national institute of rural development and … institute of rural development and panchayati raj,...

1National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Hyderabad, India

APRIL 2016

2 National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Hyderabad, India

APRIL 2016

In this issue

Mobile Phone is on the priority, buttoilet is not. Why? 8

NIRD&PR Faculty visitChhattisgarh villages toobserve Gram Sabhas

6

A Method of Own FundGeneration at GP level 7

Panchayati Raj andDevelopment 3

Writeshop on State plans forRashtriaya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan(RGSA)

9

TOT Programme for BarefootTechnicians on MGNREGS

10

NIRD&PR ties up with SyngentaFoundation India to promoteAgriculture Technology Assistants

13

14

Training Programme on GenderBudgeting 11

Training programme onPlanning and Management ofMicro-enterprises for SHGs

11

TOT Course on ParticipatoryTools and Techniques forProfessionals of RuralLivelihoods

12

Afghanistan’s top RuralDevelopment official calls onDirector General of NIRD&PR

Karnataka’s fourth StateFinance Commission teamvisits NIRD&PR

14

Designing Curriculum for theCertificate Programme 10

NIRD&PR Events 15


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Panchayati Raj Institutions asunits of self-governancecontinue to do the agency

functions by implementing allCentrally Sponsored Schemes,Programmes, across Ministries andkey sectors viz. Agriculture, AnimalHusbandry, Health, Education,Housing, and Rural Electrificationetc., at the cutting edge level i.e. GramPanchayat.

All the States have fulfilled thefirst generation reforms byconducting Panchayat elections. Theyconstituted State ElectionCommission, State FinanceCommission, prepared activitymapping (not implemented), anddevolved some functions desirable forthe State through legislation. Atpresent the agenda is to strengthenthese PRIs through second generationreforms.

i) By and large, the States haveprepared activity mapping on thebasis of the Schedule XI - 29functions and clearly definedroles and functions at all thelevels.

ii) Providing Panchayati Rajwindow from both the Centraland State Government budgets tocommensurate with the devolvedfunctions.

iii) Keeping in view that the 14th

Finance Commission funds areexclusively granted to the GramPanchayat, preparation of GramPanchayat Development Plan(GPDP) needs to be strengthenedin an integrated and convergencemode.

iv) Bringing in a qualitativeimprovement in CapacityBuilding of the PRI functionaries,with networking and sharing ofmaterial.

As per Article 243(b), of the partXI of the Indian Constitution, GramSabha with all registered voters of thePanchayat area need to have role andunderstanding in identification ofbeneficiaries, works, planning,implementation, monitoring andsocial audit of all programmes ofeconomic development and socialjustice. In an effort to strengthen theinstitution of Gram Sabha, three keyMinistries viz Agriculture, SocialJustice and Empowerment, and

Panchayati Raj have collectivelyproposed to celebrate the NationalPanchayati Raj Day as a movementfrom April 14 to 24, 2016 under GramUday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan(GUBUA).

‘Gram Uday Se Bharat UdayAbhiyan’ (village emergence anddevelopment to Bharat emergenceand development) was conductedacross the country, beginning with theBirth Anniversary of Dr. B. R.Ambedkar on April 14, 2016,culminating in ‘National PanchayatiRaj Day’ on April 24, 2016. The aimof this campaign was to makenationwide efforts to strengthenPanchayati Raj and through it, boostsocial harmony in the villages,promote Rural Development andfoster farmers’ welfare andlivelihoods of the poor. Panchayatsacross the country conducted thecampaign. Honourable PrimeMinister inaugurated the campaign onApril 14, 2016 at Mhow in MadhyaPradesh, and addressed all Gram

Panchayati Raj and Development“If we would see our dream ofPanchayati Raj, that is, truedemocracy realised, we wouldregard the humblest and lowestIndian as being equally the rulerof India with the tallest in theland.”

- Mahatma Gandhi

Cover Story


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Sabhas on April 24, 2016. During thecampaign, Panchayats heldprogrammes across the country, andthe following events were organised:

• Social Harmony Programmes(April 14 - 16, 2016)

• Gram Kisan Sabha (April 17 - 20,2016)

• Gram Sabha (April 21-24, 2016)

In order to implement thismovement, both Government of Indiaand respective State governmentofficials were roped in to visit 300identified districts in all the 23 Statesand one Union Territory ofChandigarh. The States going in forpolls were not included. In thiscontext, thirty districts were allottedto NIRD&PR faculty members whohave visited and documented onGram Sabhas organised on issuesrelated to Social Harmony, KisanGram Sabhas and Gram PanchayatGram Sabhas. These reports weresubmitted to the Ministries.

