May-2022

CONTENTS:

COVER STORY: Risk-Based Internal Audit – A Tool of Accountability in MoRD Programmes

IUINDRR-NIRDPR Collaborate for Regional Capacity Building Training Programme

NIRDPR Inks Pact with IPCA for Skilling Youth in Pest Management Sector

DoSJE, NIRDPR Sign MoU to Set up NRCSA for Social Audit

NRLM RC, NIRDPR Conducts ToT on Gender Mainstreaming and Integration Strategy

Regional Training Programme on Integration of Disaster Risk Reduction with GPDP

Workshop on Training Needs Assessment-Capacity Building of PRIs as Nutrition Advocates

NIRDPR Organises Training Programme on Spatial Planning for GPDP using RADPFI -2021

NRLM RC, NIRDPR Conducts ToT on Farm Livelihoods

Training on NRLM MIS for SRLMs

Innovation of the Month: Discarded Temple Flowers for Organic Fashion

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COVER STORY: Risk-Based Internal Audit – A Tool of Accountability in MoRD Programmes

Internal auditing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organisation’s operations. It also helps an organisation to accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes. With commitment to integrity and accountability, internal auditing provides value to governing bodies and senior management as an objective source of independent advice. Professionals, known as internal auditors, are employed by organisations to perform the internal auditing activity.

Over the last few years, the need to manage risks has been recognised as an essential part of good governance practice. This has put organisations under increasing pressure to identify all the risks they face and to explain how they manage them. While the responsibility of identifying and managing risks belongs to management, one of the key roles of internal audit is to provide assurance that those risks have been properly managed. Professional internal audit activity can best achieve its mission as a cornerstone of governance by positioning its work in the context of the organisation’s own risk management framework. The necessity for consideration of the risks in the internal audit processes has emerged and internal auditing has undergone a drastic change in the 2000s. Risk-Based Internal Audit is a comprehensive approach to provide assurance to the organisation in effective risk management. In brief, Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) defined Risk-Based Internal Auditing (RBIA) as a methodology that links internal auditing to an organisation’s overall risk management framework. RBIA allows internal audit to provide assurance to the board that risk management procedures are managing risks effectively, in relation to the risk appetite. 

1. Risk-Based Internal Audits in MoRD Programmes

Ministry of Rural Development is the second largest ministry after Ministry of Defence in terms of budgetary allocation. The coverage area of this Ministry incorporates almost all areas of development of rural India. Ministry of Rural Development is running key flagship programmes including MGNREGS, PMGSY, PMAY-G, DAY-NRLM, NSAP, DDU-GKY, SAGY and PMKSY. These schemes have very high budgetary allocation and require proper monitoring. Since these schemes touch the lives of poorest of the poor, it makes them even more sensitive. Also, from the executive point of view, it is essential to keep an eye on the expenditure as well as performance of the schemes. The prevalent practice is the Ministry releasing funds under different programme heads to the State governments. For these funds, as well as for its own share, the responsibility for maintenance of accounts lies with the State government.  Most of these programmes are implemented by the Panchayati Raj Institutions and are overseen by district and State agencies. Over the last decade, MoRD’s programmes have undergone a transformational change both in their scope and content, leading to a phenomenal increase in budgetary allocations. This requires addressing new complexities and associated risks, both during design and implementation. Rising stakeholder expectations, especially at the grassroots level, and increasing demands for accountability of resources expended, calls for putting in place an effective mechanism to address these new challenges. Few mechanisms to institutionalise the transparent framework with zero tolerance for corruption was introduced by MoRD, which include eligibility through Socio Economic Census 2011, Social Audits, Financial Audits, Geo-tagging and use of IT-DBT, MIS, etc. Risk-Based Internal Audit is also one such mechanism of accountability to improve the effectiveness of the schemes’ implementation.

Controller General of Accounts (CGA) in the Ministry of Finance is the designated authority for the conduct of internal audit (IA) in the Government of India (GoI). From time to time, the CGA prescribes general guidelines for conduct of IA in the ministries and departments of the Central government. The Office of the Chief Controller of Accounts (O/o CCA) conducts internal audits in the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). The Ministry of Rural Development has set up an Internal Audit Wing in the office of Chief Controller of Accounts, which undertakes timely field verification of financial systems from time to time and provides insights into the quality of financial management so that corrective action can be taken on time. It is emphasised on appropriate management controls and performance improvement through risk-based internal audit process.

• Objectives and Scope of Risk-Based Internal Audit in MoRD Programme
• Objectives:
• To ensure compliance of rules/guideline relating to all schemes.
• To ensure compliance of General Financial Rules in procurement of goods and services.
• To ensure compliance of service rules and related matters, etc.
• To safeguard the interests of government and ensure value for money.

• Scope:
• Checking of budget/expenditure & other related registers & records.
• Checking of the records such as purchase files, tender files, muster rolls, issue register and other records of auditee.
• Checking of selected Gram-Panchayats scheme files/project files/cashbook/job card register, etc.
• Site inspection of project & works.
• Interaction with labourers & villagers to inquire about scheme works & payment of wages to labourers, etc.

• GRIP:

Grameen Internal Audit Portal (GRIP), internal audit software, inaugurated by Hon’ble Minister, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in June, 2017, is being used by Internal Audit Wing, O/o Chief Controller of Accounts, MoRD. Based on the inputs of O/o CCA, MoRD, this portal was customised by designing some pages, specific to MoRD, on Audit Online Portal of Ministry of Panchayati Raj by NIC, MoPR. The portal has the basic features of audit process and some advance reporting features. In view of the increasing number of schemes, number of audits and response from Auditee units on GRIP, certain new features are required for Internal Audit portal of MoRD for its extensive and smooth use by all the stakeholders. The Deputy Director General, NIC, MoRD, in coordination with (a) Internal Audit Wing, MoRD, (b) Centre for Internal Audit in Rural Development (CIARD), NIRDPR and (c) NIC, MoPR, is working on the required features into the existing framework for upgraded user friendly version of GRIP. Existing internal audit process flow through GRIP is given below:

• Methodology of RBIA in MoRD Programmes

Districts in various States are selected at the time of preparation of audit tour programme based on various parameters like performance of schemes, funds released to districts, data analysis as available on respective scheme-specific portals and PFMS, districts leftover in audit plan of previous financial years, etc. Internal Audits for the selected units are conducted by Audit Parties. IAs of schemes follow risk matrices of schemes, documentary evidence, i.e., physical, testimonial, analytical, auditing sampling, statistical sampling, field visits, etc. To cover most of the geographical locations to the maximum possible extent, stratified random sampling is done.

