Prime Minister's Rural Development Fellows (PMRDF) Training - Glimpse of a day's Activities

PMRDF  Training  at Tata Institute of social sciences (TISS) , Mumbai
Duration of training - 9th  Jul 2012 to 10th Aug 2012

 Idea of PMRDF -

The Government of India has launched a special programme in 78 backward districts called Integrated Action Plan (IAP). On 13th of September, 2011, Union Minister of Rural Development Mr. Jairam Ramesh announced a scheme of PM's Rural Development Fellows for deploying young professionals in each of the IAP districts to assist the District Collector.

PMRDF will function as development facilitators, and will engage in the following activities:

• Conduct socio-economic and political situation analysis of the district and ascertain the felt needs of the people
• Promote micro-planning (at ward and panchayat levels) in the district
• Provide critical inputs in preparation of district plans and outcome budgets
• Conduct data crunching relating to budget outlays and utilisation of funds
• Identify critical gaps in development programmes
• Create a network for voluntary cooperation in the local area
• Assist district collectors in carrying out any assignment desired by the collector.

Training activities -

Date- 21st Jul 2012
Day- Saturday
Time - 9am to 11 am
Resource Person - Dr. Rowena Robinson, IIT, Mumbai
Topic -  EthnographicReserch

We were being told that  Dr. Rowena is a punctual lady and were asked to come at 8.45am for a session at 9am and as rightly mentioned, she was in classs at 8.55am.I had never heard this term " Ethnography" ever before. It refers to a qualitative research method in which the researcher spends a long time in the field and immerses himself in the social and cultural life of the informants.She was taking this session because PMRDF will get 2 long years to understand the rural dynamics.IAP districts are conflict ridden.In most conflict areas, there is fear and risk to the villagers at every step of thier life even for daily,mundane activities like going to the market or thier field.They are always conscious about the presence of  the army or the naxals around them.Anyone associated with Govt. is looked upon suspiciously in these areas.They have lost faith in Govt. and are doubtful about the intention of any official visiting their village.

Researcher usually has some power in terms of better education , finance or association with Govt.So we can mix with them once we shed these so called power factors from our minds.We can establish trust by speaking in their local language, hanging around with them at places where they sit together.Endless patience is required as things may not move at our pace or as per our expectation to win their trust and faith.We have to be 100% aware and mentally awakened about the people,location,surrounding etc.


We should identify key respondents and informants who are active and ready to share their experiences.We can understand the real need of people and the status of implementation of existing schemes.

To what extent ,we can be truthful ?We should not lie to anyone but at the same time we cannot disclose the entire reality before people. We should not report or reveal the identity of anyone regarding sensitive issues as it may make things worse rather than helping them.

When we record videos or audios , we must have their consent to do so. We must carry a field diary and we have to note things immediately after the field visit everyday. Putting off writing will not help as our memory is not so strong often.The diary has to be maintained meticulously with indexing, numbering of pages etc so that we can refer to it in future.




Time - 11am to 1 pm
Resource Person -Ms. Saritha C T, TISS, Mumbai
Topic -  Dev Info ( A technical tools for social research )

DevInfo is a powerful database system for monitoring human development.  It is a tool for organizing, storing and presenting data in a uniform way to facilitate data .DevInfo has features that produce tables, graphs and maps for inclusion in reports, presentations and advocacy materials.

We learnt about the tool .As the software was installed in our systems, we practised how to make data more presentable using this tool.

Saritha madam also mentioned about the web site about the profile of all districts in India. It is a one-stop source for all the information about Districts of India at one place on the web.


Time - 1.30 pm to 2 pm - Lunch Break


Time - 2 pm to 5 pm
Resource Person - Prof. Bino Paul, TISS, Mumbai
Topic -  sample size calculation


The sample size in a survey  is the number of observations that constitute it . In a census, data are collected on the entire population, hence the sample size is equal to the population size.But usually , a certain number of observations are made which is representative of the population. This is done through sample size calculation.


Time - 5 pm to 5.15 pm
Tea Break -  Enjoying tea.

Time - 5.15 pm to 6 pm
Resource Person - Ms.Saritha C T, , TISS, Mumbai
Topic -  Dev Info Practice session

We practised  the use of  Devinfo tool.