National Institute of RuralDevelopment and Panchayati Raj(NIRD&PR), Hyderabad deputed 29faculty members to observe anddocument the above three events thatwere conducted across the countrybetween April 14 to 24, 2016. Asmany as 29 districts from 15 Stateswere visited by NIRD&PR facultymembers. Under the Social HarmonyProgramme, Chemaldhari GramPanchayat (GP) in Ranga Reddydistrict of Telangana State was visited.Likewise, eight different GPs fromManipur, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,Maharashtra, Punjab and JharkhandStates were visited for documentingGram Kisan Sabhas. To observe anddocument the Gram Sabhas held from

April 21 to 24, 2016, a total of 30 GPsin 11 States were visited.

Social Harmony Programme (April14-16, 2016)

On the occasion of the 125thBirth Anniversary of Dr. B.R.Ambedkar, the people residing in therespective all Gram Panchayats paidhomage to Dr. B.R Ambedkar, andgarlanded the statue or portrait of him.The assembled villagers and officialsresolved to strengthen social harmonyand took oath. Dr. B.R Ambedkar'slife and his views about Nationalunity were discussed, and literatureregarding Dr. B.R Ambedkar wasdistributed. On this day, informationabout the schemes run by thegovernment to promote social equitywas given and exhibitions wereorganised.

In a meeting held at Ranga Reddydistrict of Telangana State, as part ofthe programme, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’slife and achievements were discussedby the school children, village eldersand government officials. The

students performed culturalprogrammes and recited patrioticsongs and poetry on the achievementsof Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Similarly, thepeople in Belagavi Gram Panchayat,in Bailhongal Gram Panchayat andBelgaum district of Karnataka, alsofelicitated deserving students andelders who have been activelyinvolved in extending help to thedeserving and needy, and organised ahuge rally in the Gram Panchayat.

Gram Kisan Sabha (April 17-20,2016): Meetings of farmers wereorganised in every Gram Panchayatunder the Gram Kisan Sabha.Information regarding schemes in theagriculture sector was shared andsuggestions to improve agriculturewere invited from farmers. On thisoccasion, members from NIRD&PRvisited eight different GPs inManipur, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,Maharashtra, Punjab and Jharkhand.

In all the GPs, awarenesscampaigns regarding PrimeMinister’s Crop Insurance Scheme(PMFBY), Pradhan Mantri Krishi

Social Harmony: Oath Taking in Ranga Reddy Distrist


APRIL 2016

Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY),Paramparagat Krishi Vikash Yojana(PKVY), Gokul Mission and MobileAgriculture Apps (NAM, KisanSuvidha) were organised. The farmerswere suggested to use the wateroptimally in order to raise productionwith less investment and more yields.During Kisan Gram Sabhas, peoplerequested that a discussion on cropinsurance may be taken up in thepresence of key revenue officials.Bankers were present in the meetingand citizens complained that bankerstried not to release insurance amountto loan defaulters.

Gram Sabha or Village Assembly(April 21-24, 2016)

To celebrate the NationalPanchayati Raj Day, Gram Sabhaswere held in each Gram Panchayatfrom April 21 to 24, 2016. Todocument the Gram Sabhas, facultymembers from NIRD&PR visited 30different Gram Panchayats in Punjab,Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, UttarPradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jammuand Kashmir, Chhattisgarh,Jharkhand, Rajasthan and ArunachalPradesh. Documentation of GramSabhas was conducted regarding theissues on Gram Panchayatdevelopment plan for local economicdevelopment, proper utilisation offunds by Panchayats, safe drinkingwater and sanitation, role of womenin Rural Development, socialinclusion including welfare ofScheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes,persons with disabilities and othermarginalised groups.

During the Gram Sabhas,villagers took an oath for thedevelopment of the village and thecountry. Preparatory activities such asPrabhat Pheri, felicitation of the

senior citizens for their achievements,folk songs and folk plays wereorganised at the Gram Panchayatpremises. Through folk songs, theartists conveyed the message of GramUday se Bharat Uday Abhiyan, anddiscussed all the Rural Developmentprogrammes such as PMGSY,MGNREGA, Sukanya SamrudhiYojana, etc. Special emphasis wasgiven to Beti Bachao, Beti PadhaoYojana and Deen Dayal UpadhyayaGram Kaushal Yojana (DDU-GKY).

