Concept of Rural Development & Self Employment Institute (RUDSETI) and

Evolution of RSETI Movement in the Country

- An Institutional framework for entrepreneurship development

- By K N Janardhana, National Director for RSETIs, NACER

Background

Poverty and unemployment are the twin challenges faced by the Country. India has the
advantage of having the largest youth population in the world. Harnessing youth power
will help in transforming the Indian economy by reducing poverty and unemployment.
Towards this end, RSETIs which are engaged in youth empowerment and enterprise
promotion are looked upon as harbingers of hope for millions of youth.

1. Genesis of RUDSETI

To mitigate the unemployment problem particularly among the rural youth and to prepare them to
acquire skills to take up self-employment, a unique initiative was taken jointly by Sri Dharmasthala
Manjunatheshwara Educational Trust, SyndicateBank and Canara Bank to establish Rural
Development & Self Employment Training Institute [RUDSETI] under the visionary leadership of
Dr D Veerendra Heggade, Dharmadhikari of Dharmasthala. The collective thinking gave concrete
shape to an institutional framework in the form of Rural Development & Self Employment Training
Institute and the first RUDSET Institute started functioning from Ujire near Dharmasthala in the year
1982.

Encouraged by the success of RUDSETI experiment of Ujire, similar Institutes were established in
different parts of the Country and at present there are 27 RUDSETIs in 17 States. So far, RUDSETI
has trained 3.75 lakh youth of which 2.60 lakh trainees have successfully settled with a settlement
rate of 69%, which is really a matter of satisfaction to the RUDSETI family.

2. Journey from RUDSETI to RSETI

Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, New Delhi studied the concept of RUDSETI
during 2007-08 and was highly impressed by the very successful RUDSETI model and accepted
RUDSETI concept as a replicable model at the all India level and advised Banks to establish one
RUDSETI type institute in each of their Lead Districts under the name ‘Rural Self-Employment
Training Institute (RSETI)’ for training the rural unemployed youth to take up self-employment
ventures during 2008-09.

With the presence of 354 RSETIs functional across the country in 2010-11 and more expected to
follow, there was no uniformity in the outcomes since these RSETIs promoted by different Banks
followed different norms of training. While seeking to establish the RUDSETI type institutions, the
MoRD was fully conscious of the uniqueness of the RUDSETIs with their distinctive set of values,
ethos and culture and desired that the RSETIs that are to be established under the new
scheme shall conform to the values of the RUDSETI. Govt. of India also recognized that the
principal reason behind the success of the RUDSETI model was the visionary leadership
provided by Dr. D. Veerendra Heggade and the unflinching commitment and continued support
extended by the other two Sponsors namely SyndicateBank and Canara Bank to the cause of
youth empowerment and decided that the same shall continue in the RSETIs to be
established under the new scheme as well.

When Dr D Veerendra Heggade foresaw that there will be

one RSETI in each District of the Country, he was convinced
of the urgent need to set up a National Level Organization to
train the RSETI Directors/ Faculty on the best practices of
RUDSETI to help them in discharging their duties effectively
and directed Sri K N Janardhana, the then Executive
Director, RUDSETI, CS, Ujire (on deputation from
SyndicateBank) to prepare a roadmap for rolling out a
National level organization. Coinciding with the Silver Jubilee
of RUDSETI in 2008, the Board of Governors of RUDSETI dedicated National Academy of RUDSETI to
the Nation as a National Level Resource Organization in the field of Entrepreneurship Development.

2.1 Signing of MOU between MoRD and NAR

With a view to mentor and monitor the activities of RSETIs across

the Country and to take care of training and capacity building of the
Directors of these RSETIs, MoRD, Government of India entered into a
historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National
Academy of RUDSETI on 29th July 2011 to roll out a roadmap
approved for improving the effectiveness of the RSETIs.

2.2 Establishment of National Centre for Excellence of RSETIs (NACER)

In terms of the MOU executed on 29.07.2011, the Office of the

National Centre for Excellence of RSETIs (NACER) was established at
Bangalore to provide an effective mechanism for mentoring and
monitoring the activities of RSETIs to ensure that all the RSETIs
inculcate the best practices of RUDSETI and adopt its ethos and
values and work on the lines of best performing RUDSETIs in the
Country. The Office of the National Centre for Excellence of RSETIs
(NACER) was formally inaugurated on 20-12-2011.