Time -   6 pm to 8.30 pm
Resource Person - Dr. Malini V Shankar, IAS
                             Principal Scretary
                             Water supply and sanitation dept.
                             Govt. of Maharashtra
Topic -  Reforms in governance


Dr. Malini has 28 years of experience as a civil servant. She spoke about the characteristics of good governance like accountability, transparency,effectiveness etc.She shared her experiences and some of the reforms she has brought in during her stint as an IAS officer in different posts at different levels.She gave us a comparative picture of situations prior to reform and post reform after her intervention. She gave examples of tax collection from cinema halls.Earlier basis of tax collection  was number of tickets sold.So the owners used to forge the data about  number of tickets and govt officials had to spend a lot of time and money to inspect and raid. But post reform, the basis of tax collection was changed to 25% of 21 houseful shows. The chances to forge data is minimized significantly. She mentioned few other examples of reform in water supply , garbage collection etc.She explained in detail, how much resistance she faced to bring reform in a govt. setup. People with vested interest have always opposed reform but she could bring some changes because of her sheer dedication and hard work.

In between , listening to long lectures, to refresh our minds when it gets overheated by accumulating so much information , me and my friends manage to play few game like - Tick and cross, word games etc. Aditya can be seen with a screw driver dissecting his laptop which is dead due to virus attack. He seems to be a laptop doctor who can bring life into dead laptops.


We had dinner at 9 pm and then came back to our rooms at the guest house which are beautiful and peaceful amidst nature.

Ralegan Siddhi – The journey of a village From Poverty to Prosperity

Background - In Feb, 2008 ,when I was working at TCS,Mumbai , I had visited  Ralegan Siddhi , the village of  Anna Hazare. Anna was not so much in lime light those days and was known for his contribution towards upgrading the ecology and economy of his village of Ralegan Siddhi which is located in the drought prone Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.

My journey 

The purpose behind my visit to the village Ralegan Siddhi and meet Anna Hazare was to learn the lessons for life from village folks and to unlearn the complex theories that we were taught in institutes of higher levels. The village evolved from a poverty-stricken place to an epitome of rural prosperity. I wanted to see the village where no one takes alcohol, smokes bidi, cigarette etc.



After finishing my office work in morning shift, I started my journey from Thane, Mumbai in the afternoon of 19th Feb 2010. I reached Pune by around 8 pm and stayed at a friend's house. We chatted till late night as we were meeting after a gap of around two and half years. The next day morning, I came to Shivaji Nagar bus stop and caught a bus to Sirur.The journey time was around two hours. From Sirur I caught another bus towards Parner.The bus halted at Ralegan Siddhi at around 10 am. The travel time was around half an hour.



While walking towards the High School, I saw students cleaning and sweeping the garden in front of the school .They got to know that I had come from Thane and few were very excited as they also were from Thane and they stayed in the hostel beside the school.





Then I went to the Training Centre. I hardly knew anyone there. I entered my name in a register. I was shown the room where I had to stay.This was a small room with two beds.The window was big enough to ensure proper ventilation and sunlight. While walking towards my room, I saw Mango and tamarind trees laden with fruits. One can read sign boards that Rs .100 fine will be imposed on those who would try to steal fruits or flowers. We see such sign boards at many places but people steal but here no one dared to touch the fruits and to break the rules.



A co-worker of the training institute was sent along with me to guide me in my tour around the village. First I went to meet Anna Hazare. I met him near the school. There were many people waiting to discuss their problems with him ,so I just had a short talk with him and then I moved ahead to see the Media Centre. Here the village development work is well described by photographs and models. We could see the watershed development structures, village festivals, school activities, farm activities etc. We could also see the awards conferred on Anna, the CD and Book stall.



I went to the temple where Anna stayed. I did not see his room but I was told that Anna lived a very simple living. Anna chose to live in the village temple, so no one could blame him that he was doing all this for his selfish desire to support his family. He has not only remained unmarried but hardly met his own family members, so busy is he with the community.Anna has a much larger family than any other married person .All the villagers were his very own children.