The feedback received throughreports states that this has enabledcommon man to have directinteraction not only with cutting edgefunctionaries (agriculture assistant,ICDS staff and Anganwadi Workers,Aasha Workers, Bankers, SHGsmembers, Agriculture Officer, SocialWelfare Officer and staff working inthe area but also District Collectors,Chief Executive Officer of Zilla

Parishad, District Panchayat, JanpadPanchayat/Taluk/Panchayat Samithimembers and other senior officials.People were of the opinion that suchGram Sabhas may involve other keysectoral departments viz., AnimalHusbandry, Education, MinorIrrigation, Revenue, etc.

On the basis of these visits, aconsolidated report is being preparedon issues related to the role ofNIRD&PR, regarding training plan,key research issues to be addressed,and action research projects. Apresentation is proposed to be madeby Dr. W.R. Reddy, Director General,NIRD&PR, in a national forum.GUBUA Gram Sabha activities werecoordinated and consolidated reportswere prepared by the School of LocalGovernance - faculty Dr. K.Jayalakshmi, Dr. Y.B. Rao, Dr. C.Dheeraja and Dr. Dr PratyusnaPatnaik.

Nehargaon and Sirrikurdh : Gariyaband Dist. Chhattisgarh


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NIRD&PR Faculty visit Chhattisgarhvillages to observe Gram Sabhas

National Institute of RuralDevelopment and PanchayatiRaj (NIRD&PR) has deputed

the faculty members to observe theGram Sabha meetings under GramUday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan 2016in selected districts of various States.Dr. T. Vijaya Kumar, AssociateProfessor, Centre for HumanResource Development, visitedGariyaband district along with Dr. P.Raj Kumar, faculty of NIRD&PR onApril 22 and 23, 2016.

The team visited NahargaonVillage Panchayat in Gariyabandblock and Sirrikurdh VillagePanchayat (open defecation freevillage) in Fingeshwar block ofGariyaband district and attended theGram Sabha Meetings. It is observedthat nearly 190 people haveparticipated in Nahargaon GramSabha Meeting, and 250 peopleparticipated in Sirrikurdh GramSabha Meeting. In both the meetings,there was a representation from allsections of the community such asScheduled Caste (SC), ScheduledTribe (ST) and Other BackwardCastes (OBC).

In both the Gram Sabhas, thediscussions were facilitated by therespective village Sarpanchs and theitems of agenda for discussion weregiven by the department. The detailsof the agenda items included GramPanchayat Development Plan, Nal Jal

Yojana, PMGSY, PMJGB, JananiSuraskha Yojana, PMKSY and alsoadditional items like SSA, Mid-dayMeals and problems in school.

In Nahargaon Gram Panchayat,the farmers of the village whileparticipating in discussions onstrengthening of quality of Mid-dayMeal, resolved to donate the firstharvesting crop of their vegetablecrops to support the Mid-day Meal.The School Management CommitteePresident and Vice-Presidentvoluntarily came forward to take theresponsibility of cleanlinessmaintenance and drinking watersupply in the school. The Panchayatfunctionary accepted theresponsibility of teachingMathematics in middle school ofNahargaon, as the Mathematicsteacher post was lying vacant.

In Gariyaband district ofChhattisgarh, the CEO of Zilla

Panchayat has taken up lot ofawareness activities andarrangements for the smooth conductof Gram Sabha Meetings under GramUday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan 2016,under the guidance of DistrictCollector. Further, it was alsoobserved that the CEO ZillaPanchayat, CEO Janpath Panchayat,the Nodal Officers of Gram Sabhameetings, Sarpanch and other electedrepresentatives of Villages Panchyatsalong with the functionaries of linedepartments attended the Gram SabhaMeetings and motivated the villagersfor effective participation indevelopment of the Gram Panchayats.The Gram Sabha Meetings inGariyaband district were observed byDr. T. Vijaya Kumar, AssociateProfessor, Centre for HumanResource Development and Dr. P. RajKumar, Assistant Professor, Centrefor Livelihoods of NIRD&PR.

Gram Uday Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan


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A Method of Own Fund Generation at GP Level

Progressive devolution ofpowers and funds to the localbodies is one of the prime

indicators of success of the localgovernance system. The 14th FinanceCommission (FFC) made a giantstride in financial devolution byrecommending a hike in the share ofStates in the Centre's tax revenue fromthe current 32 per cent to 42 per cent.This is indeed the single largestincrease ever recommended by aFinance Commission. Anothersignificant point about FFC is theprovision of ‘Performance Grant’ toselected GPs, besides the Basic Grantgiven to all the GPs.

