Rural management is the study of planning, organising, directing, and controlling of rural area, co-operatives, agribusiness and allied fields. It merges the knowledge of management studies and applying it in the rural context. Most of the courses are designed in such a way that the concepts taught in the class is applied in the real life through training in the rural areas through case-studies and interaction with the rural people.
MBA in Rural Management has gained momentum and popularity in the past few years and is majorly concerned about the upliftment of the rural sectors and includes models and projects that can help bring advancement in the rural areas of the nation.
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The degree does not specify any pre-requisite educational background to pursue the same. Hence people from any domain can pursue this course, however the ideal candidate must possess a few qualities namely:
- Problem solving skills
- Analytical skills
- Leadership skills
- Willingness to work in rural areas
- Knowledge of local language
Top premier B-schools like IIMs; Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS); FMS (Delhi); Xavier Institute of Management (Bhubaneswar); Institute of Rural Management, Anand and so on offer the opportunity to study rural marketing and be able to apply the administration principles to the rural sector which includes planning, establishing and governing cooperatives organizations and other related organizations.
The course offers a holistic curriculum wherein knowledge of subjects like Microeconomics, Financial Accounting, Consumer Behaviour, Geo Informatics of Rural Management, Business Laws, Rural Infrastructure, Environment and Natural Resource Management and many more.
The course fees lies in the bracket of 3-5 lakhs and the candidate can expect a package of the exact same ROI depending upon their number of work experiences.
After having completed the course one can expect to take up responsibilities as:
- Rural Development Officer
- Business Development Officer
- Research Officer
- Sales Officer
- National Sales Development Manager
The top recruiting companies under the course are: AMUL, Mother Dairy, CRY, ITC, Godrej, IndusInd Bank, Cargill, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society – JEEVIKA, BAIF Development Research Foundation and many more.
MBA in rural management is becoming a promising sector and as quoted by
Dr. Jeemol Unni, former Director, Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), “The programme is meant for those students who wish to participate in nation building in rural India which has a very high demand for professionals.” According to him, the rural economy has a vast potential for growth. With the increasing focus on the rural sector, the placement opportunities for the rural management graduates have also been expanding in this sector. Despite increasing batch sizes in recent years, IRMA has always been able to achieve 100 percent placement for its students with rising average salaries. Normally, the job positions taken up by the PGDRM holders have more autonomy, responsibilities and opportunities for decision making which may help in faster personal and professional growth and development.
The scope for rural management is very vast as Candidates specialized in rural management will become rural managers. Professionals of this field can apply in the government sector for the job of Village Development Officer (VDO). Rural managers can also run their own NGOs or can work for a NGO.
In my opinion MBA in rural management should be taken up as an opportunity when are determined to give it back to the society in terms of CSR and possess strong will and determination towards the upliftment of the rural India.