• Entry and exit conference is done with CEO.
• Meetings with Chief Development Officer and CEO, DDO and other officers of the Department are done to see the progress of schemes.
• Internal Audit is conducted by scrutinising the selected records of district, blocks & few randomly selected Gram Panchayats & line departments as complete scrutiny is not feasible; judgmental cases are taken and checked.

Entry Conference                                                  

Record Verification

Field Verification

• Post Audit Activities of RBIA

Once RBIA is completed, the team will interact with the head of the unit in exit conference, with the aim to obtain the views of the officials on each audit observation. A draft report will be submitted to IAW and after approval of CCA, the audit report along with recommendations will be sent to auditee unit requesting to take necessary action on raised paras/observations. Teh auditee unit should submit action taken reports (ATRs) to O/o CCA within 30 days after receiving the audit reports.

1. Strengthening of Risk-Based Internal Audits
2. Expert Advisory Group

Since 2016-17, the IAW has been conducting internal audits of MoRD schemes taking district as unit. With available resources, they were able to cover very few auditee units, i.e., districts, and it was more compliance than addressing risks involved in implementation of MoRD schemes. Thus, MoRD had constituted an Expert Advisory Group (EAG) on Internal Audit for Rural Development Programmes on 5^th June, 2017 to put forth recommendations for making of Financial Management and Internal Audit more effective. Based on the complexity of the task and the multi-stakeholder interest that characterise the implementation of rural development programmes in India, the EAG adopted a consultative and collaborative approach to its work. The EAG had a large number of interactive sessions with the heads of Programme Divisions, Jt. Comptroller General of Accounts handling internal audit policies in the office of Comptroller General of Accounts, technical experts of PFMS, consultants and internal audit officers of O/o CCA, the Director General and faculty of NIRDPR and office-bearers of the Institute of Internal Auditors. Members of EAG also under took a field visit in Telangana to interact with field level functionaries on the challenges in implementation encountered by them. As the State governments are expected to have a defining role in making the widespread introduction of internal audit a success, members of EAG had participated in an interactive session with some State representatives in Hyderabad. This was followed by a discussion at the bi-annual Programme Implementation Committee chaired by Secretary, DoRD, and attended by all State Principal Secretaries/Secretaries of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj. After rigorous consultations with stakeholders at all levels, the EAG came out with the following suggestions:

1. Changes in Internal Audit Manual
2. Work out methodology for developing annual Internal Audit Plan for the MoRD
3. Measures to collate, analyse and utilise inputs from various evaluation reports to strengthen the internal audit mechanism and provide feedback for implementing agencies.
4. Assessment of the human resources requirement for the internal audit function had been taken out and measures for capacity building.
5. Modalities for establishing a Centre of Excellence for Internal Audit in the Ministry of Rural Development along with instrumentalities for disseminating IA-related observations and learning among all stakeholders.
6. Recommendations for conduct of internal audits through integration of MIS data of Programme Divisions with GRIP using data analytics and other advanced IT applications.

• Role of National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj

As recommended by EAG, the tasks of designing the Certificate Programme on Risk-Based Internal Audit in RD programmes and developing course material for the same were assigned to National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR), Hyderabad. As an autonomous Institute, NIRDPR is facilitating the rural development efforts with particular emphasis on the rural poor by improving the knowledge, skills and attitude of rural development officials and non-officials through organising training programmes, workshops and seminars on various flagship programmes. As assigned by the O/o CCA, NIRDPR designed a 21-day certificate course for Internal Auditors and developed course material for the same in the coordination of Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and Resource Centres of NIRDPR in two volumes (Volume-I on Internal Audit Process and Volume II on Overview of MoRD Flagship Programmes) and was released by Secretary, RD in the National Colloquium of State secretaries, RD&PR and SIRDs on 12^th January, 2018 at NIRDPR. Three ToTs and five Certificate Programmes at NIRDPR, and four Certificate Programmes at three SIRDs and INGAF were conducted from August, 2018 to December, 2020, in which 217 Certified Internal Auditors and 55 Master Trainers were trained.

• Additional Secretary Committee Recommendations

After the training of three batches, questions were raised on how the services of these Certified Internal Auditors could be utilised and what would be the process of engagement. Also, according to EAG recommendations, it is targeted to have a pool of 5,000 certified Internal Auditors to conduct internal audit in various parts of the country. The services of these Auditors may, in turn, be utilised by Local, State and Central governments, wherever required, to ensure that internal controls are strengthened, and risks are properly mitigated. Moreover, to achieve the target of 5000 certified Internal Auditors, training programmes at NIRDPR alone was found inadequate. In this context, a committee was constituted vide Department of Rural Development on 14^th January, 2019 under the Chairmanship of Shri Sanjeev Kumar, Additional Secretary, DoRD, for strengthening the risk-based internal audit of rural development programmes by appropriate engagement of the services of Internal Auditors certified by NIRDPR. The committee noted the fact that after attending the three-week certificate course, auditors are able to enhance their skills and there is demand for them in various organisations. For further strengthening of Internal Audits, after considering the recommendations of EAG, the committee has come out with new recommendations.

•  Deployment of Certified Internal Auditors

In accordance with the EAG, 80 per cent of the auditee units shall be covered by the State governments, whereas 20 per cent shall be covered by Government of India. Every unit shall necessarily be audited by internal audit teams at least once in three years. Therefore, States may be advised to create a pool of certified auditors by NIRDPR and strengthen their internal audit set up. The certified auditors in various States may be utilised for internal audits in that particular State or nearby States to cover its quota of the Internal Audit. Further, A.S committee has given plan for engagement of certified Internal Auditors for the O/o CCA on regular basis with prescribed salary and remuneration on assignment basis both for DoRD and States.

• Certification Process & Monitoring over Quality of Audits (ToR-2)

The three-week Certificate course was divided into theory and practical sessions. The detail of actual audit (Practical training), IA programme and audit will be decided by the office of CCA. One team leader cum mentor from the DoRD may be deputed with the batch to guide, handhold and evaluate the performance of the trainees. A.S. Committee report has suggested evaluation of trainees in four stages:

Stage 1: After completion of 1^st week, a test will be conducted by the training institute.

Stage 2: After completion of 2^nd week, a test will be conducted by the training institute.

Stage 3: During the internal audit practical training, team leader will evaluate the trainees.

Stage 4: After completion of internal audit as part of this training, audit team of trainees will submit audit report and make presentation before the expert panel. (Details of creating Expert Panel, remuneration and TA/DA are also mentioned)

The trainees will get Internal Auditor certificate only after successful clearance of the above four stage evaluation and the validity of the certificate will be three years, subject to the condition that the certificate holder has to conduct at least one audit every year.

