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Centre for Rural Technology

Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati

Curriculum of M. Tech. (Rural Technology)

Credit Distribution

Semesters Credits

I 30

II 30

III 24

IV 24

TOTAL 108

Number of Courses and Structure

1. Core Course - 4

2. Courses on Field Work and Laboratory Practices- 2

3. Elective Courses - 4

4. Project Work - 2 semesters

SEMESTER-I

Course No. Course Name L T P C

RT 501

Livelihood Management and Agro-

Technology

3 0 0 6

RT 502 Rural Energy 3 0 0 6

RT 503 Rural Development and

Entrepreneurship 3 0 0 6

RT 504 Water Supply and Sanitation 3 0 0 6

RT 510 Research Methodology 1 0 4 6

13 0 4 30

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SEMESTER-II

Course No. Course Name L T P C

RT 5xx Elective – I 3 0 0 6

xx xxx Elective – II 3 0 0 6

xx xxx Elective - III 3 0 0 6

xx xxx Elective - IV 3 0 0 6

RT 520

Field Work and Effective

Communication

0 1 4 6

12 1 4 30

SEMESTER-III

Course No. Course Name L T P C

RT 691 Project Phase - I 0 0 24 24

0 0 24 24

SEMESTER-IV

Course No. Course Name L T P C

RT 692 Project Phase - II 0 0 24 24

0 0 24 24

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List of Courses

7 courses are floated by the centre. Of these, 6 core courses (4 theory and

2 courses on Field Work and Laboratory Practices) and 1 Elective Course.

Other than these, a student would be allowed to opt for any relevant Open

Elective course offered from a select list of courses from other Departments

and Centres.

Core Courses

1. Livelihood Management and Agro- Technology- RT 501

2. Rural Energy- RT 502

3. Rural Development and Rural Entrepreneurship- RT 503

4. Water Supply and Sanitation - RT 504

Courses on Field Work and Laboratory Practices

1. Research Methodology and Field Work – RT 510

2. Field Work and Effective Communication- RT 520

Elective Course offered by CRT

1. Earthquake Resistant Rural Housing – RT 511

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Course Contents: Theory Core Courses

RT 501 Livelihood Management and Agro-Technology (3-0-0-6)

Livelihood: utilization of natural resources, various agricultural farming

systems (dry land, hilly, wetland farming etc.), rural livelihood approaches,

National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM); Natural resources management:

Basic principles, Community Based Natural Resources Management

(CBNRM), watershed management, Integrated Natural Resources

Management (INRM), ecological, social and economic dimension of resource

management; Common property right (CPR), sustainability concepts.

Biodiversity: Genetic diversity, extinction of natural resources, resource

conservation, biodiversity of NE India, medicinal plants of NE India,

biodiversity conservation.

Agro-technology: Technology requirements and operations; Plant

micropropagation: large scale in vitro clonal-propagation, organogenesis,

somatic embryogenesis, synthetic seed production; technological

implementation for crop improvements: production of virus-free plants by

meristem and shoot-tip culture, embryo rescue, doubled haploid production

for pure breed lines, triplod production for seedless variety, somaclonal and

gametoclonal variation; Industrial utilization of cell and tissue cultures for

high value compound production.

Texts

1. M. R. Davey and P. Anthony, Plant Cell Culture- essential methods, Willey-Blackwell, 2010.

2. E. Odum, M. Barrick, and G. W. Barrett, Fundamentals of Ecology, Cengage Learning, 2005.

3. E. Magurran Anne, Measuring Biological Diversity. Wiley-Blackwell, 2003.

References

1. S. S. Bhojwani and M. K. Razdan, Plant Tissue Culture: Theory and

Practice, a Revised Edition, Elsevier Science, 1996 2. J.H. Dodds and L.W. Roberts, Experiments in Plant tissue Culture, 3rd

edition, Cambridge University Press, 1995.

