Management Of Rural Institutions

MANAGEMENT OF RURAL INSTITUTIONS IN INDIA Prof. Mohd.Akbar Ali Khan *

More than 70 per cent of our people live in villages and 80 per cent of our poor also live in rural areas. The benefits of economic growth are not percolating to more than two-thirds of our population. The divide between the rural and urban areas in terms of economic infrastructure is widening. Crop failures due to unpredictable climatic variations, inability to meet the rising cost of cultivation, and the increasing debt burden, are among the factors that lead our farmers to growing frustration. Despite making spectacular progress in various fields, India still faces poverty, unemployment, ignorance and socio-economic inequality. New economic forces in the post liberalization period are bringing with them new opportunities for development and for contributing to nation-building. It is, however, important to ensure that our growth is inclusive and that we do not leave anyone behind and that the benefits of development reach everyone, particularly the rural masses that have not been effectively touched by the efforts of six decades of freedom. The policies and programmes formulated to augment economic growth should also contribute towards improving the lives of the poor and the vulnerable. Agriculture is the backbone of our economy. In recent years, agriculture growth in India has fallen. Though the share of agriculture in the gross domestic product has seen a steady decline from 36.4 per cent in 198283 to 18.5 per cent in 2006-07, the sector continues to sustain more than half a billion people, providing employment to 52 per cent of the workforce. It is an important source of raw material and absorbs many industrial products, particularly fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural implements and consumer goods. The very fact that over a period, the growth in agriculture has remained much lower than the growth in the nonagriculture sectors will explain the unpleasant plight of the rural people. Today there is a greater need than ever before to critically analyze and address the problems facing this rural sector, especially the management of rural institutions. Poverty, hunger and healthcare represent some of the major challenges before rural India. The unenviable plight of the landless laborers and small and marginalized farmers can be attributed to factors such as natural calamities, crop failures, exploitation by moneylenders, lack of adequate supplementary income and low level of education, besides lack of effective intervention by the state in the form of measures like land reforms. It is a socio-economic phenomenon rooted in structural inequalities and an unjust and in egalitarian social and economic order. * Professor of Commerce, Department of Commerce, Osmania University, Hyderabad-7(A.P). ( [email protected] )

Addressing the problem of unemployment in the rural areas is crucial to improving the economic conditions of the people. Governments, at the Centre and the States, have adopted multi-pronged approach and several initiatives have been launched in recent years to address the challenges in our rural economy. The political leadership, the bureaucracy, the management of rural institutions and the media have vital roles in the rural development. Rural development has always been the prime focus of our government since independence. Therefore, it is pertinent that our villages are developed so that the standard of living of people living in villages and rural towns can improve. All five years plans were focused towards the special benefit of the rural community. The Government of India and the State government initiated various schemes for development from time to time but the fact remains that it can be effective if not only planned properly but also executed systematically.

Rural Management is the operation of the rural sector as a system. The management system needs to grasp and conceive the rural programmes and schemes. It is concerned with the transformation of the rural society. While professionalisation and inculcation of management skills are important, it is equally necessary to sensitize the administrators, workers and managers, creating in them an awareness of the major task of their bringing about rural transformation. People's participation and organization of the poor have political overtones and implications which neither the so-called more fortunate ones in society nor public administrators are prepared to face. It needs creative leadership and idealism. Take for example, the successful scheme of rural development, such as, ‘Revolution Flood’, an operation started by the Dairy Development Board; the objective was high production of milk and dairy products. The scheme was very successful in Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and the production of milk and milk based products jumped exponentially. Further the products were exported yielding high return of foreign exchange. As a result, farm income increased and the quality of life of the villagers. Today farmers in these places have more than a dozen of cows or buffaloes and the income gained is cumulative. This was further carried out in other state in stages and the result has been equally encouraging. Rural planners have realized that a sustained development process can get the best possible result for rural development. Another Scheme is the ‘Green Evolution’. This was yield of food products of export variety. Again, the northern states took the lead and produced maximum yield and earning for the country. The import of food grains was reduced one-fourth thus saving a lot of money for the country. All these are due to sustained rural development actions. Given the magnitude of our rural population the

