Maharashtra’s March Towards Smart & Intelligent Villages; ‘Satanwari’ Becomes India’s First Smart & Intelligent Village

Aug 2025 : Mahatma Gandhi had once emphasized the importance of rural India in the nation’s development through his message “Back to the villages.” Saint Tukdoji Maharaj also envisioned an ideal rural India through his Gram Geeta, declaring that “What the village can achieve, even a king cannot.” Taking this vision forward into the modern age, under the leadership and initiative of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, rural India is stepping into a new era of technology-driven development.

In Satanwari village (Nagpur rural), CM Fadnavis recently inaugurated the country’s first smart and intelligent village on a pilot basis. Eighteen different services, including smart irrigation, drone-based spraying of pesticides and fertilizers, fisheries, irrigation, healthcare, education, ‘bank on wheel’, and smart surveillance, are being implemented with modern technology, primarily through Indian companies. This initiative has become a model for creating prosperous, self-reliant villages in line with the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Maharashtra has historically played a pioneering role in India’s progress—whether in the freedom struggle, social reforms, or post-independence innovations such as Employment Guarantee Schemes, Right to Information, and women’s reservation. Adding another milestone, Maharashtra now introduces the concept of Smart & Intelligent Villages. At the inauguration, CM Fadnavis announced the ambitious plan to transform 3,500 villages (10 in each taluka) into smart and intelligent villages in the first phase. This initiative, he said, would change the face of rural Maharashtra and contribute to building a fully developed state as India celebrates 100 years of independence.

Technology for Rural Empowerment

PM Narendra Modi, in his Red Fort address, emphasized technological transformation of rural India and initiated the BharatNet project to connect villages to the internet, bringing them closer to the world. Maharashtra successfully implemented Phase 1 of BharatNet in 2019, with Phase 2 underway. Alongside, the state launched its own MahaNet program. Under CM Fadnavis, the state has taken bold steps to use artificial intelligence (AI) in governance, speeding up administration and providing improved services. The Smart & Intelligent Villages initiative is part of this broader vision—empowering rural citizens with technology and improving their quality of life.

From Concept to Reality: Satanwari Village

Responding to PM Modi’s call for Atmanirbhar Bharat, the Voice of Indian Communication Technology Enterprises (VOICE), under the Union Telecom Ministry, partnered with Indian tech companies and presented a proposal for smart villages to CM Fadnavis. He immediately approved it, selecting Satanwari, a gram panchayat with 1,800 residents in Nagpur rural, as the pilot site. For the last two months, local administration worked to provide necessary infrastructure while VOICE stationed its team in the village to implement the project. Senior officials, including the Chief Secretary Rajesh Kumar and CMO Secretary Srikar Pardeshi, closely monitored its progress.

Features of India’s First Smart & Intelligent Village

• Digital connectivity: The entire village is connected through Wi-Fi, hotspots, FTTH, satellite facilities, 4G/5G, and broadband.
• Smart farming: Sensors installed in fields provide data from sowing to harvest, including crop planning and market information. Farmers use drones and AI tools for soil testing, spraying, and fertilizer management, cutting costs and boosting eco-friendly yields.
• Healthcare: Improved drinking water quality, health cards, and telemedicine have brought medical facilities to villagers’ doorsteps, reducing their need to travel to cities. Doctors from government medical colleges are connected to the program.
• Education: AI-driven smart classrooms, digital Anganwadi centers, and e-learning tools are now part of primary schools. Smart ECCE video modules and remote classrooms provide global knowledge access to rural students.
• E-governance: Gram Panchayat operations are digitized, speeding up services. Citizens enjoy seamless village-to-city connectivity via Wi-Fi.
• Utilities & safety: Smart streetlights save electricity; smart cameras ensure 24/7 surveillance; AI is used in water quality monitoring, distribution, waste management, and fire safety.
• Livelihood: Fisheries are monitored through dashboards, while e-skill centers and mobile health connectivity support employability and better services.

A Model for the Future

Through this project, technology is revolutionizing village life. With support from the local administration and state government, Satanwari has now emerged as a benchmark for rural transformation, symbolizing how Indian-made technology can empower villages.

As CM Fadnavis stated, this initiative will not only redefine rural Maharashtra but also present a model for the world to witness an ideal modern village rising from India.