Rajya Sabha
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) are working together to facilitate building linkages between Panchayats, industries and businesses to create Rural Business Hubs (RBH) in different blocks of the country on the lines of the successful Thai experience of One Tambon One Product (OTOP). Rural Business Hubs are proposed to be Public-Private-Panchayat Partnerships to produce/improve/refine goods from locally available resources to enable larger market access. This was stated by the Minister of Panchayati Raj Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar in Rajya Sabha today. In a written reply he said, the Union Government with the help of State Governments, Panchayats, the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and other similar organizations, has identified 846 potential products and the blocks in which Rural Business Hubs (RBH) will be promoted on the basis of Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) between key stakeholders for ensuring development of the RBH in a set time frame, covering every facet of product development, ensuring quality, value addition, market access and securing better prices. Under the Rural Business Hubs initiative, 31 MOUs have so far been signed between Panchayats and Corporates in the public and private sectors and 73 business houses located by the CII have expressed their interests in further exploring the prospects for specific RBH.
He said, the state specific lists of identified potential RBHs and expression of interests of companies have been forwarded to the State Governments concerned for arranging interaction and exchange of ideas between the Panchayats and the corporate or promotional bodies and for facilitating the finalization of Memoranda of Understanding between stakeholders for setting up RBHs. A joint RBH Council, comprising representatives of the Government, CII and eminent individuals working in this area, has been constituted for monitoring the process and reviewing the actions. Shri Aiyar informed the house that his ministry is working on a scheme for computerization of Panchayats under the National e-Governance Plan in close coordination with the Planning Commission, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. In consultation with this Ministry, State Governments are to take into account their individual initiatives in this regard, as also to understand and fill in gaps, needs and constraints in e-Governance for Panchayats.
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(Release ID :17822)