Center for Rural Development and Innovative Sustainable Technology was established in 1975 with the aim of becoming an outreach centre of IIT Kharagpur to address challenges confronted by rural communities and to improve their quality of life. The centre has made significant achievements in Intensive Crop Farming, Forestry, Horticulture, NTFP-based crafts, Women and Child Welfare programmes etc. The Centre has 06 eminent faculty members, who are highly committed towards holistic rural development. The infrastructure includes Chemical & Bio-chemical Laboratory, Repair & Fabrication Shop, Experimental Farm & Medicinal Plant Nursery, Field Station & Crafts Training Centres at Kharikamathani and Khariduara Mushroom Shed & Apiary Unit. The sponsored projects undertaken by the centre include Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, Participatory Forest Management Project, Tribal Development Project, Integrated Rural Energy Planning, Agro-Climatic Regional Planning, Lignocellulosics based liquid and gaseous biofuels (bioethanol, biobutanol, biomethane, biodiesel) and by-product utilization leading to zero-wastes process/product development.
 

The Center for Rural Development and Innovative Sustainable Technology (CRDIST) is a multidisciplinary centre comprises of young and experienced faculty members working in varied domains pertinent to the rural sectors.The facuty members ofthis Centre are collaborating with intra and inter-departments and centers, who are passionate about Rural Development. The Centre has well established labs such as Chemical and Biochemical Laboratory, Mechanical Fabrication Lab, Rural Technology Demonstration Laboratory.

We are having strong connectivity with the farmers, artisans and women to understand the problems that can be addressed through R&D work of CRDIST. The Centre has a large number of Sponsored R&D Projects and Consultancy Projects most of which have direct applications on field. The Centre regularly offers Training Programmes for varied stakeholders such as agripreneurs, farmers, women, rural youth and students in mushroom cultivation, crafts making, repair and fabrications, nurseries and apiary management. CRDIST is coordinating district-based regional development schemes like Forestry, Horticulture, NTFP-based crafts, Bee-keeping, Women, Child Welfare programmes and Intensive Crop Farming for upliftment of rural areas and majorly emphasizing on improved sustainability processes. In addition to the normal activities on dissemination of technologies to the rural areas for improved sustainability of farmers life, the faculty members are also engaged in research and other academic activities that has resulted in several granted/filed patents and paper publication in peer-reviewed journals. Centre offers electives for UG, PG students and also running regular Ph.D programme with an aspiration to provide the students an exposure to rural context and technological solutions.