MGNF – Decoding district level skilling and entrepreneurship

Now let us go ahead to know and understand the experiences of MGN Fellows in their own words. We have organized the content on the basis of states and districts. Let’s start with the stories from Karnataka.

Karnataka

Ranjini Rao HS

Vijayapura, Karnataka

“The MGNF excited me because of its cross-cultural, grassroots level, immersive learning experience. As a student of Computer Science, it has been exciting and challenging for me to bring digital solutions at the district level, from using a simple, well-designed form for data aggregation and analysis, to launching a website for the District Skill Mission (DSM).

My prime motivation to join this massive journey is to utilize my skills to create tangible, social impact at scale. The Vijayapura district officials, the Deputy Commissioner and Skill Development Officer have helped catalyze the process of decentralized, demand-driven skill planning, and have always encouraged initiatives, viz: working towards institutionalizing professional networking support for women from tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

Additionally, the immense learning from a cohort spread across the country enhances a Fellow’s experience and opens doors for creative collaborations.

During the last 8 months spent at Vijayapura, I have learned to look beyond challenges, to take initiative and create champions for a cause, and most importantly to work consistently, focused on the bigger picture, and not get disheartened due to minor drawbacks.

The Fellowship has given me an opportunity to see agriculture in a new light, understand the complicated fabric resulting in poor women labor force participation, and most importantly instill patience, resilience, and greater passion to make skilling aspirational and accessible to all!”

Meghana S K

Kalaburagi, Karnataka

“I’ve been slowly bridging the gap between sister departments like DIC, Employment Department, Department of labor, etc, by frequently interacting with its officials. I’ve been getting very good support from the DSM and from the District Magistrate who is also my mentor.

So far, I’ve prepared a DSDP for Kalaburagi district, activated the DSC, and started with the implementation of a special skilling project in the district on a pilot basis.

Since the Kalaburagi district is industrially backward and has an agrarian economy, I’m focusing more on skilling initiatives in agriculture and allied sectors which is also the area of my personal interest. I’m also focusing on skill training programmes that promote entrepreneurship especially for women and rural youth in the district according to the local and regional demand.”

Rahul Benakatti

Udupi, Karnataka

“As an MGN Fellow, I have had the opportunity of working on a diverse set of projects in my district. When I arrived in the district, there was a lot of reverse migration, with a considerable population returning to the district. Partnering with the DSM, District Employment Exchange, and the Selco Foundation, I played a pivotal role in setting up a skill training and employment initiative for COVID-19 affected migrants in the district.

We initially contacted around 100 migrants out of a pool of 7000 migrants. We set the motion to understand their difficulties better and conducted skill training sessions for them.

Currently, I am working on projects such as developing a Monitoring and Evaluation framework for PMKVY 3.0 execution by the DSC.

However, one of the most memorable experiences I have had in the Fellowship is working with the NRLM, where I have undertaken multiple visits to rural areas of the district, interacted with a lot of local artisans, self-help groups (SHGs), and entrepreneurs. Currently, I am also involved in developing a centralized “Processing and Marketing Cell” to support all SHGs with market linkage in the district.”