National Centre for Excellence of RSETIs (NACER) is headed by Sri K N Janardhana, National Director
for RSETIs (NDR), for all-round monitoring and mentoring functions of RSETIs pan India and reports
to President, NAR, Dr D Veerendra Heggade. State Directors for RSETIs at the State level do the
monitoring and mentoring work for all the RSETIs and coordinate with stakeholders in their
command area covering 25-30 RSETIs in a State. 587 RSETIs across the country are functional and
each unit is headed by a Director duly supported by faculty members, office assistants and
attenders.

The typical components of training at an RSETI are furnished below:

2.3 Training Methodology

Through structured psychological exercises, the participants in an RSETI are stimulated to shed
inhibitions and develop interest in learning.

pg. 2
 Micro Lab Ring Toss Game Tower Building Boat Game Group Activity

Role Play Group Discussion Experience Hands on Practice Group Activity

Sharing

Besides lecture sessions, behaviour simulation games such as Ring Toss, Tower Building and Boat
making Games, exercises, field visits, hands on experience, interface with supporting system, group
discussions, role play, case study etc. are used in the training to make it effective. Most important
aspect of the training is that the sessions are conducted in vernacular languages only.

2.4 Infrastructure

Government of India is providing infrastructural grant support of Rupees One Crore for construction
of RSETI building and State Governments provide land free of cost for construction of RSETI
buildings. Some of the RSETIs have well-developed campuses consisting of Administrative Office,
Classrooms, Work Shed, Dormitories to trainees, Guest Rooms to Guest Faculty Members, Mess
facilities, Library, Audio-Visual Aids & Recreational facilities, which give them the comfort to facilitate
quick learning. By the end of March 2018, about 400 RSETIs will have their own buildings.

pg. 3
 2.5 Training Programmes

Training modules of RUDSETIs/ RSETIs are so designed that the Entrepreneurship Development is
achieved through Human Resource Development. 56 courses are aligned with Common Norms
Notification issued by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

a) For first generation entrepreneurs:

 Agricultural EDPs: Agricultural EDPs are intended to cover Agriculture & Allied activities,
Dairy farming, Poultry, Bee keeping, Comprehensive Horticulture, Plant Nursery etc.

 Product EDPs: These EDPs are designed to impart specific production skills. Examples of
Product EDPs are Dress Designing for Women/Men, Agarbathi making, Soft toys making,
Food processing & Bakery products, Embroidery, Fabric painting etc.

 Process EDPs: EDPs under this category cater to service sector and include activities such
as Electric Motor rewinding & Pumpset maintenance, Beauty Parlour management, Basic
Photography & Videography, Multi Phone servicing, Domestic Electrical Appliances Repair,
Two Wheeler servicing, Computer DTP, Refrigeration & Airconditioning, Computer tally,
Computer basics etc.

 General EDPs: General EDPs cover fundamentals of entrepreneurship and issues concerning
establishment and management of an enterprise in any type of industrial, business or service
activity. This covers Rural Entrepreneurship Development Programme (REDP), EDP for
Women, PMEGP etc.

pg. 4
b) For the established entrepreneurs:

 Skill Upgradation: These programmes are intended to improve the skills and enhance
capability of the settled trainees.
 Growth Programmes: These programmes aim and achieve higher goals in life and business
for the settled trainees

2.6. Eligibility Criteria for training programmes

Any unemployed youth in the age group of 18-45 years, irrespective of Caste, Creed, Religion,
Gender and Economic Status, having aptitude to take up self-employment or wage employment and
having some basic knowledge in the related field can undergo training which is totally free of cost.

Any unemployed youth desirous of undergoing training may send his/ her request in a plain paper to
RSETI or can download and send the application from the website http://rudsetitraining.org/

2.7 Escort Services

The cutting edge of RSETI training is the post training follow up for sustained motivation and to
enable the trainees to become entrepreneurs / get settled through wage employment. The effort
made includes:

 Two years' Post-training follow up - Through regular correspondences, individual contacts,

Unit visit, Village/Taluk/District/Branch level meeting etc.
 Facilitating credit Linkage with the banks for setting up of micro enterprises

2.8 Management

Each Bank, through the Trust / Society established by them, monitors the functioning of their
RSETIs. CMD / ED and the top executives of sponsor organizations in their ex-officio capacity are on
the Board of the Trust. A deputed officer from Bank heads the RSETI as Director and is also a
convener for District Level RSETI Advisory Committee involving different stakeholders at the District
level, which guides the RSETI in achieving objectives.

