Professor Mukti Kanta Mishra’s brainchild, Gram Tarang Initiative, has been recognised by none other than the NITI Aayog as a “Best Practice” in the country.
The Gram Tarang is a social entrepreneurship outreach of the Centurion University of Technology and Management (CUTM) of which Prof Mishra is the chairman.
The NITI Aayog has recently prepared a compendium on “Best Practices in 29 States. The practices focus on giving most disadvantaged sections of the society in the most difficult-to-work-in areas of the country an opportunity to earn sustainable livelihood and navigate equitable growth.
The key to success of this programmde is industry involvement in the process to assist in the setup of state-of-the-art, industry standard workshops and laboratory with all relevant machines, tools and equipment.
An innovative revenue model has been adopted by the Centurion University, and the programmes have been linked with three key stakeholders involved: individuals, Government and enterprises.
The Gram Tarang has been linked with various Government schemes through the Union Ministries of Rural Development (DDU-GKY), Housing and Urban Development (SJSRY-NUlM) to subsidise the training costs for below-poverty line (BPl) candidates and SC and ST.
The Gram Tarang has already trained over 10,000 youths across various industry sectors with a placement record of 88 per cent.