How to become eligible in orderto avail the Performance Grant? Oneimportant requisite is that, any GP thatshows its own internal revenueshigher (over the preceding year),becomes eligible. This challenge hasreally made the Gram Panchayats(especially those GPs where people’srepresentatives, the youth and theSHGs are active) step up own fundsand claim the Performance Grant, inorder to take up extra developmentwork.

One of the examples for suchinitiatives is Halpura Gram Panchayatin Uttar Pradesh that Dr. R. Ramesh,Assistant Professor from CRI visitedduring the Panchayati Raj DayCelebrations. He reports that one ofthe interesting things reported by thelocal community at Halpura GramPanchayat, in Mainpuri district ofUttar Pradesh during Gram Uday SeBharat Uday Abhiyan Celebrationswas the steps that GP has taken to

augment the local revenue of theGram Panchayat. They did it in twoways. First, they dug a pond of 400 x400 square meters using MGNREGAworkers. It has been dug forcultivating fish which can be sold tobuild up the own funds of the GP.Secondly, the place looks pleasantwith plenty of fruit-bearing trees suchas Mango, Guava, and Coconutbesides some Timber trees that areplanted around the pond. All of thesetrees and plants are on the bund ofthe pond covering at least five metresfrom the rim of the pond. The pond

A woman operating Water ATM

has been fenced with brickconstruction up to chest level, andbarbed wires over it, so as not to alloweasy entry. An elderly woman servesas watch woman who also watersthese trees and plants.

During this visit (April 2016), thetrees are found to have grown up to10 – 12 feet. With trees and decorativeplants all around the pond, the placeis comfortably shady and pleasant tosit and watch. Cement benches havebeen installed in many places on thebund, with which it also serves as alocal park or as a children’s park.There is also a small wooden fishingboat on the water that can carry oneor two persons. A pair of oar is usedto move about and sail in the water. Itwas not sure if the boat wasdecorative or functional, yet they offerto take visitors for a sail.

The GP has introduced fish in thepond. The fish are said to be grownup to weight more than one kg now.This has made the place clean and aplace that can be proudly presentedto any visitor to the village, while itenhances revenue of the GP as well.It in turn has the potential to help theGP claiming the Performance Grantfrom FFC. The need for GramPanchayats to strengthen their internalfinancial strength has been constantlymentioned, but the FFC hasintroduced an innovative idea(Performance Grant) that reallyincentivises GPs to perform. It reallyseems to work in Halpura GramPanchayat in UP.


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Mobile Phone is on the priority, but toilet is not. Why?

It was the Census-2011 thatbrought to light that majority ofthe Indian population does not

have a toilet at home, but more thanhalf of the population owns atelephone. As of March 2014, Indiahad 933 million telephone subscribers(wireless and landline). Annual cellphone addition (2010 – 2011) was227.27 million, while annual toiletaddition was just about 4 – 5 million.Though the teledensity is consideredan important indicator ofdevelopment, this paradox invitescomparison.

Given the wide gap between twofactors, this comparison betweenmobile phone ownership and toiletownership also makes sense. It mayappear similar to the comparisonbetween apples and oranges. Yet,what invites comparison is ourinquisitiveness to figure out the logicbehind their priorities and preferencesof the Indian mindset.

Owning a mobile phone hasbecome a social norm. In social normsthere are things that are spoken about(exhibited), and those that are notdiscussed explicitly. Social norms canbe enforced formally (e.g. throughsanctions in a Gram Sabha/Community Association), orinformally (e.g. through bodylanguage and non-verbalcommunication cues). The non-verbalcue or body language that we haveobserved is ‘talking about toilets anddefecating’ is an undesirable socialnorm.

This can be observed clearlywhen menstrual hygiene is to bediscussed by a health worker. Hecounts who are all present, to makesure there is no one from his family

around; and the location it isdiscussed, etc. Although his dutydemands him to talk about it, thesocial norm (the way he has beensocialised) makes him feeluncomfortable.

The cultural expectation or socialnorm is that either he should notmention about it in public, or heshould talk about it very superficiallyand finish off. This is more soespecially when the health educatoris a male. This goes with the socialnorm that expects you to have a‘contact number’. This is about whatbehaviour the group (or a society)approves of and deems important.Social norms are so strong that onemay starve inside his house, butmakes efforts to present himself as ifhe is very ‘normal’.