Government of India has worked up to the fact that proper rural development will yield good income prospects. Therefore, the government is encouraging professionals to set up industry and development process in rural areas. Secondly, becoming very popular. apart from the Government of India, many voluntary agencies and private companies are also supporting rural development and rural management. The knack to work in villages cannot be developed overnight. It is a continuous process of development and the spirit has to come from within. The government of India has set up a prestigious institute known as Indian Institute of Rural Management at Anand in Gujrat to cater to the growing needs of professionals in rural management. The other avenue open for rural management professional are the research institutes. There are also equal opportunities in agencies like United National and its subsidiary social research agencies. If one works in a rural area, the basic objective is the upliftment of the rural working and living lifestyle. This is quite devotion and needs lots of patience. The advantage to work in a village or in a rural area is the pollution free environment, the hygienic food and pure water would add more to the health of the person.

Non-Government agencies like Action Aid and Organization of Rural Development advices worldwide government for their rural development. Their function is backed by high-end research facilities and case study module back up for international sources. Many of the non-governmental organization funds are given by the countries like America and the United Kingdom. Their funding is further supplemented by some development work in the particular region.There are many institutions and projects which corporate houses fund the rural development. This gives the company some kind or brand equity and extra mileage.

The main work for a rural management professional is planning systematic development of the region where one is working. Secondly, the person is expected to collect necessary data on topics like illiteracy rate, nourishment rate, development of women and social relevant information. These data are further classified into broader heads and many plans done accordingly. The entire development of any project depends on the rural development professional whose sincerity, hard work, commitment and perfection is of utmost importance. As far as United Nations is concerned, the organization through its other agencies like, United Nations International Children Education Fund. UNICEF and UNESCO contribute a lot to the rural development of India. These projects are assigned to individual parties and organizations specializing in the particular area. For the Government of India, there are plenty of schemes and projects both handled by the Central

Government or/and the State Government. The states focus more agricultural front and that is where local expertise of the rural management professional is greatly required. Recently, focus is more devoted on the providing of housing and urban facilities to the rural villagers. The professional studies the topological area of the regions and the socio-economic distribution of the region. Through such one can plan an ideal mix of product description and fund allocation. Therefore, such planning needs meticulous calculations as any lacunae would damage the entire exercise. As far as remuneration is concerned the money packet is not as lucrative as other management professions. But, there is tremendous amount of satisfaction achieved in rural work. After working for seven to eight years one can shift to some metro cities for planning and development work. There the remuneration is quite good and a lot of social prestige is attached to it.

Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA): It is a noble programme initiated by Hon'ble Former President of India Dr A P J Abdul Kalam for Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA). The perspective of this programme is to enhance the development in villages with all basic facilities like schools, roads, lighting, water, communication, health, employment and income in order to arrest migration. The Scheme is introduced successfully in Periyar, Tamilnadu State. The Periyar Society"s mission is: 1. To broaden the social spectrum where caste and superstitions will sink into oblivion through peaceful propagation of equality and scientific temper. 2. To structure, practise and apply social justice and gender equality with belief in leadership by example. 3. To campaign for equal opportunities through a movement for education, health care and community services. 4. To focus on service network for the underprivileged and rural population by providing health care services including ante-natal outreach programmers. 5. To provide technology, with the twin purpose of human development and poverty eradication. Education

Thanthai Periyar, a laudable mentor and an ardent fighter for social equality, dedicated his entire life to liberate the conventional society from the fetters of superstitious beliefs and class discriminations. His contribution to the cause of the downtrodden, in particular women is history in itself. He insisted that only life-oriented education could enlighten the dark society and that it was the only effective tool for the emancipation of women. Ever since its inception, the Society has been striving hard to make the people intellectually competent, physically fit, emotionally stable and socially desirable. In order to fortify the vision of Thanthai Periyar, several educational institutions have been established. Primary, secondary and post-secondary educations are the three pillars in the Periyar Society"s mission to end gender inequality, caste discrimination and rural poverty. The success of Periyar Society is founded on the strong commitment to education and through the creation of a flexible, competitive and dynamic economic environment, which will provide students the creative potential to use and develop technological innovations. Educational Institutions are identifying the demands and challenges linking science and technology for the promotion of economic and social needs.

