The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR), Government of India and the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), Gujarat signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the IRMA Campus in Anand, Gujarat today.

Shri Sunil Kumar, Secretary, MoPR and Dr. Umakant Dash, Director, IRMA, signed the MoU, which has been formulated to give a fillip to the strengthening and capacity building of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) across the country, and to establish a framework under which MoPR and IRMA will collaborate in the area of Gram Panchayat Development Planning for Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) through PRIs.

“If attainment of SDGs in rural areas is to be permanent and meaningful in nature, PRIs need to identify them with themes of localization of SDGs with clear vision and achieving thematic goals”, Shri Kumar said on the occasion. “IRMA”, he added, “is the only institute best placed to serve such needs and requirements that are necessary for the overall development of rural India.” Shri Kumar called upon the PRIs to use technology / digital technology to reach out to the last mile and taking everyone along in the spirit of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayaas.

In his address, Dr. Umakant Dash said that IRMA was established with the stated purpose of creating rural managers, committed to work at the grassroots. The collaboration between IRMA and the MoPR couldn’t have come at a more opportune time, given that the nation is celebrating the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, commemorating 75 years of progressive India and the glorious history of its people. The people who are the backbone of the PRIs and institutions like IRMA have a responsibility towards rural development. This collaboration, he added, would aid IRMA faculty and participants to work closely with PRIs and hone their skills on the ground, towards the attainment of the larger goal of the localization of SDGs.

Smt. Rekha Yadav, Joint Secretary, MoPR, shared an overview on the localization of SDGs and their convergence with different stakeholders at the grassroots. Stressing on the need for recognizing the challenges and the opportunities present in mobilizing community participation, she said the MoPR recognizes the same and its efforts are now focused on undertaking implementation and monitoring of the localization of the SDGs. She concluded by saying that IRMA would be expected to bring its specialization, technical prowess and practical experience to the common objectives of the agreement and the collaborative efforts would bring about the implementation of best practices across the nation.

The MoU ceremony also saw presentation from IRMA faculty on various domains like IRMA’s strategy for integrating its PGDM students with the MoPR fellows during the institute’s Village Fieldwork Segment (VFS) and the Summer Internship Segment (SIS), as well as its continuous commitment to create research and capacity-building programmes that engage rural communities and create sustainable models to transform economy and livelihoods scenario of India.

The ceremony was capped by an interactive session between Shri Sunil Kumar, Secretary, MoPR, Smt. Rekha Yadav, Joint Secretary, MoPR and the students of IRMA's flagship PGDRM programme.

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