the Govt. of Meghalaya. As a start, this includes input standardization as well as recipe development of food products with the ultimate goal of creating high-value, low-volume products that can augment the livelihood of rural entrepreneurs living in remote rural parts of Meghalaya.
Our collaborators include:
Prime Meghalaya, an initiative by the Govt. of Meghalaya
Prime Sauramandala Rural Entrepreneurship Fellowship (PSREF)
Supporting Skill Development initiatives
Using privacy-preserved object-detection technology to ensure better learning outcomes
Identifying bottlenecks and challenges faced in counseling, mobilization, and training by the college authorities and stakeholders
Under this initiative, Viksit Labs has worked to improve the service delivery of skill training in Dhamtari's Livelihood College. A part of the work done in the Livelihood College and some interesting findings have been accepted for presentation as a Poster and lightning talk in ACM's Computing for Sustainable Societies (COMPASS) conference, 2024, July 8-11. A full paper is accepted in IndiaHCI conference and published in Springer CCIS. Full paper link.
*This work is done in collaboration with fellows from the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship, MSDE, and with support from Dhamtari's District Skill Development Authority (DSDA, Dhamtari)
Krishinet
The project enables a low-cost community-run IoT network that can be used for various applications in areas including agriculture, disaster management, supply chain and many more.
LoRa network implementation at Turiya, a village next to Pench National Park in Madhya Pradesh, India. The network is used for collecting agricultural parameters which are then used to provide insights to local farmers.
Sensor device 1
Sensor device 2
Sensor device 3
Gateway device (Receiver)
Sensor device 2
Sensor device 2
Sensor device 3
Farmer collects information using application
FPO-Saathi
FPO-saathi was initially developed to support executives, members, and board members of FPOs in tackling compliance challenges by nudging them to take appropriate action to remain compliant and avoid paying hefty fines using an easy-to-use mobile application. This has now been improved upon and currently, the project provides end-to-end support to FPOs in every aspect of the value chain.