New Delhi: The government has partnered with IIM Bangalore to launch an innovative two-year fellowship programme ‘Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF)’, which is aimed at addressing the challenge of non-availability of personnel for implementation of various programmes at national, state and district levels.
An agreement was recently signed to this effect between the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore.
Designed under Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP), the fellowship has been launched on a pilot basis in 75 districts across Gujarat, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Eligible fellows for the programme have to be in 21-30 years age-group, have a graduation degree from a recognized university and be citizens of India. Proficiency in official language of state of fieldwork will be mandatory.
In the course of their training, fellows will work under the close supervision of state skill development missions (SSDM) and will spend time and effort in understanding skilling challenges and gaps in the district.They are expected to enrich skilling programmes by bringing in fresh thinking to local planning, execution, community interaction and outcome management.
Fellows will receive a stipend of Rs. 50,000 in the first year and Rs. 60,000 in the second year. On completion of their engagement, they will be awarded a Certificate in Public Policy and Management from IIM Bangalore.
“Today, our nation’s youth is willing and is anxious to contribute to our nation building exercise and to the society at large. It has to be our effort to ensure that they are given the right opportunities to extend their support. This is a great initiative by MSDE and I am sure that it will see through all the challenges at the district level and come out to be a great outcome based program.”R. Subrahmanyam, Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, said.
“MGNF seeks to create a cadre of young individuals and train them in a blended academic programme that provides both academic inputs and a component of field immersion at the district level. Besides this will also be an attractive proposition for those who wish to eke a career in public policy. It is only fitting that we have launched this programme on the 150th birth centenary of Gandhi ji who was strong believer in decentralized planning.” Secretary, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dr. KP Krishnan said.
“The MGNF is aimed to identify and train a group of young, committed and dynamic individuals, who will leverage the IIMB ecosystem in management, entrepreneurship and public policy and work with the district administration in strengthening the process of skilling to create a vibrant local district economy. Its unique design will allow the Fellows to take academic learning at IIM Bangalore and use it in the field under faculty mentorship with the goal of understanding challenges and barriers that the district ecosystem faces in fostering growth and development.” G Raghuram, Director, IIM, Bangalore, said.