In some of the villages inTelangana and in other parts of Indiaas well, drinking water is suppliedthrough water vending machinesinstalled by NGOs, and CSR wings.Each household has a Water ATMcard, which you need to recharge

every month ranging from 50 to 150. For every swipe of the card you

get 20 litres of water, and an agreedamount gets deducted from the carduntil it runs to zero balance, when ithas to be recharged again. Peoplehave got used to this practice, and ithas become a ‘normal practice’(example, Ibrahimpur in Medakdistrict, Telangana).

That means to say that socialnorms can also be enforced formallythrough local sanctions such as GramSabha resolution and communityapprovals. A Panchayat can withholdor give out resources (deliverservices) in response to members’adherence to the officially approvednorms, effectively controllingmember behaviour through rewardsand operant conditioning.

This is explicitly outliningand implementing behaviouralexpectations for social good. Themarket has been able to cut in amindset to make people think thateverybody else in the society expectsme to have a cell phone. It is almost a


APRIL 2016

social norm that we are expected toadhere to. People tend to internalisenorms by accepting them asreasonable and proper standards forbehaviour within a given society.Once firmly established, a normbecomes a part of the community’soperational structure. With regard tophones, the market has devised waysto entice people and has also providedexcellent availability and access to awhole range of it. When it comes tomaking toilet-use as a social norm, weneed to focus on influencingbehaviours while the ‘facilitate theorganising’ is required to acceleratethe pace. Mission ‘Clean India’ is

possible, if only we focus onestablishing a social norm that keepsbuzzing in one’s ears that ‘doing it inthe open’ is not desirable anymore inIndian society. This will trigger asocial norm that ‘open defecation’ issocially undesirable.

Habits are stronger than reasonsand logic. How to rewrite it so as torevise the undesirable social normsthat expects you to be silent about, ornot to mention about it in public,allowing this hazardous thing to goon? This is a real challenge. This isthe reason behind the emphasis givenfor Behavioural Change

Communication (BCC) and Inter-Personal Communication (IPC) underSwachh Bharat Mission.

How effective our IEC tools are,depends on our understanding of thebehavioural components. Tools per sedon’t do any magic. Making the IECtools eloquent is in our understandingof the cultural context in which wework, and social norms that governsocial behaviour. The CRI of theNIRD&PR is conducting a series oftraining programmes on ‘BehaviouralChange Communication for the SBMfacilitators’.

Writeshop on State Plans for RashtriayaGram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA)

Ministry of Panchayati Raj,Government of India, alongwith UNDP and Capacity

Building cell of NIC organisedwriteshop on State Plans for RashtriyaGram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) onApril 1 and 2, 2016 at NIRD&PR.

Around 75 delegates,representing fifteen States and oneUT, Andaman and Nicobar Islandsattended the programme. Shri S.M.Vijayanand, Secretary MoPR,interacted with participants througha Video Conference and providedguidance on RGSA, networking ofSIRDs and role of MentorInstitutions, tracking Panchayat levelfund flow.

Smt. Sarada Muraleedharan,Joint Secretary, MoPR, Governmentof India led the writeshop, made apresentation on State specific

progress on GPDP 2016, followed bydiscussions with respective States.Writeshop sessions included capacitybuilding (CB) for GPDP,convergence, MGNREGA,sustainable development goals, andother CB strategies. An exclusivesession on PESA was organised andplans were prepared. On the secondday, session was chaired by Shri S.M.Vijayanand, Secretary MoPR and Dr.W.R. Reddy, Director General,

NIRD&PR and Action Planpresentations were made by theStates. A discussion on IndiaPanchayat Knowledge Portal (IPKP)and consolidation of draft plans byrespective States were prepared andshared with MoPR. School of LocalGovernance faculty members Dr K.Jayalakshmi, Dr .Y. Bhaskar Rao, andDr C. Dheeraja coordinated theprogramme.

Writeshop


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Designing Curriculum for theCertificate Programme

A two-day national levelconsultative workshop wasorganised by the Centre for

Good Governance and PolicyAnalysis (CGG&PA) on April 27 and28, 2016. The Director GeneralDr. W R Reddy, IAS inaugurated theworkshop. Sharing his personal

Workshop

experiences on how socialaccountability builds goodgovernance, the Director General hadset the deliberations to move in a rightdirection. Seven different moduleswere discussed mainly on importanceof Social Accountability Tools andTechniques. At the end of the

workshop, a draft of academiccurriculum design for CertificateProgramme on Social AccountabilityTools for Good Governance wasbrought out. Dr. Sarumathy, Head of theCentre and Dr. K. Prabhakar, Asst.Professor, co-ordinated the programme.

