Chief Minister’s Rural Development Fellowship – 2016

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has planned a fellowship programme to harness the talent and passion of young professionals in transforming rural Maharashtra.  The beneficiaries of Chief Minister’s Rural Development Fellowship Programme 2016 will have an opportunity to use their knowledge and skills to reform and empower villages towards self-sustainable development, a statement from Chief Minister’s office. This scheme is in umbrella of state’s flagship rural development programme “Village Social Transformation Mission”. This fellowship programme offers unique opportunity to young graduates to work as agents of rural transformation in close coordination with District Administration, NGO’s and Chief Minister’s Office. The duration of fellowship programme shall be 12 months and each rural development fellow will be provided with a monthly stipend. As the rural development fellow will be responsible for execution of the Mission’s objective in right perspective each fellow will receive training from Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) and Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas (CTARA-IIT) before they begin their fieldwork. In addition to this, each fellow will also be provided with a mentor who will guide and support them to carry out their task with ease. Mentors will include renowned academicians, top government officials and corporate executives.

Benefits of Chief Minister’s Rural Development Fellowship:

• Each selected fellow under the Chief Minister Rural Development Fellowship Programme will receive a monthly stipend of Rs. 30,000/-
• Before the fellow begin their fieldwork they will receive comprehensive training from Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS) and Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas (CTARA-IIT)
• The selected fellow will also receive mentorship from renowned academicians, government officials and top level executive from corporate world

Required eligibility and conditions for applying Chief Minister’s Rural Development Fellowship: 

1. The eligibility criteria for selection as a Fellow is as follow:
2. The age of the candidate should be between 20 to 30 at the time of application
3. The fellow is Graduate from a recognized university/institute with a three/four-year degree course
4. Those with a degree from universities outside India that are recognized by Association of Indian Universities can also apply. Only those candidates who have completed all requirements and have received degree are eligible to apply
5. Physical fitness, certified by Government Medical Hospital due to the arduous nature of work involved

Scope of Work in Chief Minister’s Rural Development Fellowship:  

1. The Rural Development Fellows will be responsible for overall execution of the Mission’s objectives in their respective villages. The major roles they will play are:

• Agents of Behavioural Change in villages
• Information bearers of various schemes and development works
• Facilitators between the corporate, government and villages
• Conducting the baseline survey

2. Responsibilities will include:

• Serving as a link between the district administration, NGOs and the Chief Minister’s Office
• Working closely with the Gram Panchayat on village development plan and helping the district administration in local area planning
• Conducting socio-economic analysis and scientifically fulfilling the needs of the people
• Undertake action-research to discover more appropriate ways of program delivery by the district administration
• Designing and implementing innovative projects
• Providing feedback on rural development initiatives to the Working Groups and Governing Council

Application Procedure:

1. Applicants are required to submit the following to be considered for an interview:
2. Application form: click here to fill it http://bit.ly/2hPqBhm
3. Resume (limit it to 1-2 pages)
4. A word/pdf document answering the 3 questions listed below. Please answer all questions in one text document and highlight the question before each answer. Each answer should be limited to 250 words

• Why are you interested in being a Rural Development Fellow?
• Fellows will be based in remote areas in order to integrate with the local community and maximize impact. What past experiences makes you believe that you will be able to adjust to such an environment?
• How do you intend to utilize your Fellowship experience in the future?

5. Please email the resume and essay document to ruraldev@maharashtra.gov.in
6. Fellowship application deadline : 25 December 2016
7. Based on applications, candidates will be shortlisted for an interview with a diverse selection committee. Offers will be made after the interview stage
8. Interviews will be held between 2nd and 3rd week of January 2017

Contact Details:

1. The intrusted fellow can contact to following address: Govt. Of Maharastra, Madam Cama Road, Hutatma Rajguru Chowk, Nariman Point, Churchgate, Mumbai- 400032, Maharashtra, India
2. Email Id: ruraldev@maharashtra.gov.in

References & Details:

1. For more details regarding documents and other help please visit official website
2. https://www.maharashtra.gov.in/cmrdfp2016/index.html