A Rural Development Officer is a State Government official who is concerned with the development of rural areas. He or she is primarily responsible for supervising the developmental plans and their implementation to the areas assigned to him or her. Rural Development Professionals study, plan, organize, direct and control ways to improve the quality of life and economic welfare of the people living in rural areas. They make changes and improvements in the agriculture, healthcare, education, social situations, economy, employment, management of natural resources, banking and finance, technology, and industries majorly relating to the rural areas by handling farming schemes, old age pension, schemes for specially-abled, NREGA, health and medical facilities, etc.
Personal Competencies
You can comfortably talk with everyone
You like to lead
You like to organize things
You like to work in a team
Entry Pathway
1. Completion of 10+2 in any stream
2. Complete Bachelor's degree in Rural Studies/Rural Development/Rural Management
OR
Complete Bachelor's degree in any discipline, followed by Master's in Rural Development/Rural Management or any related field
OR
Pursue a Diploma in Rural Management/Rural Development.
For admissions to management institutes offering UG, PG courses in Rural Management, you must qualify one these entrance examinations such as CAT/XAT/IRMASAT/MAT/SNAP/CMAT.
Please check the duration of the course during enrolment
Where will you study?
The course is offered by the Department of Management. This list of institutes is indicative only
Government Institutes 1. Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow 2. Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur 3. Mahatama Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith University, UP 4. Sambalpur University, Odhisha 5. Kousali Institute of Management Studies, Dharwad 6. Jammu University, Jammu 7. Centre for Studies in Rural Management, Gujarat Vidyapith, Gandhinagar 8. IIT, Bombay, Mumbai
Private Institutes (Please check if Institute is affiliated and accredited with UGC before applying) 1. KSRM Bhubaneswar - KIIT School of Rural Management, Odisha 2. Colleges for Rural Management studies Government 3. Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta 4. Institute of Rural Management, Jaipur 5. Institute of Rural Management Anand 6. Xavier Institute of Social Service, Ranchi 7. Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar
Distance Learning Institute Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)
Fees
The approx. course fee ranges between INR 45,000 - 3,00,000*.
*(The above-mentioned figures are approximate numbers. This will vary from institute to institute)
Scholarships & Loans
Scholarships
• National Scholarship Portal - Please visit http://www.scholarships.gov.in. Under this portal there are Central Government schemes offered by different Departments, UGC/AICTE Schemes and State Schemes.*
• Please visit http://www.buddy4study.com for details on available scholarships. This is a gateway to scholarships starting from Class XI
• Scholarships are also available in the Institutes based on merit
*(Availability of these scholarships can vary from time to time)
Loans
•VidyaLakshmi, http://www.vidyalakshmi.co.in, is a portal for students seeking education loan. This portal has been developed under the guidance of the Department of Financial Services, (Ministry of Finance), Department of Higher Education (Ministry of Human Resource Development) and Indian Banks Association (IBA).
• Some states have student credit cards with low interest rates, for instance, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, etc.
• All banks give education loans.
Where will you work?
Places of Work: Panchayati Raj institutions, Rural Cooperatives, NGOs, Agribusiness, Public or private sector Rural development initiatives, or leadership roles on donor-funded agriculture development projects
Entrepreneurship: You can start your own start up or a NGO can also start a Non- Governmental Organization or voluntary agency to serve for the welfare of the rural communities.
Work Environment: It involves extensive field work and travel. Typically, you will have an office but also regularly work in the field, depending on the type of organization you would be working in.
Opportunities for work exist for differently abled in this field
Expected Growth Path
Assistant Manager → Project Manager → Director, Rural Development
Expected Income
The approx. salary of a Rural Development Manager ranges between INR 25,000 - 1,00,000* per month.