In future, a mechanism may also be developed to rank of all certified auditors on the quality of work done. This ranking may be hosted on GRIP portal or any other portal. Panel of Experts (serving or retired IA experts) may carry out this evaluation and rank the auditors on a periodic basis.

• Course Material, Selection of Training Institutes and  ToTs (ToR-3)
• The certificate course modules developed by NIRDPR on RD programmes has to be reviewed to revamp them and new modules may be developed in consultation with Programme Divisions concerned in DoRD; CCA may review the content of the existing certificate course modules on annual basis and suggest appropriate updation/modifications for its further improvements, if required.
• Training of around 5000 internal auditors by NIRDPR alone is difficult. Thus, there is a need to involve other institutes, i.e., State Institutes of Rural Development, INGAF, NIFM, etc., to impart certificate courses at the State level. ToT for the selected training centres may be done by NIRDPR and recommended to train about 175 master trainers to impart training at selected institutes. 
• Based on recommendations given by A.S. Committee, Standard Operating Procedures on Trainings (SOP) for both ToT and Certificate Course has been prepared by NIRDPR and accordingly, a two-day workshop with subject experts to update the course material was organised by at NIRDPR. Risk Registers were also developed for nine schemes during the workshop. The SOP on training programmes has been revised by CIARD on the basis of feedback received from participants of ToTs and Certified Internal Auditors. 
• One more recommendation of committee is development of e-modules for theory sessions in IA & RD and there provision of evaluation through e-tests. After successful completion of e-test, the trainees may attend classroom sessions and field practicum. A professional agency may be engaged to develop e-modules for Internal Audit.

• Establishment of CIARD

EAG has recommended to establish a support centre for IAW, O/o CCA which will be called Centre for Internal Audit in Rural Development (CIARD) at New Delhi. A.S. Committee also supported the recommendation of EAG for the establishment of CIARD, but for time being, CIARD has to be constituted at NIRDPR with funding support from Ministry of Rural Development and Ministry of Panchayati Raj. A comprehensive proposal for setting up CIARD was submitted and the same was approved by Secretary MoRD. A.S. Committee also worked out the structure of CIARD, funding and human resources required.  Proposed activities of CIARD are also mentioned in detail in report. Thus, the Centre for Internal Audit in Rural Development has been established at NIRDPR as part of School of Accountability & Transparency and started functioning from 16^th January, 2020 with the following Vision & Mission and Objectives.

Vision

Ensure efficiency and accountability in implementation of Rural Development programmes through Risk-Based Internal Audits

Mission

To create a pool of 5000 Internal Auditors across India and institutionalisation of Risk-Based Internal Audit in MoRD Programmes at States, and monitoring the internal audit process in MoRD programmes all over India.

Objectives

• To develop the architecture and processes to strengthen Risk-Based Internal Audit function in RD programmes.
• To Assist State governments establish the internal audit function for improving efficiency and effectiveness of RD programmes.
• To design and conduct capacity building programmes for functionaries of both Central and State governments in Risk-Based Internal Audit.
• To mobilise SIRDs to conduct three-week certificate courses on Risk-Based Internal Audit in RD programmes in cascading mode.
• To serve as the resource centre for internal audit function by analysing internal Audit reports and recommend policy changes.
• To study national and international practices in the Internal Audit, and take up research studies on internal audit processes.

• Functions of CIARD

Primarily, CIARD is responsible for providing assistance to the Office of the CCA, Internal Audit and Programme Divisions of the MoRD for establishing the internal audit function on a firm footing within a time frame which has to be decided by the Ministry. CIARD serves as resource centre in the field of internal audit and assist MoRD in strengthening the internal audit function. Various activities of CIARD include consultative workshops, development of material like manuals, training modules, case studies, training/capacity building, research, facilitation and liaising with States for taking up of internal audits by adhering to MoRD-set standards, collating and analysing the information of various monitoring mechanisms, updating GRIP portal, etc.

• Achievements

A total of 20 trainings were sponsored by O/o CCA. Of this, seven were conducted by NIRDPR and 13 Certificate Programmes were conducted by NIRDPR, SIRDs and INGAF.  A total of 126 Master Trainers and 366 Certified Internal Auditors were trained.  These apart, one refresher course for certified internal auditors (already trained) and two orientation programmes for IAW Consultants and staff of O/o CCA were conducted through virtual mode.

1. Course Material

The revised course material of three-week Certificate Programme was updated in both volume I & II and some more chapters were added with the help of subject experts and Programme Divisions of MoRD.  The same was approved by O/o CCA for printing. The printed versions of Volume-I & II were released by Hon’ble Secretary, MoRD.

1. Risk Registers

Risk Register is a document used as a risk management tool and to fulfill regularity compliance acting as a repository to all risks identified. It includes additional information like nature of the risk, reference, who is responsible, what are the existing control mechanisms, mitigation measures, etc. A risk register paves the way to see all potential risks in one place, prioritise those risks and assign the responsibility to respond/address the identified risks. A workshop was conducted to prepare Risk Registers in all MoRD flagship programmes in the month of July, 2019 at NIRDPR. Based on the outcomes of the workshop and in consultation with Programme Divisions of MoRD, Risk Registers were prepared by CIARD to nine MoRD flagship programmes and the same was approved by O/o CCA.

Collaborative Activities

Collaborated with Institute of Charted Accountants of India (ICAI) and provided faculty support for webinar series jointly conducted by IAW, O/o CCA, ICAI and CIARD on Financial Management of Welfare Schemes of the Government Focusing on Rural Development, during 23 – 27 August, 2021 where 14,000 participants are benefitted across the country.

• Analysis of Previous Internal Audit Reports:

Analysis of previous Internal Audit reports have been taken up by CIARD in five major MoRD schemes/programmes, i.e., MGNREGS, PMGSY, NSAP, NRLM and PMAY-G in the year 2020-21. The analysis was done on the basis of category of risks identified by audit teams. The criteria, condition, cause, consequences and corrective action recommended by the audit teams were studied and appropriate suggestions to audit teams, Implementing Agencies and also Programme Divisions were given. Among the five schemes, internal audit reports of three schemes were completed and submitted to the O/o CCA.

• Liaison with States/SIRDs:

Liaising is one of the major activity of CIARD and it is an ongoing process. CIARD is doing continuous liaison with State/UT Governments for the establishment of Internal Audit Wings in States, and SIRDs to conduct Three-week Certificate Courses in cascading mode.

• Support to GRameen Internal Audit Portal (GRIP):

SRS was prepared for the upgradation of GRIP Portal and submitted to the O/o CCA.

