UGC Report on Inter University Center on Rural - Ministry of Rural ...

UNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISSION
Meeting : lUG -NRDC
Venue : <strong>UGC</strong> Office
Date : 10.1.2007
Annexure-A
Minutes of the meeting of the Committee set up by the <strong>UGC</strong> for the lUC for Rural
Development held on January 10, 2007 in the office of the <strong>UGC</strong>, New Delhi.
The following attended:
1. Professor Y.K. Alagh Chairman
2. Professor Abhijit Sen
Shri V.S Sampath and Prof. Briz Kishore could not attend the meeting.
Dr. T. Karunakaran, Vice-Chancellor, Gandhigram Rural Institute, Gandhigram has
sent his comments for consideration since he could not be present on account of some
urgent work at Gandhigram.
The Committee resolves as under:
1. It was decided that <strong>UGC</strong> would set up an IUC for Rural Development. The Centre
would be located in a University which has strong interest in agriculture and rural
development.
2. The objective of the Centre would be as follows:
a) To serve as a National Hub by net-working regional platforms for knowledge
connectivity for rural development;
b) To help evolve plans and policies for rural development by research, training and
demonstration and create packages of social technologies, physical technologies
and economic policy strategies for various agro-climatic regions;
c) To facilitate development of techno-managerial cadres needed for the rural
development plans of the country -and to this end create innovative academic
programmes. At the same time, evolve HRD package (including training) suitable
for the development of each region;
d) To work out S&T intervention modules, particularly for the development leapfrogging
of the backward regions, by synergizing the resources that are available
with various stake holders like <strong>UGC</strong>,ICAR, CSIR, industries, ISRO, NGOs and
private sector institutions.
e) To help create special institutional structures and schemes for nurturing
leadership in regional development/entrepreneurship with special focus on most
backward regions;
f) To create new 'regional development universities', particularly in most backwards
agro-climatic regions where networking of' institutional-mix is not feasible because
of non-availability of the requisite infrastructure and skills at present.
3. Some of the major skills to be developed and net-work may include:
i) Agricultural Development Technologies
ii) Rural Institution Building Skill
iii) Economic Policy Analysis Skill
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