Curriculum for Rural Development&
Grassroots Governance
Ashwani Kumar(TISS, Mumbai)& Member,
CEGC(MoRD)
Objectives of the Course
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To create interdisciplinary approach in the study of processes
of rural development and Panchyati Raj institutions for
students and practitioners in RD.
To study rural development administration and governance
To empower rural masses through participatory learning and
social mobilization.
To familiarize practitioners of RD with processes and
outcomes of rural development programs.
To observe and experience actual rural development through
field visits and participatory rural appraisal methods.
Pedagogy for the Course
• Praxis and Organic Knowledge; Bridging the
gap between theory and practice.
• Learning through Reason, Reciprocity and
Reflection(RRR) in a participatory mode.
• Individual excellence, community
empowerment and citizen centric knowledge.
• Focus on social justice and voice of poor.
• Oral, Visual, Folk, ICT based online mode of
learning
Course Module: I
Title: Meaning, Scope and Approaches to Rural Development
Content:
• Meaning, Scope and Approaches to Rural Development
• Rural Social Structure & Political Economy
• Natural Resource Management and Livelihood
• Agrarian Relations, Agriculture and Rural Development
• Rural Poverty, Unemployment & Livelihood Challenges
• Disaster Management in Rural Development(Floods,
droughts, epidemic, earthquakes etc)
Course Module: II
Title: Administration of Rural Development& Panchyati Raj
Institutions in Rural India
Content:
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Rural Development Administration in India
Design and evolution of Panchayati Raj Institutions
Gram Sabha & Empowerment of rural masses
Provision of the Panchayats (Extension to the
Scheduled Area) Act
• Rural Development through voluntary Action
Course Module: III
Title; Rural Development Policies and Programs
Content:
• Rural Development Programmes&: Alleviation of
rural poverty
• Natural Resource Management Programs for rural
development
• Rural Development programs and Social Capital
• Infrastructure Development programs in rural India
• Technology & Innovation in Rural India:
Course Module: IV
Title: Practicum for Program Management & Action Research
Practices
Objective: This module is a faculty(NIRD/SIRD) supervised
activity for officials and practitioners from NGOs. The module
exposes RD practitioners to complexities and challenges in
the implementation of rural development programs.
Content: A structured time-bound field-based intense
engagement with rural reality/action in core areas of program
management & action research practices in rural
development.
Core Areas for Rural Practicum
• Natural resources management & Agricultural practices
• Planning, budgeting& procurement
• Financial management operations & Office Management
Practices; scheduling, monitoring, drafting, file management,
record management etc.
• Leadership development, management of conflict and
communication
• Learning in governance practices for RD programs( such as
MGNREGA, NRLM etc.)
• Management Information System(MIS)
• Rural Marketing and Infrastructure
• Management and Administration of Gram Panchayats.
• Social mobilization of stakeholders , institutions of rural
poor , dalit and gender empowerment.
• Accountability& Transparency; Monitoring, RTI,
Grievance Redressal, Social Audit, Citizen's Charter,
Helplines etc.
• Tools of impact assessment such as Participatory Rural
Appraisal (PRA), Social Impact Assessment/Sustainability
Impact Assessment(SIA)etc.
• Innovations in technologies for Rural India.