2.9 What sets RSETI apart

 Visionary leadership provided by Dr. D. Veerendra Heggade as Hon. Co- Chairman of National
Level Advisory Committee (NLAC) on RSETIs
 Sponsored by a Nationalized / Private Bank under the supervision of MoRD, GOI.
 Free training with free food and free accommodation.
 Campus approach with unique training methodology.
 Short term training with long term follow up / Escort services for a period of Two years.
pg. 5
 Practical orientation, rigorous training and extended hours of learning.
 Past trainees becoming trainers and imparting training.
 High settlement rate of trained candidates.
 Trained candidates getting sustainable income for their livelihood.
 Employment generation by settled trainees. This is the best part of RSETI training which has got
multiplier effect on the society and is also one of the most significant contributions to the
Nation in addressing unemployment problem in its own way.
 Effective administration of inputs on Entrepreneurship Development

3. Activities of National Centre for Excellence of RSETIs (NACER) since its inception

3.1 Renewal of MOU between MoRD and NAR

With the close mentoring and monitoring of RSETIs by National

Centre for Excellence of RSETIs (NACER), there was an all-
round improvement in the performance of RSETIs which led to
renewal of MOU by MoRD for a further period of 3 years from
1st August 2014. There could not have been a better
endorsement of the faith and confidence of MoRD in the
effective role played by National Centre for Excellence of
RSETIs (NACER) in mentoring and monitoring the RSETIs than
renewal of MOU for a further period, thereby showing the
continuing trust in the RSETI movement.

The activities of the National Centre for Excellence of RSETIs (NACER) since its inception are as
follows:

3.2 Conclave of RSETI Directors:

Among the many best practices of RUDSETI model, organizing the Annual Conference of
Directors of RUDSETI for their Capacity Building at Dharmasthala once in a year was found to be
very effective. Convinced with the purpose and usefulness of this initiative, MoRD has made it a
standard practice for the Sponsor Banks to organize two days’ Conclave of RSETI Directors as an
Annual event. All the Banks have successfully organized six rounds of Conclaves of RSETI Directors
since 2011 every year and were able to bridge the gaps identified during the Conclaves and also
bring about desired improvements in the functioning of their RSETIs.

The best part of the Conclave is the thorough review conducted by National Director for RSETIs
(NDR), MoRD officials and Sponsor Bank Executives which has resulted in a greater realization by
RSETIs about their strengths and weaknesses, crucial role the Institute can play in shaping the
future of the trainees and the amount of goodwill it can generate by helping the poor unemployed
youth to stand on their own legs.

pg. 6
 3.3 Execution of an MOU between KVIC and National Centre for Excellence of RSETIs (NACER)

To explore new frontiers to extend the reach of

RSETI services to a large number of eligible
candidates, efforts were made to collaborate with
other institutions who share more or less the same
motto, so as to develop synergy and expand the
reach of RSETIs. National Centre for Excellence of
RSETIs (NACER) has entered into an MOU with
Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) for
training Prime Minister’s Employment Generation
Programme (PMEGP) candidates. Signing of MOU, a
landmark event for National Centre for Excellence
of RSETIs (NACER), offers the benefit of convergence in arranging Entrepreneurship Development
Programme to PMEGP beneficiaries and also in linking trainees who have undergone training in skill
development at RSETIs with PMEGP scheme. On account of this arrangement, the RSETIs would
benefit by way of sourcing of beneficiaries from KVIC, the beneficiaries will have the benefit of
margin money subsidy from KVIC and credit linkage of entrepreneurs and the Banks will have
RSETI trained candidates as borrowers who will be better borrowers with good repayment
prospects.

The MOU was executed by Sri B H Anil Kumar, Commissioner for Khadi and Village Industries
Commission (KVIC) and Joint Secretary, MSME and Shri K N Janardhana, NDR, National Centre for
Excellence of RSETIs (NACER) on 20th February 2015 at Udyog Bhawan, New Delhi. The MOU was
exchanged by Sri Kalraj Mishra, Hon’ble Union Minister of MSME, Govt. of India and Dr D Veerendra
Heggade, Hon. Co-Chairman, National Advisory Committee on RSETIs in the august presence of Sri
Madhav Lal, Secretary, Ministry of MSME, officials of Ministry of MSME, CMDs and Top Executives of
Banks and KVIC.

3.4 Adoption of uniform MIS by all RSETIs

All the details of training and settlement and the statutory information on the conduct of meetings
etc are maintained in a robust MIS useful for all the stakeholders and the data is dynamic.

3.5 Transparency and information in Public Domain

All the activities of National Centre for Excellence of RSETIs (NACER) and information on the
management structure, eligibility for training at RSETI, types of training programmes organized,
performance of RSETIs, list of RSETIs and State Directors for RSETIs etc., are all made available in
the National Centre for Excellence of RSETIs (NACER) website at www.nacer.in, which can be
accessed by interested persons. In addition to this, an exclusive MIS website is also available for MIS
data containing latest updates on the performance of individual RSETIs.