• Amendments to SOP on Trainings:

SOP on trainings was prepared before the establishment of CIARD, where the eligibility criteria for ToTs/Certificate Course, Course Modules, Certification process and Budget norms to conduct ToT or Certificate Course at NIRDPR and SIRDs were mentioned.  After conducting a good number of ToTs and Certificate Programmes on Risk-Based Internal Audit, a need was raised to amend the existing SOP and the same was done by CIARD in consultation with IAW, O/o CCA. 

Guidelines to States for Establishment of Internal Audit Units at States:

One of the objective of CIARD is “Assisting State Governments and their implementing agencies to establish the internal audit function as an instrument of management control for improving efficiency and effectiveness in programme implementation”.  To accomplish the above objective, CIARD has prepared “Guidelines to States for Establishment of Internal Audit Units at State Level” in which functions of IAWs, engagement of human resources and source of finance are mentioned clearly.

• Research:

CIARD is now focusing on research studies to know the status of Internal Audit in States/UTs and also the impact of Risk-Based Internal Audit in implementation of MoRD Programmes. 

• Institutionalisation

As per the recommendation of EAG, Risk-Based Internal Audit of 80 per cent of the auditee units should be carried out by States and only 20 per cent has to be covered by IAW, O/o CCA. For this purpose, all States have to establish Internal Audit Wings with the support of CIARD, NIRDPR. Specific guidelines to the States regarding establishment of Internal Audit wings were prepared by CIARD and were circulated to all States by O/o CCA. A workshop to all Principal Secretaries/Secretaries/Commissioners/Directors of State/UT RD departments and SIRD Directors was also conducted to make them aware of the necessity of IAW in States/UTs and capacity building and hiring of Internal Auditors.

• Performance of Risk-Based Internal Audits from 2016-17 to 2020-21

MoRD schemes run in almost every Gram Panchayat of the country. There are 736 districts and 2.50 lakh Gram Panchayats (approx.) in India. All these units are under the purview of Internal Audit. Internal audit of such bodies including DRDAs, SRRDAs, State Councils, DDOs, BDOs, Gram Panchayats, NIRDPR, Autonomous bodies and NGOs needs to be conducted regularly. Since the inception of Risk-Based Internal Audits in MoRD, i.e., from 2016-17 to 2020-21, a total of 441 audits were conducted by IAW, which include audits of MoRD schemes and others like O/o CCA, NIRDPR, O/o DDOs, etc., and concurrence audits.  Year-wise and scheme wise details are given above Table  

Table 1: Year-wise and Scheme-wise data of Risk-Based Internal Audits Conducted by IAW, O/o CCA

S. No.	Name of the Scheme	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	Total
1.	MGNREGA	12	34	23	29	18	116
2.	PMGSY	9	14	8	9	8	48
3.	PMAY-G	9	12	15	21	2	59
4.	SBM-G	6	5	11	6	8	36
5.	NSAP	0	3	3	5	3	14
6.	NRLM	0	0	0	7	2	9
7.	Others	2	10	3	9	4	28
8.	Concurrence Audit	0	67	0	8	56	131
	Total	38	145	63	94	101	441

The table includes audits conducted by trainees as part of field practicum in ToTs and Three-week Certificate Programmes on Risk-Based Internal Audit in RD Programmes under the guidance of IAW, O/o CCA.

Key risks identified in the above-mentioned audits are categorised as

• Financial Risks
• Performance Risks
• Operational Risks and
• Procedural Risks

Out of the 441 Audits, 282 Audits were conducted in six MoRD Schemes, i.e., MGNREGA -116, PMGSY- 48, PMAY-G – 59, SBM-G – 36, NSAP-14 and DAY-NRLM -9.  Twenty-eight audits were conducted in other grantee institutions like NIRDPR and O/o DDOs, whereas 131 audits are concurrence audits. 

• Conclusion

Risk-Based Internal Audit in MoRD Programmes enhances the effectiveness of implementation process. It not only focusses on financial issues like deviation of funds received from MoRD, fictitious payments, State share not included in programme fund etc., but also concentrates on cost-effective programme implementation so that more number of beneficiaries will be benefited and quality of works with available resources will be improved. Unlike other Statutory Audits, Risk-Based Internal Audit identifies the risk, provides corrective actions and controls framework to check its reoccurence.  Thus, RBIA is emerging as a robust mechanism for transparency and accountability in MoRD programmes.

Dr. U. Hemantha Kumar, Associate Professor & Head, CIARD
Shri Shashi Bhushan, ICAS, Director (Financial Management) & Financial Advisor
Ms. H. Shashi Rekha, Consultant, CIARD

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IUINDRR-NIRDPR Collaborate for Regional Capacity Building Training Programme

Indian Universities and Institutions Network on Disaster Risk Reduction for National Institute of Disaster Management (IUINDRR)- National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), in collaboration with National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Hyderabad organsied a five-day offline Regional Capacity Development training programme ‘Inspiring the Minds for Disaster Risk Reduction’ from 17^th -21^th May, 2022.

Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, Hon’ble Governor of Haryana was the Chief Guest of the inaugural of the training programme that took place on 17^th May, 2022. He lighted the lamp along with Dr. G. Narendra Kumar, IAS, Director General, NIRDPR, Shri Shashi Bhushan, Deputy Director General (i/c), NIRDPR,
Prof. Santosh Kumar, Head, G&IDRR, NIDM, Prof. S. N. Labh, Asian Biological Research Foundation (ABRF).

Dr. Kiran Jalem, Assistant Professor, CNRM, CC & DM, NIRDPR & Course Director highlighted the five-day programme schedule. Addressing the audience, Prof. Santosh Kumar, Head, G&IDRR, NIDM elaborated the objectives of the training programme and gave a brief outline of the research work behind the programme and curriculum building.

Further, Prof. S. N. Labh, Asian Biological Research Foundation (ABRF) spoke about the components of a disaster and noted that India stands 5^th in the Global Climate Risk Index Report-2020.

Dr. G. Narendra Kumar, IAS, Director General, NIRDPR delivered the inaugural address. He recalled the Diviseema cyclone that struck Andhra Pradesh and wrecked a havoc. He spoke at length about the risk reduction measures and preparedness of the government to tackle such situations.

“In the last two years, we have been confronting the COVID-19, which is a different kind of disaster. We need to be prepared to to reduce the risk while facing such situations,” the Director General said, adding that NIRDPR has been working along with NIDM to identify the first and second responders at the village level to counter disasters even during COVID-19. 

Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, Hon’ble Governor of Haryana and the Chief Guest, further addressed the delegates and the audience. “The discussion happening at NIRDPR on disaster risk reduction is a significant one and I appreciate all the organisations involved. We, as a country, are facing cyclones, earthquakes, deluges and temperature rise and the intensity is increasing day-by-day. All these are the results of our failure in controlling activities like nationwide deforestation and encroachment of river beds,” he said.

Shri Bandaru Dattatreya said that capacity building is needed to practice disaster management. “Gaps in the system should be addressed and the coordination should be gapless, he said and wanted the experts to look into the problems faced by the farmers during cyclones in costal India and ways to mitigate their impact.”

He further added that in November, 2021 the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved Rs. 2,135 crore for Atmospheric and Climate Research, Modern Operating Systems, upgrading the forecasting systems, weather, climate and Atmospheric Observation Network, the study of monsoons, clouds and commissioning of weather radars in the country. Shri Shashi Bhushan, DDG (i/c), NIRDPR proposed vote of thanks.

The objectives of the programme were to i) impart knowledge and concepts of disaster, disaster management and disaster risk reduction, ii) enhance the academician’s understanding on Hazard Vulnerability and Risk Analysis, iii) develop positive attitude towards practical response to different stages of disaster management by adopting advance technology and sustainable development, iv) ensure disaster response skills in assessment, analysis, intervention and evaluation in the practice of reducing disaster risk, and v) equip the academician on how to integrate Disaster Management curriculum to reduce the potential disaster risks and better prepared institutions.

The topics covered in the training programme were Hazards & Disasters – Basic Concepts, Causes & Impacts of Disasters, Disaster Vulnerability Profile of India, Importance and Way forward on the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s Ten Point Agenda 6 on DRR, Compensation & Insurance and Building Financial Resilience, Framework for Preventing and Reducing Risks and Mitigating Potential Impact, Flood Forecasting, Early Warning and Emergency Response through Remote Sensing and GIS, Integrating DMP with GPDP, Construction techniques as Indian Standards, Role of Community Level Institutions in Disaster Risk Communication, Trauma and Stress management, Flood and Landslide Mitigation and Planning, INCOIS services towards securing the livelihood and sea safety of the coastal community and Institutional Framework on Disaster Management in India.

A total of 40 participants from southern universities and institutes in the capacity of Assistant & Associate Professors were nominated and successfully registered for the programme. The programme consisted of field demonstrations and visits to National Remote Sensing (NRSC) and Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), hands-on exercises and quiz questions to test the trainee’s knowledge on the sessions. All participants successfully completed the programme and earned their certificates.

The programme was a success, as per the feedback received from the participants. The overall performance given by the participants was 79 per cent.

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NIRDPR Inks Pact with IPCA for Skilling Youth in Pest Management Sector

National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj and Indian Pest Control Association signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on 11^th May, 2022 on collaborative initiatives in the field of Pest Management Sector, particularly to standardise skill development for various job roles in the sector.

The MoU will pave the way for creating training materials and skill training centres based on industry expectations, organising joint capacity development initiatives and training of trainers for the industry. This joint venture will lead to holistic development of skilling ecosystem and skilled manpower in the pest management sector through RPL, fresh skilling, reskilling and upskilling. Undertaking collaborative evidence-based policy research will help to meet the industry requirements and the desired quality of training in line with international standards.

The MoU was signed by Dr. M. Srikanth, Registrar & Director (Admin), NIRDPR and Shri Prakash Sasidharan, President of IPCA, in the presence of the Dr. G. Narendra Kumar, IAS, Director General, NIRDPR. The event was hosted by the DDU-GKY Resource Cell of NIRDPR and attended by senior officials of NIRDPR, DDU-GKY division and members of the IPCA, online and offline.

Dr. G. Narendra Kumar addressed the MoU signing ceremony and mentioned that the collaboration has already resulted in standardising eight job role,s which are now approved by NCVET and made available on the National Qualification Register (NQR) portal. He urged the industry partners to further explore eco-friendly pest management methods and skilling personnel on the same, which will provide an edge for the industry internationally.

“The industry could consider establishing a model skilling centre of excellence in pest management that will work as a hub for skilling in pest management and spell quality of international standards,” he said and appreciated the efforts of the pest management industry and IPCA for taking concerted efforts to standardise the training curriculum for various job roles in collaboration with NIRDPR. 

Shri Prakash Sasidharan mentioned that the collaboration is a win-win for the industry and rural youth. “It is heartening that there is a demand for Indian pest control workers, for example in countries like Saudi Arabia. The approach adopted by NIRDPR for training youth in the training of trainer programmes is having receptivity from rural youth, and hence it is encouraging. IPCA will be committed to taking concerted efforts forward on a larger scale nationally and internationally,” he said.

Shri K. V. Satyanarayana, Executive Director, DDU-GKY Resource Cell informed that any skilling initiative has to have industry partnership, to have a successful outcome. “This helps training organisations cater to the market demands and standards expected by the industry. This can lead to employability and sustainable livelihood for youth in rural and urban India. The MoU between NIRDPR and IPCA would go a long way in making sustainable efforts to develop skilled youth and in constantly raising the bar for quality of skill training in the Pest Management sector in the country,” he added.

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DoSJE, NIRDPR Sign MoU to Set up NRCSA for Social Audit

The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment (DoSJE), Government of India and National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 31^st May 2022 to set up the National Resource Cell for Social Audit of DoSJE (NRCSA-DoSJE) at the Centre for Social Audit of NIRDPR, Hyderabad.

NRCSA-DoSJE will enable and oversee Social Audit Units in States by facilitating 6000 social audits of four categories of schemes of DoSJE across the country, including schemes covering Grant in Aid institutions, Scholarship schemes covering SC and OBC students, Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM AJAY) and PCR schemes, and Free coaching schemes, in the next five years. 

These social audits are to be carried out by the Social Audit Units (SAUs), which have already been set up in every State under the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA. The NRCSA-DSJE would operate under the Centre for Social Audit, NIRDPR. The NRCSA-DSJE will coordinate with the SAUs to monitor the progress and quality of social audits conducted and handhold and support the SAUs training and capacity-building requirements.

On the occasion of the signing MoU, Shri Reddy Subrahmanyam, IAS, Secretary, DoSJE said that the department would extend support to set up Dr. Ambedkar Chair in NIRDPR.

As per the MoU, NRCSA-DSJE will take up the activities broadly related to capacity building, coordinating the social audits, and monitoring and evaluations. The activities may include workshops, pilots audits, preparing training modules, support to develop MIS, training for identified resource persons of Social Justice Cells of SAUs, participation & monitoring of the social audit, taking up test audits, Annual meetings, documentation of best practices, publication of the annual report, etc. The NRCSA-DSJE and its interventions will be fully funded by the DoSJE based upon an agreed budget and annual action plan at the beginning of every financial year.

