Diary of a Rural Manager!

The Government of India estimates that about 2.40 million Indians are living with HIV (1.93 ‐3.04 million) with an adult prevalence of 0.31% (2009). For the readers, there is a popular myth that HIV, or AIDS is an urban disease. As per the HIV Sentinel Surveillance (HSS) of 2007, it was identified that 57% of the HIV-positive persons in India are estimated to be living in rural areas. Under the NACP III, Link Worker Scheme was designed for rural prevention and NACO implemented this program with the financial support of Global Fund through Lead NGOs. Link Worker Scheme was launched to saturate the reach of HIV-related services to high-risk groups based in rural areas. The scheme aims to build a rural community model to address the complex needs of rural HIV prevention, care, and support requirements. Under this scheme, a person who has been trained and has been made responsible for carrying out specific activities is called a Cluster Link Worker. I visited the field office of Humana ...

SHG Model in India :  “The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.” ~ Malcolm Gladwell. This statement might have been just said on SHG (Self Help Group) movement in India. The rural landscape of India has mushrooming with SHGs. Formal credit system has, over the years failed to deliver in rural India. The transaction costs of the rural credit systems are very high and the system is plagued by non-performing assets. SHG were started as a  pilot project of 500 SHGs, by Nabard  in 1992, they grew slowly. SHG  are viewed today as an entry point in rural landscape for NGO, Bankers, government and even MNCs. Self Help Groups (SHGs) are informal associations of up to 20 women (their average size is 14) who meet regularly, usually once a month, to save small amounts (typically Rs 10 to 50) a month. Majority of SHGs are single-caste groups based on basis of neighbourhood and affinity...

It is very essential for monitoring and evaluation to have solid data. There are thousands of functioning SHGs in the country. NRLM has taken step for transparency through data collection about SHG. MIS of NRLM is hugely important for tracking effectiveness of programs that would serve in a long way to establishing accountability at each level. ICDS is already working with SHG movement in Odisha with Mission Shakti since 2003. Through validation and gradation of SHG in December 2012, Panchayati Raj Department was able to verify total number of SHG in the Odisha. Still, there was no concrete record of name of all SHG members. Name of President and Secretary can only be obtained through all given data. I formed a template as required for MIS and termed this E-NRLM format . Our OLM team at Bhanjanagar and Surada block of Ganjam district used Aagan Wadi Workers (AWWs) for collecting data about SHG. Data collection exercise is a tough thing in India. Education of the most of the AWWs v...

What is a social audit ? It is better to have an idea of the concept in the first place.  Social_Audit_Report is uploaded to the NREGS website. But almost all of the community seems to be completely unaware of the documentation part. The best part of these meetings is the opportunity to meet office bearers and government officials on the same day. When the government makes the schedule for a social audit in October, it reviews work done/in progress from April to September. SA was originally scheduled in October, but due to a cyclone, it was completed in December. Advertisements were given in three Oriya newspapers, giving dates and locations of the social audit meeting. Local NGO was invited to attend the meetings, yet no provision of funds was available for community mobilization through local NGOs. This was all done when Gram Rozgar Sevak (GRS) [working personnel for NREGS at the Village level] were on strike. Their online petition is worth a read on the problem faced at the...

I reported at DRDA office, Ganjam district on 18th November 2013. I was relived from previous duty for PHAILIN rehabilitation work. Emergency relief work had already been finished in most of the block. Hence, rehabilitation work is not included in my role at Ganjam District. I was assigned to work at Bhanjanagar block exclusive for Odisha Livelihood Mission (OLM).  Bhanjanagar block is a non intensive block as per OLM guidelines. A new proposal to change this into intensive block has been sent to the central government. That means a lot of action under coming months but not now. Revolving fund to SHGs, e-NRLM (MIS)and SHG Bank Credit Linkage are the focus area  in job profile. OLM  , Panchayat Samiti Office, Bhanjanagar Work Station Every person worth its salt always knows how to correct itself, and eventually does. I feel vulnerable against myself. The trait of punctuality is leaving me even with the minor load of the government job. Hoping to maintain this...

Jargon is not monopoly of B School students, as they are also used excessively in the development sector. That is why practitioner doesn't read academic literature. The funny part is that the jargon such as 'Sustainable' and 'Strategy' in daily vocab as student is not coming any use to me. Development academics are known for their penchant for creating jargon where there is need for none, points out Pulitzer-Prize and Oscar-winning cartoonist and novelist Jules Feitter in his inimitable style. “I used to think I was poor . Then they told me I wasn’t poor, I was needy . Then they said needy was an expression that is self defeating, I was actually deprived . Then again they said deprived created a bad image, I was actually underprivileged . Now they say underprivileged is inaccurate. I am actually disadvantaged . I still don’t have a dime, but I sure have a rich vocabulary!” – Jules Feitter

"I learned very early the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something."- Richard Feynman ; That is why, despite knowing  the theoretical concepts on the Producer Groups , there were some practical lessons gained in the field. I had worked with Producer Groups farming Groundnut, Onion, & Pulses (even one group was doing business of NTFP) at Balanagir district, Odisha. I was guided under the able supervision of Kamalendu Paul, Zonal Manager, ORMAS (Orissa Rural Development and Marketing Society). The document Community Enterprise System Manual prepared by Prof. Amar KJR Nayak came helpful during work. All producer groups were having women members only. No producer group has been registered under any act till now. However, credit was given to them based on mutual trust between the government and Producer Groups. The legal process will be initiated soon. We were also unable to do protect farmers under the crop insurance scheme till this year. Or...