Amrita University signs MOU with Rural Development Ministry

New Delhi: Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR) have signed an MoU for collaborating on sharing knowledge, transfer of technologies and training in the areas of e-Learning, skill development, rural technologies, sanitation, energy conservation and outreach programs at Amritapuri campus.

Amma (Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi) graced the occasion and wished that the MoU will blossom into a significant social impact initiative for rural India.

Dr. W. R. Reddy (IAS), Director General, NIRD&PR said, “NIRD&PR’s reach in rural areas, when combined with compassionate research and rural technologies of Amrita University can bring major transformation in the rural landscape of India.”

Dr. Venkat Rangan, Vice Chancellor, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham said, “Amrita’s unique Live-in-Labs program requires students to go to rural areas, understand their challenges and build research-based solutions.” Live-in-Labs is a credit-based academic program that provides multidisciplinary experiential learning that breaks classroom and lab barriers by applying learned theory in real-world settings. Live-in-Labs has implemented more than 150 projects in 21 states across India that and have helped improve standards of living for more than 60,000 villagers.

Swami Jnanamritananda Puri, Mata Amritanandamayi Math said, “Amrita Serve project, launched in September 2013, ushered in sustainable development in village clusters across India, with a series of changes that starts from basic needs to a state of true empowerment.”

The National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD&PR), an autonomous organization under the Union Ministry of Rural Development, is a premier national centre of excellence in rural development and Panchayati Raj. It builds capacities of rural development functionaries through inter-related activities of training, research and consultancy.