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 1982-
83 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 non-
agriculture 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).

( maakhan786@gmail.com )
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. Role of Rural Institutions in Managing Rural Resources

II. Management and training in Rural Sector
III. Government Schemes of Rural Development and their Evaluation
IV. Institutional analysis, design and implementation of the process of restructuring
rural institutions.
V. Irrigation and farming
VI. PURA Scheme (Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas)
VII. Agriculture and cooperatives
VIII. Rural marketing
IX. Rural Banking and Insurance.
X. Rural Artisans and their Institutional support
XI. Role of PRI's and NGOs.
XII. Economic reforms and role of rural development Institutions
XIII. Regulatory and Control Functions in Rural Institutions
XIV. Natural Resource Conservation Function in Rural Areas
XV. Restructuring the Rural Institutions
XVI. Technology Management in Rural Sector.
XVII. Role and performance of National and International Agencies in Rural Development
XVIII. 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