Apart from Shri Reddy Subrahmanyam, IAS, Secretary of the DoSJE and Dr. G. Narendra Kumar, IAS, Director General of NIRDPR, Shri Shashi Bhushan, ICAS, Deputy Director General (i/c), NIRDPR, Dr. C. Dheeraja, Associate Professor & Head (i/c), Centre for Social Audit (CSA), Dr. Srinivas Sajja, Assistant Professor, CSA, Dr. Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Assistant Professor, CSA, project staff of CSA, Dr. S. N Rao, Associate Professor & Head (i/c), Centre for Equity and Social Justice (CESD), Dr. G. Venkata Raju, Centre for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (CPME), Ms. Sowmya Kidambi, Director, Society for Social Audit, Accountability and Transparency (SSAAT) and project staff from NRCSA-DoSJE were present.

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NRLM RC, NIRDPR Conducts ToT on Gender Mainstreaming and Integration Strategy

National Rural Livelihoods Mission – Regional Centre (NRLM-RC), National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (NIRDPR), Hyderabad conducted a four-day Training of Trainers (ToT) programme on ‘Gender Mainstreaming and Integration Strategy under DAY-NRLM’ from 23^rd to 26^th May, 2022. A total of 46 participants from State to district level and SRLM officials representing 15 States attended the training programme. The main objective of the ToT was to enhance the participants’ understanding on gender institutional mechanism to develop at least 3-4 gender immersion sites in each of the State under DAY-NRLM.

Ms. P. Andal Devi, National Resource Person was the resource person to the training programme. Ms. Seema Bhaskaran, National Mission Manager, National Mission Management Unit, MoRD and
Shri Venkateshwar Rao, Mission Manager, NRLM RC, NIRDPR facilitated the training sessions. The contents of the training included Identity and Social Construct of Gender, Gender & Sex, Gender Division of Labour, Access and Control over Resources and Institutions, Gender-based Violence, Laws and Legal Instruments, POSH Law, Gender Integration in NRLM, Institutional Mechanisms, Practical and Strategic Gnder Needs and Resolving through Institutional Mechanisms; and Gender MIS.

Apart from the inputs on concepts, experience sharing on Kudumbashree Gender Resource Centre, Madhya Pradesh’s experience on Lok Adhikar Kendra (Gender justice Centre), Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS) experience of Garima, a project to make Jharkhand free from witchhunting practices, Odisha’s experience on counselling centres, Bihaan’s experience on developing institutional mechanisms and presentation by ROSHNI on making Swabhimaan Gender Transformative approach took place.

At the end, the participants developed a draft action plan for Gender Integration across four themes of NRLM, viz. Institution Building, Financial Inclusion, Livelihood, and Social Inclusion. Action plan on intervention by various gender institutional mechanisms such as Gender Point Person (GPP), Village Organisation’s Social Action Committee (VO SAC), Cluster Level Federation (CLF) SAC and Gender Forum was prepared. The training programme was coordinated by Shri Venkateshwar Rao, Mission Manager and Ms. Y. Atan Konyak, Mission Executive, NRLM RC, NIRDPR.

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Regional Training Programme on Integration of Disaster Risk Reduction with GPDP

The Centre for Natural Resource Management, Climate Change and Disaster Management (CNRM, CC & DM) of National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR), Hyderabad organised a regional training programme on ‘Integration of Disaster Risk Reduction with Gram Panchayat Development Plan’ on off-campus mode at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya State Institute of Rural Development, Lucknow from18^th -22^th April, 2022. A total of 42 officials from the Panchayati Raj and Rural Development departments, Government of Uttar Pradesh attended the training programme.

The objective of the training programme was to equip the participants for the integration of disaster risk reduction planning with Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) so that adverse effects of natural hazards can be minimised.

Dr. D. C. Upadhyaya, Additional Director, DDU-SIRD, Lucknow inaugurated the programme and delivered the keynote address. Dr. Upadhya, in his address, emphasised the need for integrating planning for disaster risk reduction into the GPDPs prepared by Gram Panchayats to minimise the adverse impacts of natural hazards through better preparedness and long-term mitigation measures. Following sessions were covered by the different experts as Resource Persons from 18^th to 20^th April, 2022.

• Community-Based Disaster Management
• Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation
• Role of Panchayati Raj Institutions in different phases of disaster management
• Gram Panchayat Development Plan
• Issues and challenges of rural local bodies in the context of Disaster Management
• Integrating DRR with GPDP
• Hazard, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment at Gram Panchayat Level
• Major Flagship Programmes on Rural Development like MGNREGS, PMKSY, PMAY, etc., for mitigating disasters
• Livelihood Security of the affected people in Post-Disaster Scenario and Role of Gram Panchayats

Senior officers of Disaster Management, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Departments, Government of Uttar Pradesh, faculties of SIRD, Uttar Pradesh, NIRDPR, Hyderabad and National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), New Delhi were the resource persons for different areas covered during the programme. On the fourth day, i.e., on 21st April, 2022, a field study was organised in two disaster-prone Gram Panchayats of Ram Nagar block where participants were divided into four groups to work on Situational Analysis, Hazard Mapping, Preparation of Resource Envelope and Integrating Disaster Risk Reduction planning with GPDP. 

On the last day of the training programme, all the groups presented their findings with recommendations to prepare a holistic GPDP by capturing disaster risk reduction measures before Shri L Venkateswar Lu, IAS, Director General, DDU-SIRD, Lucknow. DG, DDU-SIRD delivered the valedictory address in which he guided the participants with a few practical tips on minimising the adverse effects of natural hazards by converging the resources of flagship programmes of rural development such as MGNREGS, PMAY, and Finance Commission Grants available with Gram Panchayats through creating disaster proof infrastructure.

Dr. Subrat Kumar Mishra, Associate Professor, CNRM, CC & DM, NIRDPR and Dr. Ravindra Gavali, Prof. & Head, CNRM, CC & DM coordinated the programme with the support of officials of DDU-SIRD, Lucknow.

