40th Batch of IRMA’s PGDRM Commences. Gender Ratio Improves by over six per cent

The 40^th batch of IRMA’s flagship Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Management (PGDRM) commenced with an address by Mr. Siraj Azmat Chaudhry, Senior Advisor at Cargill India Pvt Ltd and Independent Director, Tata Global Beverages Ltd.

In his address, Mr. Chaudhry shared the learning and skills he valued the most as a management professional; the importance of making choices, the ability to manage energies and relax at crucial junctures as well as the realization that professional inter-dependence and networking go a long way in affecting one, on both professional and personal levels.

The nine-day long induction programme at Indian Institute of Rural Management started with the programme overview and visit to Amul for developing an appreciation for collective action and cooperation leading to one of the most celebrated brands of India. This was followed by the Induction Fieldwork Segment (IFS) that took place from July 4, 2019 to July 7, 2019. The IFS exposes the participants to real-life managerial and policy situations in villages and helps them to gain a practical perspective before heading back to the classroom.

The IFS takes place in villages around Gujarat and is facilitated by IRMA’s partner organizations and major dairy unions. Participants are placed with host families in the villages for the entire duration of the segment. During their stay in the village, participants have to keenly observe the key and relevant aspects of the village economy, society, and polity. They interact with diverse village communities and stakeholders of the village to gain a real managerial perspective of emerging markets. At the end of the IFS, the participants are required to deliver one of the following - Vignettes of Rural Stories, Picture Stories or Videos. 

The understanding gained during the IFS helps participants in the succeeding classroom terms that include foundation courses in rural management. Furthermore, the IFS also serves as an orientation and pre-cursor to the eight-week long Village Fieldwork Segment (VFS) that takes place after the first classroom term of PGDRM.

This year, 215 participants of PRM 40 underwent the IFS across 72 villages of Gujarat.

The 40^th batch of PGDRM has witnessed an improvement of about 6.14% in gender ratio over last year, standing at 37% of the total batch. About 51% of the batch has prior work experience, the average being 23.8 months.

The content is sourced from Institute of Rural Management, Anand.