Dedicated to development

Preetinder Kaur

India is a country of farmers and villages, where more than 60 per cent population lives in the rural areas. These peoples can’t take full advantage of the resources available in urban areas. To take care of the development of rural areas, education in rural development and management is much in demand. Government is hiring professional rural managers to assist villagers in the process of growth, improvement and expansion.

As the term rural development encompasses overall development of rural areas with a view to improving the standard of living of rpeopel in these areas, its field includes the development of agriculture and its allied activities, village and cottage industries, handicrafts, socio-economic infrastructure, community services and facilities, and, above all the human resources in rural areas. Study in rural development and management has become one of the most soughtafter courses to study and research at postgraduate level.

Courses and eligibility

Interested candidates can go in for diploma or bachelor’s courses after Class XII. Some of the courses that you should check out are: 

Diploma courses

• Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Management
• Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Development
• Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Finance
• Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Marketing

Bachelor’s courses

• Bachelor of Arts in Rural Development
• Bachelor of Rural Technology and Management

Master’s courses

• Master of Arts in Rural Development
• Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Rural Management
• Doctoral courses
• MPhil in Rural Development
• PhD in Rural Development

Getting in

Many institutions provide admission on the basis of an entrance test. To pursue Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Management from the Institute of Rural Management Anand, the candidates are required to appear the CAT/XAT entrance examination. Admission to MBA programme in rural management is done on the basis of the following entrance exams:

• MAT
• CAT
• XAT
• ATMA

Prospects

With a number of institutes offering courses in this field  professionally qualified workforce is available and is also in demand for various job openings. With the corporates paying more attention to CSR activities professionally qualified persons have a vast scope of employment. Companies like Tata, Arvind Mills, Reliance etc. have set up their exclusive rural development units.

Apart from the learning within the four walls of classrooms, students of rural development courses also gets practical and hands on training through projects/visits to the field and in the operational areas of the voluntary organisations.

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Institute watch

Students can go for rural management and development courses at the following institutions:

• Institute of Rural Management, Jaipur
• Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta
• Institute of Rural Management Anand
• Amity School of Rural Management, Noida
• Xavier Institute of Management,Bhubaneswar
• National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD), Hyderabad
• National Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad

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Job profiles

Candidates with a related degree can take up positions as rural managers. Professionals of this field can apply in the government sector for the posts of Village Development Officer (VDO).

Rural managers can also run their own NGOs or can work for an NGO. They can work in rural co-operative sector, agri-business enterprises, agricultural marketing and management of agro products. 

The Indian Institute of Rural Management, which is a government-run institution, also recruits candidates holding a degree in rural management .