| Composition of Steering Committee | |
|---|---|
| Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, (MoRD) | Chairman |
| Chairman, AICTE | Member |
| JS (Skills/Trg.), Ministry of Rural Development, (MoRD) | Member |
| JS (MGNREGA), Ministry of Rural Development, (MoRD) | Member |
| JS (Rural Housing), Ministry of Rural Development, (MoRD) | Member |
| JS (Rural Connectivity), Ministry of Rural Development, (MoRD) | Member |
| CCO (NEAT), AICTE | Member |
| AD, AICTE | Member |
| JS (SAGY), Ministry of Rural Development, (MoRD) | Member Secretary |
| Program Management Unit Rural Bodies Mission Ministry of Rural Development |
| Platform Management Unit NEAT Cell AICTE, Ministry of Education |
Rural ecosystems with their complexities are spaces for discovery, learning and design of new solutions that require a steady stream of fresh minds to infuse creative and dynamic thinking. Globally, local body/governments engage with academic institutions by providing students and fresh graduates internship opportunities to assist in research and fieldwork, thus creating the lab-to-land transfer of innovative solutions. This is mutually beneficial to students in gaining exposure to the functioning of villages and also to local bodies/governments as new solutions evolve for the village and a pool of talent gets created for absorption in the market. Activating this triple helix of stakeholders can go a long way in unleashing India’s demographic dividend and creating a talent pool that can pave the way for our villages becoming self-reliant.
PRATIBHA programme has been envisioned to deliver the above by equipping the youth with problem-solving and critical thinking skills through hands-on, experiential learning in India’s fast-growing rural ecosystem. Experiential learning opportunities in the rural sector will help transform them into future leaders. The flexible nature of the program provides for inclusivity and access, is ecosystem driven and built on the principles of federated architecture and transparency.
The PRATIBHA program is being implemented through a partnership between MoRD and AICTE. At the State level, PRATIBHA will be supported by the Rural Development departments in providing a clear roadmap for the Local body/Distinct to adopt PRATIBHA in their respective organizations.
At the Local body/District/States/UTs level, they have been provided flexibility in defining the roles, numbers and other parameters of how PRATIBHA can best serve their contextual needs.
PRATIBHA has been designed keeping in mind the individual needs of the participants. The program intends to deliver for:
MoRD: Strengthen institutional capacity in Rural area and youth engagement towards rural initiatives, creating an ecosystem wherein youth can contribute towards building a liveable village.
Local Bodies: Skilled, high-quality workforce and innovative citizen-centric solutions that help them address critical challenges.
Participating Graduates: Enhanced employability through “learning by doing” and opportunity to co-create innovation for local bodies/villages. PRATIBHA interns would get exposure in a large number of areas including but not limited to rural planning, rural design, different branches of engineering, information and technology, mobility, finance, social sector issues and environmental issues.