Three days Workshop on "Rural Entrepreneurship and Rural Start-Ups"
17th - 19th February 2021
Department of Rural Development at NITTTR Chandigarh organised a three-day workshop on "Rural Entrepreneurship and Rural Start-Ups." from the 17th to 19th of February 2021. Three faculty members Ms. Cheela Annapurna Mounica(Civil) , Ms. Pooja Jain(CSE) and Mr. Krishnu Kundu(ECE) of Dronacharya College of Engineering, Gurugram attended the worksop.
Day 1
Dr. U. N. Roy, Professor and Head of the Department of Rural Development, delivered the inaugural address. Dr. Roy stated that all technical and higher education institutions, as well as all other colleges and polytechnics affiliated with central universities, as well as the UGC, AICTE, ICAR, and ICMR, would work together to realize the mission. Each participating institute (PI) has created a cluster of five villages in its immediate vicinity, with a variety of technical interventions tailored to local needs.
Dr. U. N. Roy spoke about the Potential of Rural Entrepreneurship and Rural Development in the second session. He went on to talk about the importance of rural entrepreneurship in creating jobs, and income gaps between rural and urban areas, and promoting sustainable regional and economic growth in rural areas. He also explained the advantages of Rural Industrial Projects and problems of rural entrepreneurship.
In the third session, Professor J. S. Saini spoke about the job situation in India's various sectors and potential initiatives in MSMEs to help the country's economy. The MSME sector is critical for job creation and the continuation of the economic recovery. The MSME sector has also been given collateral-free credit in addition to the jobs incentive.
Day 2
Professor Jagveer Singh Rawat HAU, Hisar, delivered the first session on the second day. Under the heading Dairy Farming in India: Effective Case Studies, he shared his thoughts on rural start-up. To meet rising demand, the Indian dairy industry's future depends on increased production. However, animal health must also be taken into consideration.
Dr. H. S. Jwanda, Principal ITI, GNDP Ludhiana, spoke about Skills Training and Placement of Punjabi Rural Youth under the CDTP Scheme and Other Government Schemes in the second session. He told each identified Polytechnic shall create Extension Centres in the nodal villages so that each centre covers at least a cluster of villages in its vicinity in order to impart skill training and accomplish ground level physical delivery of new technologies at the doorsteps of the rural people. Under the scheme, these centres will serve as an extension arm of the polytechnic, providing capacity training, repair and maintenance services, as well as common six facilities for group businesses, knowledge exchange, and renting technical facilities from the polytechnics. Extension Centres should be developed with the participation of NGOs, voluntary organisations, technical experts, and village agencies.
Professor Joginder Singh Rohru spoke about organic apple cultivation and marketing in the third session. He expressed his belief that the steady rise in market demand for organic goods over the last decade should be regarded as a promising opportunity for organic producers worldwide. Improved pest control practises, the use of disease-resistant cultivars, and organic-focused marketing schemes have all been linked to increased organic fruit production, according to him.
Day 3
On the last day, the first session was delivered by Professor Hardip Singh Sura, Bugana, Hisar. He deeply focused on Farming Techniques and Agri–Inputs Production and Marketing: Experience of an Agri-Entrepreneurship. He told entrepreneurship is one of the key drivers for economic development increases. Agri-entrepreneurship in common language can be defined as sustainable, community-oriented, directly-marketed agriculture. It is beneficial combination of agriculture and entrepreneurship and convert your farm into an agribusiness. This association of agriculture and business promotes agri-entrepreneurs who innovate, identify markets and satisfy needs by developing different ways. The term agri-entrepreneurship is similar with entrepreneurship in agriculture and describes agribusiness establishment in agriculture and allied sector.
The next session was delivered by Dr. Sarita Mehra and Dr. S. P. Mehra, RSNH, Bharatpur. They discussed Rural Start Ups for the Empowerment of Rural women: An Experiment of RSNH, Bharatpur. They explained training and mentoring vulnerable women and their families in rural communities with basic Entrepreneurship and Small-scale business startups skills. Then there was the interaction with UBA coordinators Dr. U. N. Roy and Dr. Poonam Syal, Associate Professor, Department of Rural Development.
All participants found the workshop to be very insightful and educational.