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Workshop on Training Needs Assessment-Capacity Building of PRIs as Nutrition Advocates

The Communication Resource Unit (CRU), under the aegis of Centre for Gender Studies and Development (CGSD), National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj organised a one-day workshop on Training Needs Assessment (TNA) for Capacity Building of PRIs as Nutrition Advocates in collaboration with UNICEF on 31st May, 2022 at NIRDPR, Hyderabad. The workshop was attended by State-level officials and field functionaries from Women Development and Child Welfare (WDCW), Telangana State Institute of Rural Development (TSIRD), Panchayati Raj Departments and elected representatives. This TNA workshop was organised with the aim to assess the knowledge, attitude and skills of PRI with regard to handling women & children-related issues. The main objective was to understand the key barriers to adopting the right health and nutrition practices at the village level, assess institutional gaps, identify training needs, content outline and suitable methodologies for the PRI training in future.

Addressing the participants, Dr. N. V. Madhuri, Head, CRU highlighted the role of Panchayati Raj Institutions in tackling issues related to child nutrition, safety and protection. She drew participants’ attention to the unsatisfactory status of child nutrition and health in Telangana. She highlighted that the desired outcomes may be achieved only through convergence between the PRIs and frontline workers of WDCW & Health Departments. She further mentioned that the learning and findings from this workshop would be used for developing the training design, schedules, modules and materials. She emphasised that this workshop would lead the series of upcoming training programmes to be organised by NIRDPR-CRU in collaboration with UNICEF.

All the participants filled in the TNA questionnaire developed by CRU. The course team then oriented them on malnutrition, its cause and consequence, need for focusing and investing in nutrition, linkage between household behaviours, nutritional outcomes and development of the country. Ms. Nagamani, Head, Centre for Women and Child Development, TSIRD explained to the participants about the provisions and roles & responsibilities listed in the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act.

As part of group exercises, participants identified barriers & challenges at the Panchayat level in adopting key behaviours under various themes pertaining to maternal and child health. They identified topics that PRIs need to be trained upon and ranked them based on priority. Suitable methodologies for conducting training on these topics were also discussed. 

Various sessions in the workshop were facilitated by Dr. N. V. Madhuri, Head, CRU, NIRDPR, Dr. J. Vanishree, Assistant Professor, CGSD, Shri Subba Reddy, C4D Consultant UNICEF, A. Shruti, CRU-SBCC Coordinator (Planning &Coordination), NIRDPR, and K. Sreeja, CRU-SBCC Coordinator (Training & Knowledge Management), NIRDPR.

The workshop was concluded after participants shared their valuable feedback:

Shri J. R. Prasad, Mandal Parishad Development Officer, Kumurambheem, Asifabad said, “It was quite an enriching experience, and it identified various training needs for field-level functionaries for malnutrition-free Panchayats. During the TNA workshop, group discussions and a participatory approach were used. A similar method should be used to train field level functionaries.”

Smt. B. Neha, Panchayat Secretary, Ada Gram Panchayat thanked Resource Persons and NIRDPR. She expressed that “The workshop was extremely beneficial, and it brought representatives from various departments together on a single platform. We had the opportunity to discuss our issues and concerns. We are expecting continuous training support from NIRDPR”.

Smt. S. Vahini, ICDS Supervisor-Mahabubabad mentioned that “The TNA workshop will help in achieving good convergence and coordination between the line departments in the field level. This workshop highlighted various training requirements for malnutrition-free GPs. These will bring positive results at the grassroots level”.

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NRLM RC, NIRDPR Conducts ToT on Farm Livelihoods

The National Rural Livelihoods Mission Regional Centre, National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj had conducted a Training of Trainers (ToT) Programme on Induction and Orientation on Farm Livelihoods from 23^rd -27^th May, 2022 at NIRDPR, Hyderabad. A total of 21, participants took part in the training programme. Dr. Ch. Radhika Rani, Director, NRLM-RC, NIRDPR inaugurated the session.
Shri Sanjay Sharma, Deputy Project Director, NRLM-RC, was also present during the inaugural. Later, expectation mapping was conducted followed by the pre-test for the participants.

During the five-day training programme, in-depth discussion was carried out on the concept of livelihoods, understanding livelihoods 5A framework, understanding agroecology, crop-ecology, current practices of farm livelihoods, mapping of the key livelihoods activities in the project area, exploring the market and current situation, principles barriers & strategies for interventions under agroecological practices, soil fertility, seed-based livelihoods intervention, NTFP-based livelihoods interventions, livestock-based livelihoods interventions, formation of PG & PE and their governance & management, concept & promotion of organic clusters, documentation & certification of organic produce, enterprise finance, Lakhpati Didi model, intensive vegetable cultivation, processing of fruits and vegetables by the Resource Persons through the PPTs, interactive lecture, videos, brain storming, etc.

On the fourth day of the training programme, a field visit was organised to the Rural Technology Park, (RTP) NIRDPR in the morning and the participants were introduced to various technologies like beekeeping, hand-made paper making, biogas, vermicompost, leaf plates, aromatic essentials, etc. The participants said they would plan to replicate these technologies in their respective States.  In the second half of the day, the participants visited the National Institute of Plant Health Management, (NIPHM) Hyderabad. They visited the laboratory of the institute to learn the process of making the bio-fertilizer, bio-pesticide, azola pit, culture, etc., which can be easily adopted by members of SHGs/farmers.     

During the training programme, participants from Goa, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Jharkhand SRLMs made presentations on the ongoing works in the area of NTFP products.

Two national resource persons of NIRDPR, namely Shri Purushotham Rudraraju and Shri B. Ravi Shankar, participated in the training programme. Dr. Y. Ramana Reddy, CEO, Andhra Pradesh Centre for Advance Research on Livestock Limited, Dr. Diwakar, Consultant, NIRDPR, Dr. Ramajaalu, from Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Shri Ramesh from SSRSS and Dr. S. Akalya, Associate Professor, Food Processing Business Incubation Centre, at IIFPT participated in the training programme as local resource persons. Shri Nawin Kumar, Mission Manager-Livelihoods, Shri R. Babu Rao, Research Associate, Centre for Agrarian Studies, NIRDPR and Shri Abhishek Gaushwami, Mission Manager-Financial Inclusion were among the in-house resource persons.

Shri Jayaram Killi, National Mission Manager, NMMU, MoRD, GoI, a representative of the Ministry of Rural Development, was also present during the training programme from 25th -27th May, 2022. He also took a session on ‘Lakhapati Didi Model’ and various Farm-Livelihoods interventions under DAY-NRLM. He interacted with the participants to understand the challenges of SRLMs at the grassroots level.

The participants were Block, District and State level functionaries from different States/UTs, namely Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand.

At the end of the training programme, candidates’ feedback was taken through the Training Management Portal of NIRDPR followed by the Post-test. The valedictory session conducted on 27^th May, 2022 was attended by Dr. Ch. Radhika Rani, Director, NRLM-RC, NIRDPR, and Shri Sanjay Sharma, Deputy Project Director, NRLM-RC.

