After the ?Green Revolution? of the 1960s, it is ?knowledge revolution? that the noted agriculture economist MS Swaminathan is spearheading in the 60th year of Independence.

?The Green Revolution helped increase the productivity of crops like wheat and rice. The ?knowledge revolution? helps enhance human productivity and creativity in several dimensions?, Swaminathan said.

The Chennai-based MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) is initiating this revolution from August 15, 2007, as ?Grameen Gyaan Abbhiyan? (GGA), a national movement for knowledge empowerment of rural families.

GGA movement would be linked to appropriate national programmes like Sarva Siksha Abhiyan for literacy, Yuva and Mahila Sakthi Abhiyans of the ministry of panchayati raj and the mission mode programmes like National Rural Health Mission, National Horticulture Mission, National Rural Employment Programme etc.

?It is hoped that by 2010, GGA will cover every village and home or hut in the country. The last mile and last person connectivity will be achieved through an integrated internet-community radio or internet-cell phone synergy?, Swaminathan, the chairman of the foundation, said.

?As a single step, the rural knowledge revolution is likely to have the largest beneficial impact on the physical, economic and social well-being of over 700 million people living in villages”, Swaminathan said.

GGA is an extension of one of the ?Mission 2007?, programmes of MSSRF launched in 2000 to make ?every village a knowledge centre?.

Swaminathan said Mission 2007 has triggered a national movement for bridging the urban rural-digital divide with the help of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) which launched the ?village resource centres? (VRCs) at the Block level, with satellite connectivity and teleconferencing facilities. As part of this drive, the department of information technology of the Union government launched a common service centre programme designed to cover one lakh villages.

Under GGA, every Block will have a VRC with the help of ISRO. Every panchayat will have a ?gyan chaupal? or village knowledge centre with the help of the department of information technology, ministry of panchayat raj, non-governmental organisations, multilateral donors, the academic and private sectors.

The content for these would have to be dynamic, demand-driven, local-specific and in local languages.