The National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD), which is poised to celebrate its
golden jubilee of excellence, is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of
Rural Development that undertakes training, research, action research and
consultancy assignments in the rural development sector in India. The Institute is
located in the serene rural surroundings of Rajendranagar about 15 km away from the
historic city of Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh.

The NIRD is mandated to conduct and assist in the organisation of training
programmes, conferences, seminars and workshops for middle and senior
development functionaries; undertake, aid, promote and coordinate research on it’s
own and / or collaborate with state, national and international development agencies;
analyse and offer solutions to problems encountered in planning and implementation
of the programmes for rural development, decentralised governance, panchayati raj
and related programmes; and disseminate information and transfer technology
through periodicals, reports, books and other publications in furtherance of the basic
objectives of the Institute.

The Institute’s services are available to different ministries/departments of the Central
and State Governments, banking institutions, public and private sector organisations,
civil societies, Panchayati Raj Institutions and other national and international
agencies connected with rural development.

Regional Centre
The Regional Centre of NIRD, established at Guwahati (Assam) in 1983, conducts
training courses, seminars, workshops and problem-oriented research studies on
rural development policy and planning relevant to the North-Eastern Region covering
the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland,
Tripura and Sikkim.

Structure and Organisation
The NIRD policy is determined by a forty-seven member General Council. The Union
Minister of Rural Development is the President of the General Council. The
management and administration of the Institute is vested in a fourteen member
Executive Council with the Hon’ble Union Minister, Rural Development as its
Chairman. The Director General is the CEO and is responsible for the management of
the Institute. He is assisted by a Deputy Director General, Financial Advisor,
Registrar and Director (Administration) and a multi disciplinary Faculty. The
Academic Committee and Research Advisory Committee, under the Chairmanship of
the Director General, facilitate planning of its training, research and consultancy
activities.

Faculty
The faculty members are highly qualified with Doctoral Degrees, Specialised training
and several years of experience in Rural Development Training, Research and
Consultancy. The seventy strong multi-disciplinary faculty is assigned to eighteen
thematic Centres as shown in the Annexure. For more details about the qualifications
and experience of individual faculty members, please visit our website:

Training
The NIRD has a wide range of expertise and excellent infrastructure to train middle
and senior development functionaries engaged in policy formulation, management,
and implementation of rural development programmes. The training programmes are
intended to create knowledge base, develop skills and infuse right attitudes and
values. Over 300 programmes are offered every year. Besides, the Institute conducts
several international training programmes sponsored by the Ministry of External
Affairs and the Ministry of Rural Development. Participants from several Afro-Asian
and Latin-American countries undergo training at the NIRD every year. About 8000
trainees pass through the NIRD annually.

Research and Action Research
The Institute undertakes empirical studies on specific themes like Rural Change;
Socio-Economic and Human Development; Decentralisation; Programme Planning,
Management, Monitoring and Evaluation; Rural Technology and Environmental
Concerns, among others, to assess the impact of rural development programmes,
identify new areas for policy interventions and analyse the research and training needs
of the Rural Development functionaries. The Action Research programmes of the
institute are location–specific in nature and scope. Development models/themes are
given a fair trial.

Consultancy
Consultancy assignments are taken up for Ministries/Departments of Government of
India, National level organizations, state governments, public sector undertakings and
premier International organisations like UNDP, FAO, UNICEF, UNESCO, WHO, ILO,
World Bank, ESCAP, DFID, CIRDAP and AARDO.

Information Dissemination
The Institute disseminates the results of the research studies and recommendations of
its various seminars and workshops through a number of publications. It brings out a
quarterly Journal of Rural Development that is acclaimed for its quality and a bimonthly
NIRD Newsletter in English and Hindi. With over 300 publications to date,
NIRD is a leading publisher of Rural Development literature not only in India but also
in the region. The Institute’s annual publications like ‘India Rural Development
Report’, ‘Panchayati Raj Report’ and ‘Rural Development Statistics’ have attracted the
attention of academics and policy planners.

Computer Centre
The Institute has a well equipped Computer Centre for in-house and classroom
Training, Management Information System (MIS), Library documentation and data
processing. It has a computer lab with ‘state of the art’ PCs. Other facilities include
INTERNET and Local Area Network (LAN) connecting all the departments and Centres
of the Institute.

Rural Technology Park
The Rural Technology Park (RTP) spread over 62 acres of land aims at spreading
awareness on current rural technologies and promoting sustainable rural
development. The RTP showcases Rural Technologies and provides for capacity
building in terms of skill development and entrepreneurship. Transfer of technology
process and activities are carried out for sustainable livelihoods.
The RTP has established some production-cum-training units of affordable and costeffective technologies for rural areas, and offers skill oriented training. The solar
power unit is managed by illiterate women who have become barefoot solar engineers
and execute turnkey solar electrification projects in the rural areas. The National
Rural Building Centre and the sanitation park in RTP showcases model rural houses
constructed with forty different technologies applicable to Rural India.

Documentation
The Centre for Media and Rural Documentation (CMRD) of the Institute acts as a
referral and servicing agency for the rural development sector as a whole. It has a well
organised library with a collection of more than a lakh volumes and subscribes to over
200 journals. The Rural Development database consisting of over two lakh references
is computerised. It maintains the Institute’s website and operates a web-based ICT
portal.

Geomatics Cell
The Centre for Geo-Informatics Application in Rural Development (C-GARD) caters to
the needs of GIS, GPS and Satellite Remote Sensing Applications in rural areas. It
offers custom designed solutions to Natural Resource Management and rural
development oriented projects.

Further details can be had at:
National Institute of Rural Development
Rajendranagar, Hyderabad – 500 030, INDIA
Grams: GRAVIK Telefax: 24008522