Karnali Project

A society in fine fettle always enjoys the vivacity and strength of three major pillars....that is, those of social, environmental and economic. While all the three are critical, they are also interrelated, and sustainable development rests on the growth and progression of these pillars. Human Resource Development through focus on capacity and skill building, not just strengthens these pillars but also goes  on to create communities that are socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable. Interventions in this area are thus crucial, more so; for the coming  generations.

Most of our rural locales, in particular, need to flaunt a robust framework on the premise on strong skills to get into the mainstream. I am glad  that  the  Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana is here to ensure just this. The Karnali Group Panchayat that comprises four Villages has its inherent advantages but they need to be honed enough to be projected as strengths. I am glad that Shri Arun Jaitley, Hon'ble Union Finance Minister sensed potential for growth in this group of villages. I am pleased that IDBI Bank Ltd. is partnering in this project by donning  the  cap  of  a  nerve centre, for fulfilling the multifarious needs  of  the region. As I  am  heading  EDII,  it also makes me happy to note how this Institute is strategically implementing the project by considering  opportunities  and growth factors for development.

Such a noble task must conclude with concrete results that strengthen  the  replicability factor of the model, and I am certain that such inspiring paradigms will become rampant. Once this is achieved , exemplars will ensure replication in other settings and scenarios.

My Best Wishes....

Kishor Kharat President-EDI &
MD & CEO-IDBI Bank Ltd.

An innovative and replicable development model can greatly accentuate the creative capacities and learning capabilities of youth. Karnali Group Panchayat has been adopted  by the Hon'ble Union Finance Minister and given the efforts that are being put in, I am certain about worthy results. For  all  round  development,  while  the  district administration has assumed the onus  of  developing  various  other  infrastructural facilities, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of  India  is focusing on skill  building  to redress the villages of Jack of opportunities and associated glitches.

I am happy to witness the  implementation of the  training  module for skill enhancement  in Karnali Group Panchayat, loaded with its own peculiarities, heterogeneity in terms of youth education levels, preferences and socio-economic status . It is nice to see that EDI have initiated on a solid platform of trust and delivered what the youths were expecting. The areas of intervention were  also  carefully  selected  after  intense  research  and  interact ions. Worthwhile results are on the way and  will certainly  act as game changer  for the region.
I truly appreciate  the  efforts  of EDI.

Regards

Avantika Singh
Collector & District Magistrate
Vadodara

Experts have vouched for several social & economic upliftment concepts and processes of accomplishing these, but somewhere one does notice the need to reinforce outcomes by designing further ingenious strategies. One area, delving into which is always rewarding, is Human resource Development. We have examples how resource-poor countries have outpaced the endowed ones solely on account of their capable  and industrious human resource. This project looks forward to ensuing a self sufficient, growth-oriented community in Karnali Group Panchayat on the  premise of skills and capabilities of its youth. The project is forward-looking and expounds the relevance of training and expertise in arriving at pragmatic development models and perspectives.

My best wishes!!

Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) is a progressive scheme by the Central Government to initiate a number of plans and schemes to uplift the quality of life of the people in villages. It is envisaged that in implementing rural development plans and programmes and for its subsequent success, involvement of stakeholders in planning and execution needs to be ensured. The need, therefore, is to focus on integrated efforts, informed by long term elaborate and sustainable goals by involving villagers, panchayats, specialised institutions, representatives of civil society, professionals, policy makers, government functionaries, funding institutions and private sector players. One ‘all-equipped and skilled’ village thus created, could serve as a model for further sustainable development. While the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) scheme aims at developing smart schools and other essential and basic infrastructure, one of its primary goals is to build and hone skills among youths, thus ensuring ‘youth empowerment’ for inclusive growth and development. In a heartening move, in Gujarat, the Karnali Group Panchayat has been adopted by Shri Arun Jaitley, the Hon’ble Minister of Finance, Govt. of India under SAGY scheme. The vision of development includes youth empowerment through skill training. The district administration, on the other hand, has committed itself to developing infrastructural and other facilities in the villages in order to give an up-thrust to the villages on other parameters.

Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) is a National Resource Centre committed to entrepreneurship education, training, research and institution - building. The Institute has been building capacities to promote investments in industrial sector and has been developing entrepreneurial competencies among various target groups to help them formulate, launch and successfully manage enterprises. Addressing the need of micro enterprise, micro finance and sustainable livelihoods, EDI has facilitated holistic development of rural areas through capacity building and training interventions, leading to setting up of enterprises, including Science and Technology based. Promotion of micro enterprises in urban areas has ensured that skills are imparted to youth, thus channelizing unemployed youths towards self employment. This has created gainful employment opportunities. The specially formulated Skill Development Programmes (SDPs) has equipped youth with appropriate skills in specific trades. The Institute also directs efforts towards strengthening the State Rural Livelihood Directorates to promote non-farm based enterprises among marginalized and disadvantaged sections. To achieve its goals, the Institute leverages on its nationwide network of development and support institutions.

The three – year development plan envisaged a beginning with scanning the environment to identify the potential sectors wherein training could be imparted. EDII drew out an integrated rejuvenation plan to ensure all-round development. The overall strategy was worked out in three tiers including Villagers’ participation for skill and resource mapping, capacity building and skill development and designing livelihood promotion options after scanning the local market dynamics. The activities as planned under each phase included:

EDI faculty team initiated an in depth opportunity mapping exercise to understand the dynamics of ‘opportunities’ based on local resource base, preferences, challenges and scope. The idea was to analyse opportunities and ensure its viability as a business proposition. The experts also delved in to assess how the opportunities thus identified for skill building will connect with other parameters that exist in the region. After a preliminary research on the number of youths, their age profile and education background, EDI took up to sensitizing them and knowing their inclinations through Workshop Mode.

In all, 90 youths (Karnali-24; Pipalia-24; Vadia-32 and Baglipura-10) participated in the workshops. The idea was to turn the demographic dividend of these villages into a workforce with hardcore skills in niche areas. The workshop focused on raising such a brigade of personnel by making them endorse the necessity of the intervention. Every participant was encouraged to discuss career aspirations, subsequent to which; EDII put forth its plans to turn their goals into reality. The skillsets required to succeed were talked about in brief, to which the participants responded by getting enthused to scan the environment, combine the effort with their knowledge and set up a progressive micro enterprise.

The discussions in the workshops focused on driving in the necessity for youths to acquire ‘vocational skills’ to become employable. Possible business opportunities that the youths can venture into by floating micro-startups in the villages, were also discussed.

EDII faculty invited suggestions from the youths on trades that they preferred to get trained in. These suggestions were then assessed on the parameter of their viability and pitted against the findings of the faculty-investigative team. The areas that were finally selected for training were:

Skills Auto-engine-mechanic/Garage Electrician/Wireman/Fitter Boat-mechanic Carpentry/Welding: Basics of Computer

The faculty members looked forward to offering skills and an interconnected web of opportunities to the participants by the end of the skill-cum-technical-training programmes in the identified areas. The training design comprised inputs in the areas of achievement motivation, entrepreneurship, skill building and technical expertise pertinent to a particular field. For technical inputs, Industrial Training Institute, Dabhoi was roped in.

“The beginning seemed to be highly promising. We were somehow confident that the results would be to our benefit. There were several interactions and counselling sessions before the trade specific training programme commenced. And when these started, we were unable to detach ourselves even after classes. It gave us confidence and left us inspired to think about our future,” says Chintan Machhi from Karnali.

As faculty expert from EDII, Dr. Amit Dwivedi, puts it, “Before we started, we could sense apprehensions in the air. Although ambitious, the youths had reservations and looked at us with an iota of doubt. However, personal interaction and initial probe, helped break the ice. Once the trust building was done, imparting inputs became easy.”