TOT Programme for BarefootTechnicians on MGNREGS

The NIRD&PR organised a tenday Training of Trainers (TOT)programme on ‘Barefoot

Technicians of MGNREGS’sponsored by Ministry of RuralDevelopment, Government of India,from April 18 to 27, 2016 atNIRD&PR, Hyderabad. Theprogramme aimed at promotingtechnical-knowledge orientedgrassroots functionaries whileimplementing schemes underMahatma Gandhi NREGA.

In order to generate State levelresource, the Centre for WageEmployment is scheduled to organisefour TOT programmes during 2016-17. The first programme in the seriesmeant for the resource persons fromKarnataka and Madhya Pradesh wasorganised from April 18 to 27, 2016.A total of 58 participants fromKarnataka and Madhya Pradesh

States have attended the programme.Participants were oriented on alltechnical aspects related works taken-up under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA.Taking the technical aspects in toconsideration, three resource persons

were exclusively drafted to orient theparticipants. The training programmeis directed by Dr. G. Rajani Kanth,Associate Professor, Head, I/C,Centre for Wage Employment,NIRD&PR.

Training


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Training Programme on Gender Budgeting

Gender Budgeting is apowerful tool for achievinggender mainstreaming so as

to ensure that benefits of developmentreach women and men equally. It isnot an accounting exercise but anongoing process of keeping a genderperspective in policy/ programmeformulation, its implementation andreview. It entails dissection of theGovernment budgets to establish itsgender differential impacts and toensure that gender commitments aretranslated into budgetarycommitments.

The rationale for genderbudgeting arises from recognition ofthe fact that national budgets impactmen and women differently throughthe pattern of resource allocation. Inview of this, Gender Budgeting, as atool for achieving gendermainstreaming, has been propagated.A training programme on ‘GenderBudgeting’ for implementing officials

was held at SIRD, Gujarat from April25 to 28, 2016. A total of 34 officersacross the State comprisinggovernment officers who are Trainers,CDPO, ATDO, Deputy DDO,Extension Officer, Accounts Officer,etc., participated in the programme.

The objective of the trainingprogramme was to orient theparticipants on the various thematicareas and methodology of GenderBudgeting.

• To sensitise the participants aboutthe need for Gender Budgeting

• To impart the skill of GenderBudgeting

• To expose the participants toGender Budgeting exercises invarious Rural Developmentprogrammes.

Various pertinent subjects onConcept of Gender, Gender and

Development, Terms, Concepts andApproaches of Gender Budgeting,Gender Sensitisation, Gujarat GEPStructure, Gender ResponsiveBudgeting (GRB) in Government,Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB)- Role of NGOs/Government Officers(Planning/Budget), Gender BudgetAnalysis with PRIs, etc. were dealtwith. Dr. N.V. Madhuri, the coursecoordinator, Dr. Shila Trivedi, courseteam member from SIRD, Gujarat,took the participants to the GenderResource Cell of Gujarat andfamiliarised them with the GenderResponsive Budgeting (GRB)initiatives. The participants found thetraining programme very useful.Further, many participants, during thecourse of feedback requested toorganise more such programmes.Theprogramme was coordinated by Dr.N.V. Madhuri from CGSD,NIRD&PR and Dr. Shila Trivedi fromSIRD, Gujarat.

Training Programme on Planning andManagement of Micro-enterprises for SHGs

Keeping in mind theimportance of self-employment activities for

generating income and improvingquality of life of the rural people, atraining programme on Planning andManagement of Micro-enterprises forSHGs was held at DDUSIRD,Lucknow from April 25 to 29, 2016.A total of 30 officers across the Statecomprising Government officers,

Bank Officers and faculty membersof the different Rural DevelopmentInstitutes of UP Government attendedthe programme. The importantobjectives of the programme interalia, were to equip the participantswith the knowledge of organisingrural poor for self-help, to impartbasic knowledge about planning andimplementation of income generationprojects for SHGs, to share innovative

experience and strategies in managingthe SHG based micro-enterprises andto equip the participants with the skillof M&E of SHG projects.