3. R. Baumgartner and R. Hogger, In Search of Sustainable Livelihood Systems-Managing Resources and Change. Federal Institute of

Technology, Zurich, 2004 4. P. C. Joshi, and N. Joshi, Biodiversity and conservation. A.P.H. Pub., 2004 5. National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM),

http://nrlm.gov.in/outerReportAction.do?methodName=showIndex (accessed on 07.02.2016)

6. G. Srinivasan and N. Srinivasan, State of India’s livelihoods report 2015. Sage Publicatons Pvt Ltd , 2016.

RT 502 Rural Energy (3-0-0-6)

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An overview of different energy sources: biogas, wind, solar and

hydel; Biomass based energy systems, Pyrolysis : Concept, Types,

Technology and Waste Management, Biogas production using various

substrates including MSW and industrial wastes, Types of digesters

and feed materials, Bio diesel: potential and scope in India, Bio-diesel

production technology: Uses and Advantages, Cook Stoves, Multi-fuel

and biomass cook stoves, improved chulhas, Micro Hydel : Site

characterization, Hydro potential estimation, Animal power:

Application and power generation,

Solar Energy Technologies: Solar Pond and Solar Photovoltaic.

Texts

1. G. N. Tiwari, Solar Energy: Fundamentals, Design, Modeling and

Applications, Narosa, 2002.

2. U. C. Sharma, Non-Conventional Sources of Energy, Studium Press

LLC, USA, 2014.

3. R. Y. Goswami, Frank Kreith, Energy conversion, CRC Press, 2007.

References

1. H. P. Garg and S. Prakash, Solar Energy: Fundamental and

Application, Tata McGraw Hill, 1997.

2. M. Green, Third Generation Photovoltaics: Advance Solar Energy,

Springer, 2005.

3. J. K. Nayak and S. P. Sukhatme, S. P. (2006), Solar Energy:

Principles of Thermal Collection and Storage, Tata McGraw Hill,

2006.

4. P. Atkins, (2010), Laws of Thermodynamics, Oxford University

Press, USA, 2010.

5. C. S. Solanki, Solar Photovoltaics: Fundamentals, Technologies and

Applications, Prentice Hall India, 2nd Edition, 2011.

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RT 503 Rural Development and Entrepreneurship (3-0-0-6)

Rural Development: Meaning and importance; Farm and non-farm activities

for rural development; Technology and development, Information and

Communication Technology (ICT) for rural development; Integrated Rural

Development and government programmes; Rural Development in India;

Decentralisation and participatory rural development; Cooperative and

Rural Development-the case of AMUL; Sustainable rural development

Rural Entrepreneurship-different forms; Significance of rural entrepreneurship;

Business planning for a new venture: the concept of planning paradigm; Forms

of business enterprises, Sole proprietorship, partnership and corporations;

Marketing analysis and competitive analysis, strategies; Financial resources; debt

financing, banks and financial institutions and other non-bank financial sources;

Government programmes : direct loan assistance and subsidies; Industrial and

legal issues for rural enterprises

Texts

1. A. Shepherd, Sustainable Rural Development, London:

Macmillan Press, 1998. 2. D. H. Holt, Entrepreneurship, New Venture Creation, Prentice –

Hall of India, 1999.

3. S. B. Gupta, Monetary Economics, Institutions, Theory and

Policy, S. Chand & Company Ltd, 2002.

References

1. M.P. Todaro, and S.C. Smith, Economic Development, Pearson Education, 2003

2. D. F. Kuratko and R. M. Hodgetts, Entrepreneurship, A

Contemporary Approach, The Dryden

Press, Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1998.

3. R. Vishwanathan, Industrial Finance, S. Chand & Company Ltd,

1988.

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RT 504 Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (3-0-0-6)

Review of current status; National and State level programmes of

RWS; Basic principles of rural water supply and sanitation;

Traditional/low cost methods and practices: water sources, surface

and ground water treatment, sewage collection and treatment -

identification of shortcomings for potential improvement; Latest

developments in rural water supply and sanitation practices; Safe

disposal and reuse systems in rural settings: low cost Biological/

Chemical treatment; Relevant governmental

schemes/initiatives/policies: NBA, SBA etc.

Texts

1. V. M. Eulers and E. W. Steel, Municipal and Rural Sanitation, 6th

Ed., McGraw Hill Book Company, 2009.

2. H. S. Peavy, D. R. Rowe and G. Tchobanoglous, Environmental

Engineering, McGraw-Hill International Ed., 2013.

