Kusunupur Village In Odisha's Kendrapara To Become 'Living Lab' Under CSIR Smart Village Initiative
Kusunupur is set to become a national model village, where scientific solutions will address water, farming, disaster resilience and employment challenges over three years.
Published : March 17, 2026 at 3:55 PM IST
By Radhakanta Mohanty
Kendrapara (Odisha) : Kusunupur, otherwise a non-descript quiet village in Kendrapara district has suddenly shot to limelight, finding a place among six places spreading across states, in the country which would become a national model for rural transformation. Situated in Rajnagar block, the village has been selected as one of India’s 'Smart Villages' under a flagship initiative led by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), bringing hope and excitement to its residents.
What makes this selection important is Kusunupur happens to be the only village from eastern India chosen for the programme, placing it on the national map of scientific rural development. The Smart Village initiative aims to transform rural areas through scientific interventions like focusing on agriculture, livelihood generation, nutrition, education and disaster resilience. The selected villages will be considered 'living laboratories,' where innovations developed in labs will be implemented on the ground.
Apart from Kusunupur, five other villages - Bhada (Gujarat), Chumathang (Ladakh), Jorhat (Assam), Janakpur (Madhya Pradesh), and Sawaipura (Rajasthan) - have been identified across diverse climatic zones. CSIR will implement the programme over three years, testing scalable solutions that could later be replicated nationwide.
Kusunupur, is populated by 135 families with 738 residents. But due to frequent floods and cyclones, lack of potable drinking water, limited agricultural productivity, unemployment and poor infrastructure, it faces multiple challenges. Its vulnerability, combined with its natural resources like proximity to rivers, forests and the sea, made it an ideal place for scientific intervention.
Under the Smart Village programme, Kusunupur will see a range of targeted interventions. Scientific farming techniques will be implemented to improve crop yield and organic fertiliser will be produced using local biomass. Besides installation of cold storage solutions without using electricity, safe drinking water systems, disaster-resilient housing and cyclone shelters, smart classrooms and skill development programmes, telemedicine and improved healthcare access and waste management and recycling initiatives will be ensured in the village.
Scientists from CSIR labs, including its Odisha-based unit in Bhubaneswar, have already started visiting the village to understand local challenges. Villagers, long grappling with basic issues, see the initiative as a turning point.
“Our biggest problem is drinking water and lack of employment. We don’t want anything for free, we want work,” said a local resident, expressing hope that the project will create sustainable livelihoods. Another villager pointed out to the lack of infrastructure, stating that a single classroom currently accommodates so many students as multiple classes are conducted simultaneously.
Despite the challenges, there is a strong sense of pride. “But we are happy that our village has been selected at the national level. It gives us hope for a better future,” residents said.
CSIR officials emphasised that the concept of a smart village goes beyond technology. “A village becomes smart through knowledge, skills and empowerment of its people,” said Ramanuj Narayan, CSIR IIMT Bhubaneswar Director, highlighting that the focus will be on education, women’s empowerment and skill development.
The programme will also prioritise climate resilience, especially in disaster-prone regions like Kendrapara.
"Under the joint leadership of CSIR Chairman Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Minister of Science and Technology and CSIR Vice Chairman Dr. Jitendra Singh, a plan was made to bring science to the villages. A team was formed under the leadership of CBRI Director Pradeep Kumar and five villages in India were identified to connect with science," Narayan further elaborated.
The smart village programme launched in Kusunupur village on Monday is an ambitious plan of the Government of India, said Chief Executive Officer at Bal Raksha Bharat, Santanu Chakraborty. In this, CSIR team is guiding the way forward in the management, prevention and resolution of natural disasters. Bal Raksha Bharat will collaborate with CSIR and CBRI in this programme, he added.
Kendrapara District Collector Raghuram R Iyer confirmed that groundwork has begun, with training programmes for farmers and villagers set to roll out soon. "CSIR has identified six villages across the country, including Kusunupur village in Rajnagar block of our district. They have 16 labs ranging from agriculture to livelihood. Their scientists have visited this village so we expect that work will start anytime now after training is over. They will train farmers in agriculture so that farmers can be reap more profits, which will lead to increase in the economic resources of the village," Iyer stated.
In general, scientists will work together to create open villages, raise awareness and develop the resources of the people, he explained adding that "Scientific interventions in agriculture, waste management and livelihoods will help strengthen the village economy.”
As Kusunupur prepares to turn into a Smart Village, it ushers in a new era - more than just a development project. It is a template to experiment how science-driven governance can reshape rural India. If successful, the model could be replicated across hundreds of villages, potentially redefining the future of rural development in the country.
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