The Institute
IRMA was established in 1979 at Anand, Gujarat with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC), the Government of India, the Government of Gujarat, erstwhile Indian Dairy Corporation and the National Dairy Development Board to provide management education, training, research and consultancy support to co-operatives and rural development organisations in India.
IRMA is founded with the belief, borne out by Dr.Kurien’s work in the dairy co-operatives which revolutionised the dairy industry in the country, that the key for effective rural development is professional management. Professionalising the management of rural organisations calls for matching the specific but unmet needs of the sector with the formal techniques and skills of management professionals. Linking the two are the ‘rural managers’ prepared by IRMA through its two-years diploma (PRM) in rural management.
Born out of a maverick’s dream, IRMA has become a frontrunner in professionalising the development of India’s rural sector. Over the years it has provided management training, support and research facilities to students committed to rural development and in this process it has brought within its ambit several co-operatives, non-government organisations, government development agencies, international development organisations and funding agencies.
History
IRMA was set up in 1979 with a mandate to professionalise management of rural producers’ organisations and create a body of knowledge in the field of rural management. In a short span IRMA has come to be recognised as a premier centre of teaching and research in rural management and has successfully created a new discipline of rural management which is being replicated by many other institutes.
Beginning with co-operatives, IRMA has reached out to the rural sector through development organisations engaged with varied issues of rural life such as natural resource management, especially water and forests, rural health, local governance institution, livelihoods and migration, deploying IT for rural areas, and so on. IRMA’s vision to work for the rural people was vindicated in the early years when a variety of rural organisations—from co-operatives, NGOs, government and business sectors—began to make demands on IRMA. Except the business sector IRMA openly welcomes all these organisations. The argument being that business organisations are served by over 800 business schools in India but there is only one IRMA to serve the co-operatives, NGOs, and people’s organisations, and therefore, IRMA has chosen to direct its energies and output to these designated sectors. Ever since, the focus of IRMA has been on strengthening the management capacities in organisations which are controlled by users of their services rather than capital centred, and organisations which are controlled by users of their services rather than by capital suppliers. It this commitment which defines IRMA and gives it the identity unique among the management institutes.
Contact
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
