11th Convocation of NIRD&PR

The 11^th convocation ceremony of Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Development Management (PGDRDM) of the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR) was held at NIRD&PR campus on December 28, 2016 (Wednesday). A batch of 36 students who graduated on Saturday received their diplomas from the Chief Guest of the occasion, Shri. J. S. Mathur, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India.

Gold medal for best academic performance was awarded to Ms. Sandhra Jose as the best performer, while the Silver and Bronze Medals were awarded to second and third best performing students, i.e Mr. Pushphas Agarwal and Mr. P.S. Kranthikumar respectively. Shri J.S. Mathur, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India graced the occasion and awarded the diplomas and medals.  Dr. W.R. Reddy IAS, Director General, NIRD&PR presided over the function.

In his address, Shri. J.S. Mathur, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, congratulated the graduating students and also appreciated NIRD&PR for organising this unique course in the field of Rural Development. The Secretary noticed that the students of PGDRDM have come from different academic backgrounds. He felt that it was a welcoming trend to see young talent from different fields coming to serve the rural community in this country. Reminding of the high competition in this generation, the Secretary told the students, “You have to make your mark in the profession to be noticed.” He advised them to work hard and learn from experiences. He also appreciated the curriculum of PGDRDM which includes both the classroom teaching and field visits where the students get to directly interact with the rural community. Concluding his address, the Secretary said that job satisfaction should be the ultimate aim of any profession. He said, the feel of helping someone through our job is the best thing anyone can experience.  

Dr. W. R. Reddy, IAS, Director General, NIRD&PR, who administered the convocation oath to students, has congratulated the entire 11^th batch of PGDRDM. In his inaugural address, the Director General informed that 98 per cent of the graduating students have secured good placements in reputed organisations including the National RURBAN Mission. The Director General expressed his gratitude to the recruiting agencies which offered good jobs to the students. Addressing the students, the Director General advised them to dream big and work hard to achieve them. He also urged them to stay connected to the Institute and comeback in future. The Director General felt that the feedback of students will help to improve the course in coming years.  

PGDRDM: Batch-11: Current Profile

There were 36 students in the Eleventh Batch of PGDRDM: 2016, representing 17 from Southern India, 2 from North-East, 2 from Northern India, 2 from Western India, 6 from Central India and 7 from Eastern India. Of these, 11 are girls and the rest are boys with varied educational qualifications. The students come from different academic backgrounds such as Social Sciences, Physical Sciences, Commerce, Management and Engineering background. They have been selected on the basis of an All-India Entrance exam followed by Group Discussion and Personal Interviews. A total of 36 students successfully completed received Diplomas in the convocation on 28^th December, 2016.

Placement Scenario

The first phase of the Batch-11 campus placements was held from 24^th October to 1^st November, 2016.  Reputed organisations have participated in the campus placements and offered employment to a good number of students. Around 98 per cent of the students have secured jobs in the placements.

About the Programme:

The NIRD&PR’s one-year Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Development Management (PGDRDM) has been launched when the need for Rural Development professionals is considered paramount and the concomitant grooming of talented persons non-negotiable.  Developing a cadre of committed,  competent and passionate rural development professionals, is therefore, a challenge and a major mandate for all the Rural Development organisations in general and the National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR), the `lead Rural Development Institution’ in the country, in particular.

The first Batch of PGDRDM was introduced on 4^th August, 2008. The successful launch of the first ten batches of PGDRDM is the seed-bed for the future PGDRDM programmes. Since 2014 two batches of NIRD&PR-PGDRDM are running concurrently with a gap of six months.  Accordingly, Batch-11 started from 27^th January, 2016, Batch-12 started from 16^th August, 2016 and 13^th Batch is going to start from 23^rd January, 2017. The NIRD & PR and the Centre for PG Studies & Distance Education (CPGS&DE) leverage the governmental, voluntary and corporate industry strengths towards building Knowledge Centres, Skill Pools and Rural Development Practitioners’ platforms. The aim of the programme is to develop a committed and competent cadre of Rural Development Management Professionals in the country.

 -Press note