The training programme wasdesigned in such a way thatparticipants could implement SHGrelated income generation projectsmeticulously. In view of this, varioustopics like capacity building, PRA and


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participatory identification of poor,social mobilisation, capacity building,poverty issues, innovative projectidentification, monitoring andevaluation, gender issues, marketingaspects etc., were included. Fieldbased cases on income generationprojects of SHGs were also sharedwith the participants through filmshows. Further, one-day field visitwas organised near Lucknow, where12 educated women, by forming aSHG under the umbrella of an NGOviz., Chetna Shakti SwalambanSansthan, have been promoting

micro-enterprises among the ruralwomen by organising training -sometimes in Lucknow or in villages.Training is imparted to produceproducts like pickle, fruits squash,balm, tooth powder, etc.

The sessions were dealt by Dr.Shankar Chatterjee and local speakerswho had wide experience indeveloping of micro-enterprises. Theinaugural address was delivered byDr. Vardani, Additional Director ofDDUSIRD, who stressed the need fororganising such programmes as SHG

strategy could address issues ofpoverty through collective works byinvolving all the poor women. Theparticipants thoroughly enjoyed thetraining programme as interactionwas in Hindi. It was reflected inevaluation schedules also. Further,many participants in their feedback,have requested to organise more suchprogrammes at different places ofUttar Pradesh. The programme wasconducted by Dr. Shankar Chatterjee(NIRD&PR), Dr. Vardani (SIRD),Rakesh Ranjan, and Dr. R.K.Srivastava of DDUSIRD.

TOT Course on Participatory Tools andTechniques for Professionals of Rural Livelihoods

The Centre for Livelihoodconducted a TOT course on‘Participatory tools and

techniques for professionals of RuralLivelihoods’ from April April 18 to23 at NIRD&PR, Hyderabad. Thecourse aimed at familiarising theparticipants with the use of varioustools and techniques for planning andmanagement of village/localdevelopment and has introducedparticipatory tools and techniquessuch as PRA, RRA and PLA. Asmany as 27 officers representing 11States participated in the course.

Prof. P. SivaRam, Head, Centrefor Livelihoods inaugurated thecourse and delivered the keynoteaddress. In his address, he stressed theneed and importance of participatorymethods for local development suchas participatory rural appraisal, rapidrural appraisal and participatorylearning action.

The course had two importantobjectives, i.e

1. Providing concepts andtechniques for improvedparticipation of people indevelopment programmes.

2. Equipping the participants withskills of participatory tools andtechniques through ‘hands-onexperience’.

Training methods of the courseincluded a combination of lecture-cum-discussions, panel discussions,group exercises, role-plays;energisers, games, mock exercises,audio-visual presentations, etc. Theywere used in the classroom sessions.In addition to these, a one-day field-visit has been organised in HimayathSagar Village of Ranga Reddy Districtto expose and have hands-onexperience in participatory learningaction.

During this week-long course,various thematic areas namely socialmapping, seasonal mapping, resourcemapping, matrix ranking and micro-level planning were imparted by CFLfaculty and PRA expert, Prof.Narayansamy who is also the Deanof Gandhigram Rural Institute,Gandhigram, Tamil Nadu.

The Programme broadly coveredthe concepts, methods andapplications of PRA relating to localplanning/development. The operatingmethodologies and various inbuiltfeatures were also covered tofamiliarise the participants withtechnical skills for the application ofRPA in village planning andmanagement.

The course was coordinated byDr. Raj Kumar Pammi, AssistantProfessor, Dr. P. SivaRam, Prof. &Head, and Dr. U. Hemantha Kumar,Associate Professor, Centre forLivelihoods, NIRD&PR.


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NIRD&PR ties up with Syngenta Foundation Indiato promote Agriculture Technology Assistants

Technology and extension arethe key determinants ofproductivity in agriculture.

The challenge however lies inimproving farmers’ access to the rightkind of timely information and itsreach to all farmers. SyngentaFoundation India (SFI) has beensuccessfully implementing a range ofmodels, designed to improve thefarming practices and livelihoods ofresource-poor smallholders.

To scale up these models, the SFIhas entered into a partnership withNational Institute of RuralDevelopment and Panchayati Raj(NIRD&PR), an apex institution ofMinistry of Rural Development(MoRD), to promote AgricultureTechnology Assistants (ATA’s) at thevillage level and to provideincubation support for Agri-entrepreneurs, bringing together therural technologies, credit and marketlinkages.

The scope of the partnershipincludes, capacity building of ruralyouth as ATA’s and Agri-entrepreneurs, and to offer placementsupport and link-up with relatedcompanies. The foundation coursedesigned for ATA’s is for 60 days andit will be administered in theorganisations empanelled withNIRD&PR and SFI.

