Empowering Rural Youth:

A Model for Developing Rural Economies of the World

In the beginning of the year 2009, Global Synergetic, (www.globalsynergetic.blogspot.com) joined hands
with The Indian Chamber of Non Government Organization (ICNGO), (www.icngo.blogspot.com), An
Umbrella Organisation with more than 1,00,000 NGOs in India and 200 Technical Experts, to develop and
execute its YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PLANS through the NGO Network and to avail rich NGO
experience from The ICNGO. The Project, even at a stage where it is utilizing the bare minimum from the
list of possibilities, will lead to around 1600 to 2000 jobs for youths directly and indirectly, in each
Panchayat in India. It is to be noted that in general, each Panchayat consists Seven Villages on record.
Taking a rough calculation for one hundred thousand Panchayats, total employment thus amounts to
2000x100000=200000000, TWENTY CRORE JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTHS IN VILLAGE
INDIA within Three years or earlier.

The BEAUTY of our proposed plan is that IT WOULD NOT REQUIRE ANY ADDITIONAL FUNDING
FROM THE GOVERNMENT AND SHALL BE PERFECTLY SELF SUSTAINING, MONITORED
UNDER COMPLETE ICT ENABLED TRANSPARENCY, provided administrative obstacles are not
raised by the Government if not minimized.

Comprehensive blue print is to be published shortly through Scribd for the benefit to policy makers. To
begin with we present the basic underlying ideas as our SWOT analysis.

Strengths
• What is our strongest business asset?

There are THREE grounds we think we are the strongest there upon.
(1) Our UNIQUE ICT enabled completely transparent Developmental Strategy which envisages making the
beneficiary the real actor for its own benefit and welfare supported by our proposed Network. It reduces
drastically the avenues for corrupt practices and empowers the beneficiaries.
(2) Our proposed model does not demand any additional funding NOR any additional Programme or
Project from the Government.
(3) Our more than decade long NGO experience as Umbrella Organization of NGOs along with our strong
network of more than 100000 (one lakh) members NGO from the whole country.

• Why do we consider our team is strong?

Track record of our fellow NGOs, multi-tier network and our team of professional and technical experts
makes us confident of our strength.
Secondly our ICT enabled completely transparent process increases the efficiency of our Team further.

• What do we offer that makes us stand out from the rest?

Our strategy would generate MASSIVE RURAL EMPLOYMENT. The Project, even at a stage where it is
utilizing the bare minimum from the list of possibilities, will lead to around 1600 to 2000 jobs for youths
directly and indirectly, in each Panchayat in India. It is to be noted that in general, each Panchayat consists
Seven Villages on record. Taking a rough calculation for one hundred thousand Panchayats, total
employment thus amounts to 2000x100000=200000000, TWENTY CRORE JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR
YOUTHS IN VILLAGE INDIA within Three years or earlier.

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Moreover, IT WOULD NOT REQUIRE ANY ADDITIONAL FUNDING FROM THE GOVERNMENT
AND SHALL BE PERFECTLY SELF SUSTAINING and MONITORED UNDER COMPLETE ICT
ENABLED TRANSPARENCY provided administrative obstacles are not raised by the Government if not
minimized.

Our capability to create, deliver and ICT enabled transparent monitoring of intended NGO Network and
their functioning.

• What unique resources/plans/strategies do we have?

Besides the above, our uniqueness lies in our clear cut strategy to utilize henceforth unutilized youth from
rural population, being beneficiaries themselves. For, we envisage giving them opportunities to develop,
become self reliant and serve their immediate local communities, with resources which have been directed
to them henceforth but misutilised in their name by corrupt official machinery. (We remember our late
Prime Minister Shri Rajeev Gandhi famously said that only 15% reaches to grass root beneficiaries. Also
Mr. Rahul Gandhi expressed concern and said in his speech in Jhansi that only 5% reaches to the
beneficiaries. We would require/request the Government to provide direct funding to the projects run by
these VNGOs. On 6th July 2009, during the Budget session most of the Members of Parliament questioned
Honorable Finance Minister how could he ensure that benefits really reached to the real beneficiaries. More
over questions were asked to the way promised employment could have been achieved. Finance Minister
assured the house that he will look into the matter and find out some way to verify and ensure that benefits
are not leaked out. Our proposed Network gives a way to get hold of leaking benefits. It would make
clearly visible from the very beginning, as soon as Agencies and Licenses are granted and projects funded,
how and where the rural youth is employed and how is he working).

Strategies:
Actors
(i) Youth Voluntary Groups/NGOs will be formed wherever needed,
(ii) Each NGO will have ID card having complete details duly verifiable from our website to check forgery,
(iii) Each NGO shall be confined to specific region while each VNGO (say village NGO) shall be confined
to the Panchayat it is related to.
(iv) Members of VNGOs shall be youths and ex-servicemen, male, female from the same Panchayat
(v) Each VNGO will have to deal with specific sector depending on specialty.
(vi) Our ICT enabled Third Eye Facility within the proposed Network ensures thorough process monitoring
and reporting with feed back and feed forward and shall lead to a fully transparent and corruption free
process and working not only of the Rural Economy but also of concerned Government offices and other
Institutions.

