Mentoring Institutions (MIs)

At present, majority of professional institutions do not have any prior experience, mechanism or expertise for meaningful interaction in the rural development process beyond their marginal interaction through National Service Scheme (NSS) activities. However, a few apex institutions (e.g. IISc Bangalore, IIT Mumbai, IIT Delhi and IIT Kharagpur) have been actively involved in the development and dissemination of appropriate technologies in the rural areas and have also interacted with voluntary organizations as well as selective government agencies in this process. These institutions also have established centers focusing on rural technology and development. Accordingly, they have the necessary expertise and wherewithal and therefore, can act as Mentoring Institutions (MIs) to facilitate the other participating institutions in their vicinity. It will be desirable to identify such mentoring institutions which can act as nodal centers for networking, training and orientation for grooming other institutions. In the first phase, thirteen such institutions have been identified to begin with, but many more institutions will be needed to provide a proper spread to the programme.