To make Harda a model district of Madhya Pradesh by scaling up the different parameters of development, the District administration of Harda has joined hands with the Indian Institute of Management Indore to work out a viable and sustainable foolpoof plan. A MoU was signed in this regard by District Magistrate of Harda, Rishi Garg, IAS, and Professor Himanshu Rai, the Director of IIM Indore, on November, 16.
Speaking with Indian Masterminds, DM Rishi Garg shared details about the collaboration.
BOOST MARKET, TOURISM & LIFESTYLE
Both the district administration of Harda and IIM Indore will take joint initiatives to uplift the district by improving its economy, market, and lifestyle. Considering women play a significant role in empowering society, they aim to conduct financial literacy training workshops for the women of the district and provide them with opportunities to become financially independent through various sources of livelihoods.
“The training programmes for the women would strengthen our society base and enable the women of the area to not only become financially independent, but confident as well’, Mr. Garg said.
The district will now aim for the benefits of the central government initiative, One District One Product, as IIM Indore will design the marketing and branding strategies for the local products. This will especially help the administration to increase the export of bamboo. Simultaneously, the MoU signed between the district administration and the institute will aim at the overall growth and progress of the district, thereby adding value to not just the market, but the overall economy and general lifestyle.
Apart from the ‘One District One Product’ initiative, the collaboration will also extend to rejuvenation of tourism in the district. From the tourism perspective, Harda brings together tribal culture, natural beauty, ancient temples of historical significance, to give visitors a plethora of experiences. So, there’s much to explore and work on.
BENEFITS
Expressing his delight over the collaboration with IIM Indore, Mr. Garg said, “This collaboration will help in rejuvenating tourism in the area by boosting village tourism, eco-tourism, camping, and natural treks. In addition, we will also promote farmer-producer organisations and government schemes to boost the economy. This association would prove immensely beneficial for Harda district, as the administrative officers would get a brilliant opportunity to be a part of the robustly designed training programmes of the IIM.”
He also said that it will help them in strengthening the understanding of rural management, leadership, and administration, and allow them to interact with some excellent faculty members of the institute.
RURAL ENGAGEMENT
Harda district will also benefit from the unique Rural Engagement Programme (REP) to be conducted by the IIM Indore the Post Graduate Programme participants. Under this programme, they will visit different villages of Madhya Pradesh and work on offering solutions to the problems faced by the villagers. This unique programme will also contribute to the improvement of livelihood in the Harda district through proper study and research.
“We are delighted that IIM Indore gave the opportunity to Harda and its people to benefit from their team’s insights and experiences. We look forward to continuous engagement with them in order to improve public service delivery in Harda and strive towards gold standards of good governance,” Mr. Garg said in conclusion.