Villagers
(1) VNGOs will also be formed for Landless youths to engage in suitable sectors
(2) Each VNGO and Farmer in a Panchayat will have a bank account with local branch of a bank, to enable
transaction settlements quickly.
(3) Farmers (with land) will be fully insured at each stage for life, seeds, plants, crops, etc with the help of
credit limit fixed for them by the bank and accounts will be settled after proceeds of crops are received into
the account. Insurance coverage at each stage from seed, to crops assures the safety net for the farmers.
Thereby preventing farmer’s debt induced hardships and suicides.
(4) Our Network would ensure that the pricing of agricultural produce have a mark up to ensure that
farmers get enough to live a happy and dignified life after all their insurance and other liabilities are settled
through automated routes.

• Do we have any specific marketing expertise?

Yes, we have more than a decade long experience in running NGO projects, guiding and coordinating
NGOs nationwide. We have the required experience to utilize this organizational structure as our vehicle to

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implement our plans directly to the Panchayat level. We have strategies to implement our plan with
complete ICT enabled fully transparent monitoring as well.

• Additional strengths

We have a voice and capability to change the scenario at the grass root level besides the uniqueness of the
plan strategy stated herein.

Weaknesses
• What can be improved?

(1)Rural Projects and programmes which have been running through Govt. offices and departments,
(reaching to ultimate beneficiary merely by 15% according to late Sri. Rajeev Gandhi and only 5%
according to Mr. Rahul Gandhi,) must be handed over in to the hands of Voluntary Organizations, NGOs
and VNGOs run by real beneficiaries, the Rural Youths, to enable them make their own destiny by
themselves but under transparent monitoring. Official machinery should confine to monitoring and
reporting.

(2) “Three years experience” conditions for NGOs must be abolished for these NGO/RNGO formed by
youths. We can not say an unemployed youth to wait for three years after incorporating/forming an entity
like VNGO and then seek employment. They must be allowed to start working immediately after having
their entities formed, as in case of companies.

(3)Direct approval of projects must be allowed and multi stage approval and forwarding system must be
abolished as these stages have not only been creating hurdles but also have been the main cause of
siphoning out the benefits and funds allocated for beneficiaries.

(4) License for distributorship of different essential commodities like Plants, Seeds, Kerosene, Diesel,
Agro-Chemicals, fertilizers etc must be given to NGOs run by youth in Panchayats for easy access to
villagers.

• In what areas do our competitors have the edge?

Our mission is a cooperative effort for betterment of Rural India. Competitors are in fact, those whose
earnings will be affected negatively by directing funds, projects and programmes directly to the RNGOs
run by youth and real beneficiaries.

• What necessary expertise / manpower do we currently lack?

So far as skills and expertise along with team for the project at hand is concerned we are capable enough to
complete the task successfully.

• Do we have cash flow problem?

NO

• Are we relying primarily on just a few clients or customers?

Not at all.

• Additional weaknesses

We need policy support from the Government.

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Opportunities
• What trends do we see in our industry?

Growing exponentially

• What trends do we foresee?

Growing exponentially

• What trends might impact our industry?

Impact will be massive if proposed way of decentralization is adopted.

• What external changes present interesting opportunities?

Decentralization efforts by the Governments, at state level and at the centre and encouragement from
organizations like United Nations make us highly optimistic. But decentralization in the form of Panchayati
Raj has not been used to its full potential since most of the Rural Development programmes are run by
Government departments. The reality is that the Real beneficiaries of these programmes, the rural poor,
remain virtually ignorant of them and programmes are completed.

We intend to involve real beneficiaries to be active and create their own welfare by themselves utilizing
resources which have been mostly misutilised, thereby resulting to mere 15 to 5% benefits to them so far as
stated above.

• What have we seen in the news recently that might present an opportunity?
That Congress Government of India seems to be Sincere this time, if it is to survive in future.

• Additional opportunities

Realizing opportunities for expansion of their customer base in untapped remote areas, prospective increase
in sales with saving of various costs involved, the corporate sector has shown readiness and encouraged us
during our meetings with them. This enables Rural NGOs to participate in business with corporate sector
the affordable way, and will give Rural India better avenues to develop and become self reliant.

The result will be that Rural India will be having most of the goods and services at cheaper rates, taking
reduced sales prices due to direct marketing and reduced transportation costs in to account, and will
become at par with the urban in terms of availability of goods and services economically. This will reduce
the urban –rural divide.

Threats
• What obstacles do we face?

Threats can be anticipated from the Government machinery and its alliances and lobbies which have been
siphoning out the benefits so far. Central Government requires projects to be forwarded by State
Governments. State Governments involve at least 6 to 7 channels or stages which one must pass to get
proposal forwarded. This causes delays for months. At most of the stages concerned officers remain busy
finding out this or that reason to stop the proposal for want of vacillation money or suvidha shulk to give
clearances

• What is the competition doing that we are not?

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Real process still passes through conventional official machinery siphoning out resources meant for Rural
Beneficiaries. Even Panchayati Raj has been more and more interested in getting funds and powers
decentralized but diffusion of benefits, the Real aim behind Panchayati Raj, has not been given due
attention and is in the hands of Panchayat-Contractor Nexus, almost impossible to break.
Our proposed Network ensures to break the Nexus without breaking Panchayati Raj Structure in India.

• What challenges can be turned into opportunities?

Creative involvement of unutilized rural youth and young ex defense personnel, so bewildered and
uncertain to its future so far, has full potential to develop Rural India. It becomes particularly significant
when no or very little additional fund is required to create the intended organizational structure which will
become self sustaining with smallest gestation period.

• Are external economic forces affecting our bottom line?

Not much.

This is a brief, detailed Blueprint is forthcoming through these channels.