3. S. Gupta, Rural Water Supply and Sanitation, Vayu Education of

India, New Delhi, 2013.

References

1. F. B. Wright, Rural Water Supply and Sanitation, E. Robert Krieger

Publishing Company, Huntington, New York, 1977

2. K. Verma, Decentralised Governance in Water and Sanitation in

Rural India, Academic Foundation, NEW DELHI, 2014.

3. Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organization,

Manual on Water Supply and Treatment, 2nd Ed, Ministry of Urban

Development, New Delhi December 1991.

4. Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organization,

Manual on Sewerage and Sewage Treatment Systems – Part A:

Engineering, 3rd Ed – Revised and Updated, Ministry of Urban

Development, New Delhi, November 2013.

5. Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organization,

Manual on Solid Waste Management, 2nd Ed, Ministry of Urban

Development, New Delhi, December 1993.

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RT 510 Research Methodology (1-0-4-6)

Introduction to research methods: qualitative and quantitative research

methods. Formulation of research problem, hypothesis, various methods of conducting on field Research: data gathering, sampling techniques,

questionnaire design, survey methods, methods of exploring problem structures and orientation on research writing. Modes of conducting analysis

in research: observation based methods of analysis (such as Participatory Approach, ethnography, documentation etc.), case study, content and

statistical analysis. Introduction to the on-field research, Use and implementation of research methods in field survey. Report writing. Field

Work: The basic objective of the field work is to encourage students to acquaint themselves with the challenges being faced by rural community in

day-to-day life and how these challenges are being tackled locally (to the extent possible) using traditional knowhow, natural/local resources and

indigenous methods. The students are required to visit nearby villages to

identify a challenge of rural community appealing to them. The identified challenge may be from, but not limited to, the area of rural livelihood, rural

entrepreneurship, education and healthcare, energy, water supply and sanitation, agriculture, etc. Upon identifying such a challenge, the students

are required to interact with the rural community to document its history, its impact on their day-to-day life, application of traditional knowhow to

tackle it, improvements/developments made in the past, identifying bottle-necks to define scope for further improvements/developments. Students

have to design experimental models on such issues and have to carry out parametric analyses. The students have to submit reports and make

periodical presentations as part of evaluation. These activities shall encourage students to focus on their research energies on

improving/developing appropriate technologies to solve day-to-day problems of rural community.

Texts 1. R. K. Yin, Case Study Research: Design and Methods, SAGE

Publications, 2009. 2. S. Taylor, R. Bogdan, M. DeVault, Introduction to Qualitative

Research Methods: A Guidebook and Resource, John Wiley & Sons,

2015. References

1. R. B. Burns, Introduction to Research Methods, SAGE Publications, 2000.

2. H. Russell, Research Methods in Anthropology, Altamira press, Oxford, 2006.

3. E. Perecman, S. R. Curran, A Handbook of social sciences field research, SEGA Publications, California, 2006.

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RT 520 Field Work and Effective Communication (0-1-4-6)

Field Work: Field survey and data gathering: preparation of

questionnaire, identification of problems and prospects, data

compilation.

Effective Communication: Importance of communication, introduction

to basic ways of communication, Importance of presentation

techniques and its methods, importance of visual elements to create

effective communication, idea generation, brainstorming and mind

mapping methods. Introduction to basics of design, layout designing,

quick initial prototyping techniques.

Learning outcomes:

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1. They will learn about how to come up with ideas and transform

them to visual format.

2. Show their ability to design and present the output in different

categories (according to their research output)

3. Understand the methods of visual presentation, which will help

them in making their research output presentable.

Texts

1. C. Akner-Koler, Three Dimensional Visual Analysis,

Institutionen for Industridesign, Konftfack, Sweden, 1994.

2. R. Carter and P. B. Meggs, Typographic Design: Form and

Communication, John Wiley & Sons, 2000.

References

1. M. A. Muser and D. Macleon, Art and Visual Environments,

MIT Press, 1996.

2. R. Beech, Origami: The complete guide to the art of paper

folding, Lorenz Books, 2001.

3. P. B. Meggs, Type and Image: the language of graphic

Design, VNR, 1992.

