Date:27/07/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/07/27/stories/2006072712500400.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Rural productivity mission launched in State

Staff Reporter

The National Productivity Council has launched it as a pilot project

UNVEILED: Director-general of the National Productivity Council Kamal Taori (centre), executive trustee of the Asian Institute for Rural Development Sandhya Pradeep Kumar (left) and Irmel Marla, consultant, Rural Development, from Germany at a press conference called to announce the launch of the National Productivity Council in Bangalore on Wednesday. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

BANGALORE: The National Productivity Council (NPC) has launched the Karnataka Rural Productivity Mission (KRPM) as a pilot project.

This envisages the replication and transmission of "success stories" in the rural development sector, particularly in enhancement of productivity through networking, resourcefulness and self-employment, according to director-general of the council Kamal Taori.

He told presspersons here on Wednesday that voluntary organisations and the corporate sector had built up a huge body of work that demonstrated successful transformation of the rural development sector.

The KRPM was the outcome of an earlier workshop on "Networking for rural productivity" held at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore in May.

The KRPM's mission was to provide a platform for exchange and dissemination of information related to rural development, to project achievers for State-wide replication, develop role models and establish linkages with national and international organisations. The mission would comprise NGOs, institutions and corporate houses.

The purpose was to harness existing employment and income generating activities in the rural milieu for greater productivity and higher economic benefits to the population.

Giving the example of Kanpur Goshala Society, Kanpur, where a decentralised, organic, production and marketing endeavour was in place with thrust on effective rural technology, Dr. Taori said the lessons learnt from here were that it was possible to have a holistic, sustainable developmental model with better coordination, policy support, human resource development, and turnkey consultancies. It had been possible to identify the shortcomings that were hindering the project, and by addressing this issue, it was possible to enhance productivity, he said. KRPM had attracted the interest of the Asian Institute for Rural Development, Kannur's Foundation, and Globals ITES Private Limited, which are all based in Bangalore.