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Training on NRLM MIS for SRLMs

The National Rural Livelihoods Mission, Resource Cell – National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad organised a training-cum-workshop for SRLMs from19^th -20^th May, 2022. DAY-NRLM is a process-oriented mission and it would require regular analysis, review and learning from the progress made in both qualitative and quantitative terms. Since the mission is spread all over the country and the institutions are decentralised, DAY-NRLM requires a comprehensive and complete MIS system for capturing data.

The monitoring and evaluation systems of the mission are designed to measure the input versus output in all aspects from top-down and bottom-up approaches. The monitoring and evaluation components are also designed to facilitate the assessment of the contribution of mission towards the eradication of rural poverty, promotion of livelihood activities, empowering the rural poor population and enhancing the quality of life of the rural poor.

This programme was designed for the SRLMs to build their knowledge and skills on NRLM MIS. Dr. Radhika Rani, Director, NRLM RC explained the objective of the training programme. The first session was by Shri G. V. S. N. Murthy, NIC Director, NMMU and NRLM RC resource persons with an introduction and process of NRLM MIS and its modules:

• User management
• Identification of blocks
• Management unit details including core staff details
• Location master standardisation
• CBO registration
• Managing banks and bank branches details
• Training and capacity building
• Non-farm enterprise
• Fund disbursement
• Reports

This was followed by addressing the State-specific issues in reports and fund disbursement. Shri Sanjay Sharma, Deputy Director, proposed vote of thanks. Understanding and management of respective State/district/block data under NRLM MIS and regular review of reports and dashboards with accurate data are predicted as outcomes.

Total 19 participants attended from SRLMs. The programme was organised by Dr. Ch. Radhika Rani, Associate Professor & Director, NRLM-RC, NIRDPR in partnership with Shri G. V. S. N. Murthy, Director, NIC, Shri Atul Sharma, Mission Manager NMMU, Shri Hriday Bharadwaj, MIS Mission Manager, coordinated by Ms. Sharmila Shaik – MIS Mission Manager.

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NIRDPR Organises Training Programme for Rural Development Functionaries on Spatial Planning for GPDP using RADPFI-2021

Centre for Geoinformatics Applications in Rural Development (CGARD), National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, organised a three-day training programme on ‘Spatial Planning for GPDP using RADPFI Guidelines -2021’ from 31^st May to 02^nd June, 2022 at the State Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (SIRD&PR), Tamil Nadu.

Dr. N. S. R. Prasad, Assistant Professor, CGARD and Co-Director highlighted the schedule and objectives of the three-day programme such as Concepts of Geoinformatics, mobile applications for asset mapping, analysing the GIS data layers for planning and the preparation of Gram Panchayat Spatial Development Plan.

Smt. Seetha Lakshmi, Faculty of SIRD&PR, TN and Local Coordinator of the programme outlined the key points of using GIS-based tools in spatial planning using Rural Area Development Plan Formulation and Implementation (RADPFI) guidelines-2021, hands-on practical approach with field data collection from near Panchayat using mobile-based applications. A total of 40 officials of the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (RD&PR) department attended the training programme. Er. A. Varadharaja Perumal, Executive Engineer and Head of Centre for Engineering and Technology (CET), SIRD&PR interacted with participants.

The programme consisted of field visit for data collection using mobile GPS. All participants were divided into teams and data on various assets such as trees, electrical & telephone poles, and buildings in the Panchayat was collected. During the process, participants visualised and experienced the field conditions and geotagging accuracy aspects at the Panchayat.

On the last day, the NIRDPR team collected feedback from the participants and distributed certificates. Later, local coordinator Smt. Seetha Lakshmi expressed her gratitude to NIRDPR for providing quality training to RD&PR functionaries. The programme was a success, as per the feedback received from the participants. The participants felt that the training programme was advantageous to prepare spatial planning for their Panchayat. The programme was coordinated by Dr. M. V. Ravibabu, Associate Professor & Course Director, CGARD and Dr. N. S. R. Prasad, Assistant Professor & Course Co-Director, CGARD.

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Innovation of the Month: Discarded Temple Flowers for Organic Fashion

The world is moving towards green living and sustainable initiatives that benefit the environment. Entrepreneurs are coming forward to redefine the concept ‘Best out of Waste’ by upcycling discarded products into amazing objects. They are working towards innovative ways that could help the environment and also provide employment opportunities to the rural people. The following narrative is of one such initiative by Uttarakhand-based Ms. Alisha Maindollya.

Mulya Creation is a homegrown clothing brand set afloat in the valley of Uttarakhand. Ms. Alisha Maindollya, the brand’s co-founder and a fashion aficionado, has done her graduation from the National Institute of Fashion and Design. After stepping into the world of fashion, Alisha realised the need of creating clothing with a purpose. Later, she returned to Dehradun to start her own venture. Her attention was drawn to the fact that flowers in large quantities are discarded in India annually. As a solution to this growing menace and simultaneously contributing her part in making the environment a better place, Alisha developed a method to naturally dye the cloth. Now, the dyes, which are used in various products of Mulya Creation, are made out of discarded indigenous flowers from Uttarakhand.

How it Works:

Step 1: Discarded flowers and fruit peels are collected from temples

Step 2: Women segregate and clean the raw materials

Step 3: Colour baths made of flowers for treating the fabric are prepared

Step 4: Each piece is hand dyed by the artisans using traditional techniques

The end product reaching the consumer carries the imprints of the flowers used in natural dyeing, which is a one-of-its-kind process.

Cost of the Products:

Saree per piece: Rs. 11,000

Stole/ Straight Top/Scarf per piece: Rs 1,800

Innovations:

• The idea has brought about a solution to the problem of disposing of large quantities of discarded flowers.
• The dyeing process is an art of up cycling
• The artistically crafted products have paved the way for women’s empowerment.

Benefits of the initiative:

• Products are 100 per cent naturally dyed
• Boosts the Indian organic handloom sector
• Gives immense consideration to environmental causes
• Reduces the pollution in river Ganga
• Empowers women to acquire new skills
• Brings in financial stability among women from hilly areas
• Dissuades gender disparities.

The Innovator:

Mulya Creation, Uttarakhand (Website: www.mulya.co.in)

Suggestions:

The firm should make the local community aware of the importance of fashion in the present context. It should work in collaboration with other agencies/voluntary organisations for providing skill development.

(Courtesy: Uttarakhand Pavillion, Pragati Maidan, IITF-2021, New Delhi)

Rural Technology Park (RTP)
Centre for Innovations, Appropriate Technologies and Skills & Jobs, NIRDPR

   

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