I had lunch at the training centre. The food was simple and healthy. One had to serve himself and wash his own dishes, which were stainless steel thalis. I visited the watershed development structures with the guide. I walked around the village in the scorching sun but was hardly tired to stop moving ahead. Whenever I needed water, I stopped at any doorstep as seen in the photograph. Many houses were situated far way from each other as people had made there houses close to their fields. After walking for few kms, I had to climb a small hill. From here I could clearly see, that soil is dug on the hill at few meters interval so that rain water gets retained there instead of flowing down and washing away the soil. The motive behind all structures was to prevent the soil from getting washed away. As water is retained in those pits, trees are planted in those areas to further restore the soil. Water flowing from top of hills is checked by small check dams at different levels to reduce the speed of flowing water so that soil is not washed away and the water percolates into the soil.



In the evening, while returning to the training center, I visited few families. All most all the families have jersey cows. This small village of around 2000 population produces around 5000 lts of milk daily. It is collected at a co-operative society in the village itself. I was talking to a girl Pramila, studying in class 10th. She wanted to accompany me to the training centre as I was coming alone. Her father did not permit her to come with me. I was surprised not to see any lady within the age of twenty to twenty-five. I was told that ladies are married off as soon as they complete 18 years. People were surprised to know that I had come alone all the way from Mumbai. To be very frank, many were surprised knowing about my trip and me.



I came back to the training centre. Here I talked with the coworkers. Vinod Thumbre told me that, in the early days, when Anna started cleaning up the village with a broomstick, people used to think he was mad. I met few Agricultural diploma students. They were being trained here for watershed management. I met few students from National Institute of Rural Development. They had come here for one month field work.



The next day morning, I got up at 5am by the music that is played every morning. After getting ready, I moved towards another end of the village which I had not seen the previous day. It was early morning around 6.30 am. I stopped at a house to see how they stored onion by tying them to the roof. I was offered milk by an old lady.I had milk in her house. Strangers are welcomed so warmly. Each and every house where I stopped, welcomed me with a smile. We hardly see such kind attitude in cities. I met a small boy who was in class 6th. I asked him to accompany me to the fields. He agreed happily. We saw maize, bajra, green gram onion and garlic fields. We even ate berries and tamarinds and green gram. While returning from the field, the mother of the boy gave him a big bundle of maize plant to take home and feed it to the cows. The bundle was so heavy that I was not able to lift it with both hands but this small boy could bring it home so easily. I realized that the village folk are physically very strong from childhood.



I went towards the School hostel. The Criteria of selection here was interesting to me: the more number of times a student has failed in a class, greater are the chances that he will be selected. This so because Annasaheb Hazare believes all kids have potential but do not get good teachers. Interestingly most of these failed students pass in 1st division later. Not only academically they excel , they grow into a rounded person. I saw students were engaged in many sports activities as it was a holiday. I learned from the teachers that sports was given due priority here. Some students were representing at national level. Debate and essay competitions were also routinely held. Students get up at 4.30 am and go around the village for jogging. Hundreds of students would be running in files but one could not hear anyone making noise. Most of the students from the village join the Army.



I had lunch along with the teachers and students of the hostel squatting on the floor. It was a very clean floor, spick and span. I saw the dome shaped houses which are made of very low cost. In the nursery, grafted plants of mango ,orange etc were planted and were sold later.



In the evening, I spoke with Dinesh Patil who is the Head Trainer. Hundreds of farmers and other people from different villages and other parts of India come here to learn about village development and watershed management. Dinesh Sir is highly intellectual and though he was not in good health, he spent sometime with me. We talked about RTI act, Anna's life and struggle.

The next day morning, I left Ralegan Siddhi for Mumbai. I reached  Thane at around 3 pm and rushed to my office to work for afternoon shift. From this visit, I was pretty convinced that ordinary villagers could improve the social and economic condition of their villages. They needed inspiration and a little guidance to work together. If we could find one person in each village who was ready to sacrifice some time and effort to educate villagers about their rights, then I could clearly see India progressing ahead not only in terms of GDP but in terms of real growth in the living condition of the poorest.



To know more about Anna Hazare.Visit the sites -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Hazare
http://www.annahazare.org/