Postgraduate Diploma in Rural Management - Careers, Salary, Jobs, Scope

Postgraduate Diploma in Rural Management: Brief Summary

Why Postgraduate Diploma in Rural Management (PGDRM)?

More than 60% of India’s population resides in rural areas, which makes it essential to take charge of the development in rural areas as they are unable to take advantage of the urban facilities. This also makes education in this course highly demanding.

Students having an interest in the management and development of rural areas are suitable for Postgraduate Diploma in Rural Management (PGDRM) course. This course also contains research on the aspects of rural societies.

PGDRM candidates of this course are demanded in local, national and international cooperatives, development organisations, NGOs, and funding agencies.

The course comprises of four segments- classroom, village field work, development internship, and management internship.

PGDRM graduates are known for their empathy, brilliance, commitment, and integrity. Below is a list of top PGDRM colleges in India–

• AISECT University
• Institute of Rural Management Anand
• Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)
• Institute for Excellence in Higher Education (IEHE), Bhopal
• Bangalore University

For getting admission into this course students need to clear the entrance examination of the University. Some colleges accept the scorecard of CAT/XAT/IRMASAT. The average salary of the diploma holders is around Rs. 5,05,000 per annum.

Jobs and Careers Opportunities for PGDRM

The course focuses on the training the candidates in the following areas-

• Agribusiness
• Development project execution
• Micro-finance
• Development consulting
• Operations
• Analytics
• Social change interventions
• Public policy
• Rural marketing
• Rural finance
• Dairying cooperatives

Some of the job profiles suitable for PGDRM diploma holders are:

• Agronomist: Agronomists check the quality of crops and aim at improving them by thinking of new methods to get a better and disease free crops.
• Area Executive: Area executives supervise the working of staff in a particular area assigned to them. They are expected to plan tasks for the staff and make them execute it.
• Research Head: Research heads need to supervise the projects and keep a detailed report of each project to report them to their seniors as and when required.
• Marketing & Sales Manager: They need to develop marketing strategies and techniques to increase the sale of the products.
• Territory In-charge: Territory in-charges need to supervise and execute the organizational duties of sales force.
• Village Development Officer: It is a public sector job where the candidates are expected to design development strategies for villages.
• Sugar Analyst: A sugar analyst needs to work on maintaining and improving the health of crops grown.

Postgraduate Diploma in Rural Management: Salary

The average annual salary of candidates after completion of PGDRM is Rs 3 to 4 lakhs for a fresher which can increase up to Rs 46 lakhs with experience.

Management Traineeship Segment gives the students an opportunity to work in reputed organizations and experienced managers. It gives students an insight into the working of rural development organizations. The average stipend for traineeship is Rs.48,000/-

Recruiters

Students get placed immediately after completing this course. Some of the top recruiters of the diploma holders are: Some of the top recruiters for PGDRM are-

• Amul
• Godrej Agro
• SBI
• E-Kutir
• VERKA
• Mapro
• MAHI
• Mother Dairy
• GOKUL
• NDDB
• ITC
• Yes Bank
• Catalyst Management
• Sambodhi Research
• PwC
• Satin Credit
• Colgate Palmolive
• Microsave
• CIE
• GoCoop
• IDFC Bank
• BAIF Development Research Foundation

Specialisations Offered

The students can opt for some additional courses in 2^nd year of this course. These are as follows-

Each candidate needs to opt for at least two optional courses- 1 from rural development management group & 1 from rural enterprise management group.

Postgraduate Diploma in Rural Management: Syllabus

This course focuses on three objectives:

1. Rural Development Concepts, Organisations, Philosophy, Policies, Principles & Programmes.
2. Rural Development Management Practices
3. Rural Social Sector

Here is the detailed course structure:

After the completion of Term I there is also a village fieldwork segment

After the completion of Term III, there is a development internship segment and after the Term IV there is a management traineeship segment.

Popular Colleges Offering PG Diploma in Rural Management

Some more colleges-

• Indira Gandhi National Open University
• Goodwill College
• International Institute for Learning in Management Business School
• Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration
• Ravenshaw University
• Malla Reddy Institute of Technology

Requirements for PGDRM

General Eligibility Criteria:

• Graduate in any discipline with at least 15 years of education.
• 50 percent or above aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA at graduation level (45% for SC/ST/DAP)
• Students in final year of graduation can also apply if they can complete all requirements before June.
• Some institutes prefer entrance scores of top management entrance exams like CAT/XAT/MAT

Institute of Rural Management Eligibility

IRMA is a leading education institute in rural management education. Below is the admission procedure of this institute-

Step 1: Clearance of CAT/XAT

Step 2: Clearance of IRMASAT

Step 3: Group Activity & Personal Interview for the students shortlisted on the basis of aggregate scores in CAT/XAT & IRMASAT.

Students are then selected on the basis of the aggregate score calculated by taking 40% of CAT/XAT score, 10% of IRMASAT score, 25% of Group Activity & 25% of Personal Interview.

Scope after Postgraduate Diploma in Rural Management

PGDRM not only promises a lucrative future but also fulfills an individual responsibility towards the society. The upliftment of the rural sector with sustainable development techniques and management is one of the key roles of the Rural Development Managers. The scope of this field along with student participation has taken a great jump in the past 5 years.

The curriculum and projects of this course cover the essentials of rural product marketing, infrastructure, social sector services, economics, development communication, skill development, good governance, livelihoods, agro-processing, project planning, and management.

Important traits required include excellent leadership skills and proficient speaking skills. The course involves the application of economic and social concepts for managing the rural situations.

As per a survey by Accenture, the rural economy accounts for India’s 50% GDP. This not only interprets the mammoth contribution made by this sector but also the additional scope and career opportunities. Being an informal sector, it is in great need for suitable business-minded managers, which the course fully trains candidates for.

Therefore, Postgraduate Diploma in Rural Management (PGDRM) is a perfect course for students who have a keen interest in working for the rural sector and who can handle the pressure and competence.