3.6 RUDSETI / RSETI Bazaars

RSETI Bazaars are organized by to coincide with various local festivals and any events of local
importance which widens the exposures for RSETIs and their products.

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 3.7 RUDSETI / RSETI Stalls

To create awareness about the activities of RUDSETIs/RSETIs, important forums / occasions such as
National Festivals, Krishi Mela, visit of high level dignitaries to RSETIs, other occasions such as
‘Blood Donation Camp’, ‘Harvest Festival’, ‘RSETI Awareness Weeks’, Bank Foundation Day, etc., are
made use of to put up RUDSETI/RSETI stalls exhibiting the publicity brochures, products/ prepared
by RSETI trainees. In these stalls, activities of RUDSETIs /RSETIs are explained and application
forms from eligible candidates are collected for enrolling them for training at RSETIs. This initiative
has been found to be useful to RSETIs/ RUDSETIs in reaching out to thousands of people in one go
and National Centre for Excellence of RSETIs (NACER) has taken steps to ensure that Stalls are put
up at all important events in their area of operation.

3.8 KUSHALATHA - Quarterly Bulletin of National Centre for Excellence of RSETIs (NACER)
‘Kushalatha’ is the House magazine which provides a forum for RSETIs to share their experiences
and showcase their achievements with their peers and other stakeholders as it gives them an
opportunity to highlight the important events organized by them. Participation from the RSETI
Directors has improved significantly over the years making it much more broad based and RSETIs
have shown keen interest in contributing success stories to ‘Kushalatha’ apart from reporting other
important events organized by them.

4.0 Grading of RSETIs

A system of assessment of performance of RSETIs, based on transparent grading criteria, once in a
year has been put in place. The focus of this exercise is to maintain certain quality parameters in the
functioning of RSETIs, which includes adherence to the laid down guidelines, quality of training and
post-training follow up mechanism at the RSETIs for ensuring settlement of trained candidates, best
practices followed, achievement of target etc., The RSETIs are classified into AA, A, B, C, D
Categories based on the marks obtained in the grading exercise, which is done by external officials
(not directly working in the said RSETI).

4.1 RSETI Diwas – A National Meet to recognize the Best Performers

To motivate the best performing RSETIs/ stakeholders/Sponsor Banks/ SRLMs etc., a special
function - ‘RSETI Diwas’ is held annually in a befitting manner and RSETIs are recognized based on
the grades obtained and trophies and certificates are distributed. ‘RSETI Diwas’ is graced by none
other than the Hon’ble Union Minister for Rural Development and attended by Dr D Veerendra
Heggade, President, NAR and Hon. Co-Chairman, NLAC on RSETIs and Chief Executives / Top
functionaries of Banks, Top officials of MoRD and other stakeholders.

pg. 8
 5.0 Performance Highlights of the RSETIs

With the initiatives taken by the Sponsor Banks and the continuous mentoring and monitoring of all
the RSETIs by the National Centre for Excellence of RSETIs (NACER), as many as 22,87,020
unemployed youth were trained by 587 functional RSETIs across the Country since inception of the
RSETIs upto the end of March 2017. Out of this, 15,05,571 candidates have settled with a
settlement percentage of 66. These candidates have been able to get a sustainable income from
their enterprises thereby helping in improving the quality of life.

5.1 Recognition to RUDSETIs / RSETIs

Received FICCI award for Rural Received Suvarna Karnataka Received National level SIDBI
Development for the year 1998- Rajyotsava award for Social Service Award for distinguished service to
99. for the year 2006-07. MSMEs for the year 2011

Sri K. C. Amin, past trainee of Smt Dorette Christabel, past Sri Prakash Dasanur, past trainee
RUDSETI, Brahmavar received trainee of RUDSETI, Bengaluru of RUDSETI, Dharwad has bagged
Citi Bank Best Entrepreneur received Citi Bank Best Bharti Entrepreneur of the Year
award for the year 2007-08. Entrepreneur award for the year Award - 2008 instituted by EDII,
2008-09. Ahmedabad.

