Indian Institute of Information Technology Allahabad [IIIT-A] and Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Information Technology Amethi [RGIIT] is organizing a National Seminar on 'Green Energy & ICT: Solar Energy for Empowering Rural India on August 20 and August 21 2011 at RGIIT Amethi'. This Seminar is the third Seminar under the IIIT-A's 'Green Energy' initiative. The first Seminar was on 'Green-ICT: Empowering Rural India' August 20-21, 2010 and second on 'Green Energy for Empowering Rural India' April 15-16, 2011.

The Institute has organized, since inception of RGIIT in 2005, a number of National and International Seminars on different aspects for Empowerment of Rural India.

The National Solar Mission was launched on June 30, 2008 by the Government of India under the brand name SOLAR INDIA to develop solar energy as a source of abundant energy to power India's economy; and to transform lives of its people by empowering them through access to renewable power source.

The theme of the Seminar is to deliberate on:

• Salient features of Solar India initiatives of the Ministry of New and Renewal Energy for rural India
• How rural India can harness and gainfully employ solar energy to reduce dependence on non-renewable energy sources
• Identification of new areas of solar energy applications in rural India for example to power ICT based systems for education and public health; milk chilling plants; cold chain and management of forests to name a few.
• Academic Institutions role in creation of energy awareness, advocacy, capacity building and promotion of non-conventional energy sources and Research and Development
• Human Resource Development to create technically qualified manpower for the large scale diffusion of solar energy