Restructuring Rural Institutions: Interventions in developing countries have increasingly sought to aid public institutions of the rural sector in their effort to adapt to the new economic context, and in the establishment of new relations with farmers and other actors of civil society in the name of ‘Restructuring Rural Institutions’. Thus, partners in development have been able to define and perfect methodologies and analytical instruments, and models of organization (after they have been tested in real situations) that respond to current objectives of food security and sustainable economic and social development. Since the beginning of the 1990s, an increasing number of countries have made requests to institutions engaged in development support. These requests have been for support in the restructuring of public institutions, and for the building of professional agricultural organizations. Policies seeking to establish market economies lead to a review of the role of the state. It is required in the new context to concentrate on public service, carrying its functions in a cost efficient manner. This public service mission fits into the following major functions:

Guidance Function: gathering of information useful to the agricultural sector, macroeconomic analysis, and forecast of the sector's development, proposing agricultural policy, monitoring and coordination of development actions. Regulatory and Control Function: preparing and adapting laws and regulations seeking to encourage development, and preserving the general interest in different areas (institutional, phytosanitary, veterinary, quality of agricultural products, and factors of production, etc.), and ensuring their implementation by all actors involved. Natural Resource Conservation Function: taking stock of resources, classifying them, determining and implementing, with citizen participation, plans for their rational development and conservation. Beyond these three functions within its exclusive sphere, the state has an important role, along with other actors, in contributing to technical support for production, technical assistance to farmers, especially through agronomic research, extension, and agricultural training. Restructuring is based on the new role of the state and it involves a complete structural transformation: dissolving, revamping, and creating new types of institutions. It takes into consideration problem solving, especially personnel problems, which its implementation causes. It requires the management institutions to frame basic principles underlying the restructuring of rural institutions.

Rural Revolution: With metros beginning to face saturation in development, Corporate houses and educational institutes are turning to Rural areas in search of newer horizons. Shraddha kamdar explores options within rural management.

It’s rather ironic that while

some of us are plagued by the question of which course to takeafter class 10 or 12, a majority of our rural counterparts are still struggling for basic education. Taking the growing need for rural studies into consideration, institutes across the country have initiated learning programmes related to rural studies, in the hope of seeing a ‘developed’ India in the future. The importance of rural studies, as a discipline in higher education has grown over the past two decades. That rural institutions play a prime role in

building the nation is being acknowledged. Rural entrepreneurship, the role and activities of NGOs, and selfemployment, have vital implications on the national economy and require a large number of trained personnel. The spread of rural industries and village based cooperatives call for manpower skilled in the intricacies of rural studies. Even the revival of Panchayati Raj, the changing facets of cooperatives and recent developments in liberalized economy have further enhanced the importance of rural studies.

Issues to be discussed: In the backdrop of the above, following are the broad issues pertaining to the Management of Rural Institutions to be addressed in the Technical Session-IV of the forthcoming 61 st. All India Commerce Conference and papers are invited for discussion in this session:

I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI.

Role of Rural Institutions in Managing Rural Resources Management and training in Rural Sector Government Schemes of Rural Development and their Evaluation Institutional analysis, design and implementation of the process of restructuring rural institutions. Irrigation and farming PURA Scheme (Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas) Agriculture and cooperatives Rural marketing Rural Banking and Insurance. Rural Artisans and their Institutional support Role of PRI's and NGOs. Economic reforms and role of rural development Institutions Regulatory and Control Functions in Rural Institutions Natural Resource Conservation Function in Rural Areas Restructuring the Rural Institutions Technology Management in Rural Sector.

XVII. XVIII.

Role and performance of National and International Agencies in Rural Development Rural Entrepreneurship

XIX. Role and Performance of Rural Educational Institutions, Training and Development Institutions; XX. Role of Micro Finance in rural sector XXI. Corporate sector in Agri-business