Sahana Mishra has 24 years of experience working on gender, sustainable agriculture, and natural resource management. She has worked extensively in building women collectives for their socio-economic-political empowerment. Sahana has worked closely with government departments in MP, Odisha, and Bihar. She is skilled in designing and implementing large-scale development projects at the grassroots in partnership with government and non-government agencies. She is a Graduate in Economics and has a Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Management and was a fellow in the Leadership Development Program at McCain Institute of International Leadership in the USA.*
Rural Development Specialist/Manager
NCS Code: NA | SS0081. Completion of 10+2 in any stream
2. Complete Bachelor's degree in Rural Studies/Rural Development/Rural Management
OR
Complete Bachelor's degree in any discipline, followed by Master's in Rural Development/Rural Management or any related field
OR
Pursue a Diploma in Rural Management/Rural Development.
For admissions to management institutes offering UG, PG courses in Rural Management, you must qualify one these entrance examinations such as CAT/XAT/IRMASAT/MAT/SNAP/CMAT.
Please check the duration of the course during enrolment
The course is offered by the Department of Management.
This list of institutes is indicative only
Government Institutes
1. Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow
2. Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur
3. Mahatama Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith University, UP
4. Sambalpur University, Odhisha
5. Kousali Institute of Management Studies, Dharwad
6. Jammu University, Jammu
7. Centre for Studies in Rural Management, Gujarat Vidyapith, Gandhinagar
8. IIT, Bombay, Mumbai
Private Institutes
(Please check if Institute is affiliated and accredited with UGC before applying)
1. KSRM Bhubaneswar - KIIT School of Rural Management, Odisha
2. Colleges for Rural Management studies Government
3. Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta
4. Institute of Rural Management, Jaipur
5. Institute of Rural Management Anand
6. Xavier Institute of Social Service, Ranchi
7. Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar
Information on the institute rankings can be found at - https://www.nirfindia.org/2022/Ranking.html
Distance Learning Institute
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)
The approx. course fee ranges between INR 45,000 - 3,00,000*.
*(The above-mentioned figures are approximate numbers. This will vary from institute to institute)
Scholarships
• National Scholarship Portal - Please visit http://www.scholarships.gov.in. Under this portal there are Central Government schemes offered by different Departments, UGC/AICTE Schemes and State Schemes.*
• Please visit http://www.buddy4study.com for details on available scholarships. This is a gateway to scholarships starting from Class XI
• Scholarships are also available in the Institutes based on merit
*(Availability of these scholarships can vary from time to time)
Loans
•VidyaLakshmi, http://www.vidyalakshmi.co.in, is a portal for students seeking education loan. This portal has been developed under the guidance of the Department of Financial Services, (Ministry of Finance), Department of Higher Education (Ministry of Human Resource Development) and Indian Banks Association (IBA).
• Some states have student credit cards with low interest rates, for instance, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, etc.
• All banks give education loans.
Places of Work: Panchayati Raj institutions, Rural Cooperatives, NGOs, Agribusiness, Public or private sector Rural development initiatives, or leadership roles on donor-funded agriculture development projects
Entrepreneurship: You can start your own start up or a NGO can also start a Non- Governmental Organization or voluntary agency to serve for the welfare of the rural communities.
Work Environment: It involves extensive field work and travel. Typically, you will have an office but also regularly work in the field, depending on the type of organization you would be working in.
Opportunities for work exist for differently abled in this field
Assistant Manager → Project Manager → Director, Rural Development
The approx. salary of a Rural Development Manager ranges between INR 25,000 - 1,00,000* per month.
Source: https://www.ambitionbox.com/profile/rural-development-manager-salary
*These figures are indicative and subject to change
Experts from the field
Sahana Mishra has 24 years of experience working on gender, sustainable agriculture, and natural resource management. She has worked extensively in building women collectives for their socio-economic-political empowerment. Sahana has worked closely with government departments in MP, Odisha, and Bihar. She is skilled in designing and implementing large-scale development projects at the grassroots in partnership with government and non-government agencies. She is a Graduate in Economics and has a Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Management and was a fellow in the Leadership Development Program at McCain Institute of International Leadership in the USA.*
Source: https://www.pradan.net/who-we-are/#ourteam
*The above information is for training purposes only and will not be used for any commercial gains
district project officer, district co-ordinator, rural development