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RT 511 Earthquake Resistant Rural Housing (3-0-0-6)

Historical construction practices in India; Review of current rural

construction practices; Performance of such construction in past;

Need for the scientific development of low-cost building typologies

using locally available materials and skills. Review of low-cost housing

construction practices; Engineered vs. Non-engineered construction;

Socio-economic considerations in seismic safety of buildings; Masonry

buildings: brick masonry, stone masonry, different types of mortar;

Earthen buildings: adobe buildings, earthen construction with wood;

Wooden buildings: Different typologies, Assam-type house; Confined

masonry construction; Non-engineered reinforced concrete buildings.

Earthquake effects; Failure mechanisms of different building

typologies during earthquakes; Earthquake design concept; Structural

framing; Requirements of structural safety; Concepts of ductility,

deformability, and damageability; Concept of isolation; Conceptual

planning and design aspects; Selection and development of site for

construction; Soil testing; Selection of construction materials;

Physical and mechanical properties of construction materials;

Foundations; Walling and roofing. Masonry buildings; Construction

and design aspects; Typical strengths of masonry; Masonry bonds;

Wall enclosure; Openings in walls; Horizontal reinforcement in walls;

Horizontal bands or ring beams; Dowels at corners or junctions;

Vertical reinforcement in walls; Framing of thin load bearing walls;

Reinforcement in hollow block masonry; Plastering and painting.

Masonry buildings; Construction and design aspects; Typical

characteristics of wood; Typical structural properties; Building plan,

Stud wall construction; Brick nagged timber frame; Joints in wood

frame; Foundations; Assam-type housing; Alternative materials for

construction of frames and roof. Non-Engineered reinforced concrete

buildings; Confined masonry buildings; Primary difference from

reinforced concrete buildings; Construction and design aspects; Wall

density; Tie columns; Tie Beams; Horizontal wall reinforcement;

Vertical wall reinforcement; Openings in walls; Foundations; Roofing.

Repair, restoration, and strengthening concepts; Repair materials;

Techniques to restore original strength; Modification of roofs;

Strengthening of walls; Planar modifications; Strengthening frames;

Strengthening of foundations

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Texts

1. James Ambrose and Dimitry Vergun, “Design for earthquakes”,

John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, 1999.

2. Christopher Arnold and Robert Reitherman, “Building Configuration

and Seismic Design”,John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1982.

References

1. Bruce A Bolt, Earthquakes, W.H. Freeman and Company, New

York, 2004.

2. UNDP, Repair and strengthening of reinforced concrete, stone

and brick-masonry buildings -vol 5, UNDP/UNIDO Project

RER/79/015, UNIDO, UNDP, 1983.

3. Tom Schacher, Confined Masonry-An Illustrated Guide for

Masons, Swiss Agency for Development and Corporation, 2007.

4. MarcialBlondet, Construction and Maintenance of Masonry

Houses, Second Edition, SENCICO, Peru, 2005.

5. Svetlana Brzev, Earthquake Resistant Confined Masonry

Construction, NICEE, IIT Kanpur, 2007.

6. UBC EERI, “Evaluation of Confined Masonry Guidelines for

Earthquake-Resistant Housing”, UBC EERI, Mexico City, 2007.

7. BIS, Handbook on Masonry Design and Construction (SP

20):1991, Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi, 1991.

8. Hemant B. Kaushik and K. S. Ravindra Babu, Assam-type

House,

World Housing Encyclopaedia Report No. 154, Published by

Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), USA and

International Association for Earthquake Engineering (IAEE),

Japan, 2012.

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List of Relevant Elective Courses from other Departments/ Centres

CE 525: Solid and Hazardous Waste Management

(3-0-0-6)

ME655: Energy Conservation and Waste Heat Recovery

(3-0-0-6)

ME 654: Wind Energy Conversion (3-0-0-6)

EN661: Renewable Energy Systems (3-0-0-6)

CE 559: Watershed Management and Remote Sensing Applications (3-0-

0-6)

CE 568: Environmental Management of Water Resources

(3-0-0-6)

BT 606: Food Biotechnology (3-0-0-6)

BT 607: Plant Biotechnology (3-0-0-6)

BT 622: Biofuels (3-0-0-6)