Sri K N Janardhana, NDR, NACER Sri K N Janardhana, NDR, NACER Sri K N Janardhana, NDR, NACER
was conferred with the received the prestigious “National received National Excellence
prestigious AITMC award by Sri Entrepreneurship Award – 2016” Award in recognition of
Krishna Pal Gurjarji, Minister from Sri Rajnath Singh, Hon’ble contributions of RSETIs in addressing
of State for Social Justice, Union Home Minister and Sri Rajiv unemployment problem in the
Government of India. Pratap Rudy, Hon’ble Minister for Skill Country. The award was given away
Development and Entrepreneurship by Sri Kalraj Mishra, Hon'ble Union
on 30.01.2017 at New Delhi Minister for MSME on 17.06.2017 at
Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

pg. 9
 Conclusion

It is gratifying that the RUDSETIs/ RSETIs have emerged as vibrant institutions actively involved in
addressing the unemployment problem and in shaping the destiny of a large number of unemployed
youth. It is also a testimony to the sagacity of the sponsors that many of the candidates trained by
RUDSETI / RSETI have bagged National and State level awards for excellence in their area of
activity. The planners and policy makers are looking upon RUDSETIs / RSETIs as a source of
valuable experience in training, skill development and employment generation, while shaping their
policies. The RSETIs have immense potential to scale up operations to meet the growing
employment needs of the population and the National Centre for Excellence of RSETIs (NACER) looks
forward to contributing its mite in promoting youth empowerment and enterprise promotion.

“Instead of writing someone else’s account

through wage employment, after three to five years
of collegiate education, it is more meaningful to
write one’s own account by embarking upon some
self-employment”

Dr. D. VEERENDRA HEGGADE

PRESIDENT, RUDSET Institute

For further details / clarifications/ suggestions, RSETI well-wishers may contact the following
numbers:

Phone: 080-49594407; Fax: 080 – 23391515;

Mobile: 9845587949/ 9481301449

or send their views by email to:

[email protected],
[email protected]

They may also visit us at:

Website: www.nacer.in

If anyone wants to visit us personally, our office address is as follows:

The National Director for RSETIs

National Centre for Excellence of RSETIs (NACER)
(Under the aegis of MoRD, Govt. of India)
‘Renukaleela’, No.1210, 1st Floor,
80 Feet Road, Chandra Layout
BANGALORE – 560 040

pg. 10
 Bank-wise No. of RSETIs functional State-wise No. of RSETIs functional
as on 31.03.2017 as on 31.03.2017
Sl. No. of Sl. Name of the State/ Union No. of
Name of the Sponsor Bank
No. RSETIs No. Territories RSETIs
1 Allahabad Bank 21 1 Andhra Pradesh 15
2 Andhra Bank 12 2 Arunachal Pradesh 1
3 Arunachal Pradesh Rural Bank 1
3 Assam 26
4 Assam Gramin Vikash Bank 5
5 Bank of Baroda 49 4 Bihar 39
6 Bank of India 43 5 Chhattisgarh 18
7 Bank of Maharashtra 7 6 Gujarat 28
8 Canara Bank 27 7 Haryana 21
9 Central Bank of India 46
8 Himachal Pradesh 10
10 Corporation Bank 2
9 Jammu & Kashmir 21
11 DCC Bank, Bidar 1
12 Dena Bank 12 10 Jharkhand 25
13 ICICI Bank 2 11 Karnataka 33
14 IDBI Bank 1 12 Kerala 14
15 Indian Bank 12
13 Madhya Pradesh 51
16 Indian Overseas Bank 13
14 Maharashtra 35
17 Jammu & Kashmir Bank 12
18 Kotak Mahindra Bank 1 15 Manipur 1
Meghalaya Co-operative Apex 16 Meghalaya 5
19 1
Bank
17 Mizoram 1
20 Meghalaya Rural Bank 1
21 Oriental Bank of Commerce 5 18 Nagaland 1
22 Punjab & Sind Bank 3 19 Odisha 30
23 Punjab National Bank 55 20 Punjab 18
24 RUDSETI 27 21 Rajasthan 35
25 State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur 8
22 Sikkim 1
26 State Bank of Hyderabad 12
27 State Bank of India 116 23 Tamil Nadu 31
28 State Bank of Mysore 2 24 Telangana 10
29 State Bank of Patiala 8 25 Tripura 5
30 State Bank of Travancore 4 UT Andaman & Nicobar
26 1
31 SyndicateBank 16 Islands
32 Tripura Gramin Bank 1 27 UT Dadra & Nagar Haveli 1
33 UCO Bank 27 28 UT Lakshadweep 1
34 Union Bank of India 14
29 UT Puducherry 1
35 United Bank of India 16
30 Uttar Pradesh 76
36 Uttarakhand Gramin Bank 1
37 Vijaya Bank 3 31 Uttarakhand 13
Bank-wise Total 587 32 West Bengal 19
State-wise Total 587

pg. 11