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Professionals? meet from Mar 18
THE GOVIND Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute (GBPSSI) is organising the fifth development professionals? meet, a two-day event which is a part of its MBA rural development programme, from March 18.
THE GOVIND Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute (GBPSSI) is organising the fifth development professionals’ meet, a two-day event which is a part of its MBA rural development programme, from March 18.
The proposed meet will focus on topics concerning agricultural diversification, identifying non-farm occupations, development of rural markets, issues of governance and strategies to bring together important organisations in the public and private spheres for development of such communities in the context of technological developments and new public policies.
“Indian villages are going through a process of transformation affecting all facets of rural life. These changes have taken place as a consequence of expansion in basic infrastructure, growth of market and increased reach of development organisation in rural areas,” said Dr Sunit Singh, MBARD co-ordinator.
However, he said, at the same time it must also be mentioned that villagers were suffering from widespread poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition, infant mortality and other disadvantages. “Nevertheless, there is no denying that the quantitative changes in physical and social infrastructure are in some measure affecting the rural life in qualitative terms with an honest acknowledgment of a need to still make substantive efforts to improve the quality of life in rural areas,” Dr Singh said.
He said that changes, although minute in proportion, had enabled rural people to live, think and aspire differently from their past generations. “Newer aspirations are forcing villagers to earn newer sets of capabilities, which are now possible for those who desire so. Such aspirations can be seen across all classes and castes across rural areas,” he pointed out.
Dr Singh said that it was in this backdrop that outcomes, limits and potentials of both the widely prevalent ‘top-down’ macro approaches and the ‘bottom up’ micro exemplars of rural development needed consolidation.Dr Singh informed that it was in this context that the GBPSSI was organising the fifth development professionals’ meet.
The participating institutions and organisations include Agragamee- Bhuveneshwar, PRIA- New Delhi, Indian NGOs.com- Mumbai, NEED- Lucknow, IIM Lucknow’s- Centre for Agriculture Management, Oxfam, Shriram Foundation- New Dehi, MPDPIP, Allahabad University, Utthan- Allahabad, Confederation of NGOs of Rural India- New Delhi and CREDA of Mirzapur among others.