NIRD&PR Initiative

Post-training, the candidates willbe presented a certificate and gradesheet by NIRD&PR and SFI, alongwith Agriculture Skills Council ofIndia (ASCI) Certification. As part ofthe understanding, in the first year i.e2016-17, at least 500 ATA’s will beidentified and trained across thecountry. This will be taken up in acascading manner from the next yearonwards.

The Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) was signed byDr. W. R. Reddy, Director General,NIRD&PR and Dr. Bhaskar Reddy,Executive Director, SFI in thepresence of Mr. Marco Ferrani,

Executive Director, SyngentaFoundation and Mr. Prakash Apte,Chairman, Syngenta FoundationIndia.

Syngenta Foundation India (SFI)is a non-profit making companyregistered under section 25,Companies Act, envisioned to createvalue for resource-poor small farmersin developing countries throughinnovation in sustainable agricultureand the activation of value chains. SFIis technology neutral, companyneutral and in no way involved in anyproduct promotion and works with allAgri-businesses.


APRIL 2016

Afghanistan’s top Rural Development officialcalls on Director General of NIRD&PR

Karnataka’s fourth State FinanceCommission team visits NIRD&PR

A team of six members of 4th StateFinance Commission, Government ofKarnataka visited the NIRD&PR onApril, 1 and 2, 2016. The team wasled by Shri G. Chinnaswamy,Chairman SFC, Karnataka, alongwith two members and officials.Advisor, faculty members of Schoolof Local Governance (SLG) madepresentations on templates related toSFC State reports. Certain documentswere shared with the members. SFCteam interacted with Dr. W. R. Reddy,

DG, NIRD&PR, and it was agreedupon to take up any academic taskrelated to SFC by the SLG.

SFC team members were takenby SLG faculty members to discusswith Secretary, PR&RD Departmentand the members of State FinanceCommission, Government of AndhraPradesh. SFC members made apresentation on formats, indicators,tentative templates prepared by themfor data collection. Similarly, on the

second day, RD&PR officials ofGovernment of Telangana made apresentation on Grama Jyothi, ManaVooru Mana Pranalika, templatesprepared for data collection, strategiesadopted to increase own sourcerevenue in the State by Shri Wessellyand Smt. Padmaja, ETC, Principal,Rajendranagar. Workshop cum visitby SFC members was coordinated byschool of Local Governance FacultyDr. K Jayalakshmi, Dr. Y. BhaskarRao, and Dr. C. Dheeraja.

Distinguished Visitors

Shri Mukhtar Gafarzoy,Executive Director, AfghanistanInstitute of Rural Development,Director, Reform Process/Advisor,Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation andDevelopment, Islamic Republic ofAfghanistan, visited the NIRD&PRcampus on April, 4, 2016 and had ameeting with Dr. W. R. Reddy, IAS,Director General, NIRD&PR, in hisoffice in Hyderabad.

This meeting was held to discussseveral matters including theestablishment of Rural TechnologyPark in Afghanistan, issues related tooffering a distance mode-PostGraduate Diploma in Sustainable

Rural Development (PGD-SRD). Theagenda of the discussions alsoincluded the development of mutual

relations as per the existingMemorandum of Understanding(MoU) between both the institutions.


APRIL 2016

NIRD&PR Events


Pragati APRIL 2016

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Jayanti celebrations at

NIRD&PR

Inauguration of e-Office

Session on Art-of-living for NIRD&PR employees

Stress Management Session byDr. B.V. Pattabhiram


APRIL 2016

National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati RajRajendranagar, Hyderabad - 500 030

Phone : (040) 24008473, Fax : (040) 24008473E-mail : [email protected], Website : www.nird.org.in

Dr. W.R. Reddy, IAS, Director General, NIRD&PRDr. Gyanmudra, Professor and Head, CDC, Editor : Dr. K. Papamma, Asst. Editor : Jeevan Kumar Durgam

Photographs : P. Subrahmanyam; Cover Design : V. G. Bhat: Published by Dr. Gyanmudra , Professor and Head,CDC on behalf of the National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad - 500 030

and printed at M/s. Vaishnavi Laser Graphics, Hyderabad.

OIGS Book-Post (Contains Printed Matter)

The Journal of Rural Development, a quarrterly journal published by NIRD&PR wouldbe going online with regard to the submission of papers. Henceforth, the contributorsare requested to follow the procedure given in Online Journal Management System(OJMS). One can access the OJMS site on the link http://nirdprojms.in.

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