Learning gives creativity, creativity leads to thinking, thinking provides knowledge, and knowledge makes you great.” -Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
Over last 75 years, there has been a transformation in rural life and livelihoods through different initiatives of facilitating agencies including government, NGOs and corporate bodies. There is a shift in perspectives of empowerment and development on rural issues. Besides, ‘women empowerment’ is being considered as one of the important cross-cutting areas of development. Similarly, ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ (CSR), as a supplement to government’s development intervention, has been recognised as one of the catalysts in socio-economic and environmental transformation especially for the poor and marginalised section of population in rural areas.
However, the current rural scenario demands a lot of efforts with appropriate strategies in accelerating the development interventions and achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in inclusive manner. In this context, the following two themes seem to be very pertinent for this 4th National Rural Management Conclave 2023: Empowerment of Rural Women for Sustainable Development; and CSR and Rural Development