IIM Ranchi, NSDC unite to empower Tribal Entrepreneurship in Jharkhand

The collaboration has taken place to demonstrate its commitment towards sustainable socio-economic development and to fostering positive transformation in tribal communities.

Indian Institute of Management Ranchi (IIM-R), National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), the strategic implementation and knowledge partner for Skill India Mission have collaborated to introduce livelihood opportunities for janjati regions through skill-based interventions within respective geographies and promote their holistic development at the grassroots level.

The collaboration has taken place to demonstrate its commitment towards sustainable socio-economic development and to fostering positive transformation in tribal communities. This unique internship programme is designed to provide relevant exposure to 80 interns from IIM Ranchi around social projects by making them an integral part of planning and strategy development efforts of Singi Dai Van Vigyan Kendra, a multiskill development center. The focus of the programme is on key segments such as medicinal plants, horticulture, and aromatic essential oil segments in tune with the local resources and culture.

As part of the initiative, the second-year students from the Integrated Programme in Management (IPM), IIM Ranchi completed their five-day visit at Vikas Bharti, Bishunpur, Jharkhand which provided thorough insights on rural development initiatives and ponder, tinker with innovative solutions to promote sustainability, benefiting the locals.

Unique internship programme designed to provide exposure to 80 interns from IIM Ranchi

To cement and formalize the programme, the students from IIM Ranchi divided themselves as three enterprises and worked on marketing plans that provided strategies for better agricultural production and community engagement. The one-month internship programme has successfully trained interns across the nine batches, consisting of three groups each from three verticals that worked together on one enterprise.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Ved Mani Tiwari, CEO, NSDC and MD, NSDC International said, fostering entrepreneurship opportunities in agriculture, medicinal plants and aromatic oils is a crucial step towards empowering the tribal communities and fine-tuning their skills in niche areas. Through our cooperative efforts, we aim to provide skill upgradation, robust training, and the necessary toolkit to the students of IIM Ranchi, extending mentoring support to India’s tribal communities. This collective effort is aligned with our vision of empowering communities by generating sustainable income. Through this collaboration between NSDC, IIM Ranchi and Vikas Bharti, we will not only establish strong relationships with local governments, NGOs and industry stakeholders but also build market linkages and industry connections for the locals.

The plans submitted by each of the groups have showcased innovative strategies which we will in fact adapt in the programme to serve the tribal communities. I congratulate the students for coming up with their spectacular ideas and progressive approaches, he added.

Professor Deepak Kumar Srivastava, Director IIM Ranchi highlighted the scope and importance of tribal entrepreneurship in Jharkhand. Guided by its strategic plan IIM Ranchi@2030, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ranchi is aiming to become a globally renowned institute which deeply connected with the local community. IIM Ranchi intends to undertake research on tribal entrepreneurship to create a real-world impact on the domain of tribal enterprises in India and bring the scope of the tribal economy to the fore of academic and policy discussions.

Therefore, the research on tribal entrepreneurship will represent a comprehensive picture of the enterprises owned by the tribes in tribal areas, which incorporate both social and profit-making enterprises. The research will focus on the evolution of enterprises, success stories of community-based enterprises, exploration of the keys of success and replication, optimization of minor forest products for creating new enterprises, tribal skill development, issues and opportunities in the tribal areas, and socio-economic development of tribes in India.

The initiative also serves as an opportunity for students to fine-tune their basics and fundamentals on rural marketing, cooperative societies, and mutually aided self-help groups under the guidance of faculty members and experts of IIM, enabling them to mark a significant impact on increasing demand for local products in national and international markets. On the completion of the project, students worked on the industry-market linkage plan and the best pitching plan will get implemented in NSDC-funded Multi Skill Development cum Women Empowerment centre at Balatu.

Based on the findings, each group submitted a thorough report on the viable and sustainable business models aimed at assisting farmers in establishing market linkages, expanding distribution network, and developing robust supply value chains.

Furthermore, the students mapped various schemes of the Government of India on agriculture, horticulture, and forest produce such as AYUSH, NABARD, SIDBI, Medicinal plant promotion board for enhancing community engagement, inclusive growth and building capacities of the region.

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