Governance2.Org

Livemint: Instead of setting up Indian institutes of management in backward areas, the government should set up institutes of rural management and agri-business whose primary objective would be to create rural entrepreneurs. Such institutes will not only
disseminate knowledge but also help in creating an interface between entrepreneurs, financial institutions and national-level scientific institutes.
Where politicians and bureaucrats have failed, these institutes in the area of rural management, cooperatives and agri-business can step in and take the challenge of elevating the “other” India.
The Amul story is now well known. Started as a small cooperative in 1946 in the village of Anand in Gujarat, it has now evolved into a more than Rs2,200 crore enterprise, in the process changing fortunes of many petty farmers.
SKS Microfinance started by Vikram Akula is using advanced technology—smart cards—to make venture capital available to poor women.
The organization has so far given loans to about 700,000 poor women who are now involved in some kind of entrepreneurial activity.
Similarly, ITC’s e-Choupal has facilitated the access of farmers directly to the markets using the Internet. Launched in June 2000, e-Choupal services today reach out to more than 3.5 million farmers across nine states. Read on …