IIM Indore to develop backward Deoria region as 'model' UP district

B-school to help energise Deoria's traditional industries under state's flagship one-district-one-product scheme

In a first, the premier Indian Institute of Management, Indore (IIM-I) has partnered backward Deoria district in Eastern Uttar Pradesh (Purvanchal) to develop it as a ‘model district’ through specialised training of officials and capacity building.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between IIM-Indore director Himanshu Rai, who himself originally hails from Deoria, and district magistrate Amit Kishore in this regard.

Bordering Bihar, Deoria is one of the most backward districts in UP. It has a population of more than 3 million and about 465,000 households, mostly in the rural areas.

Under the primary terms of the MoU, IIM-Indore would help develop Deoria as a model district going forward. The premier B-school would also develop a model village in the district by improving the basic infrastructure, so that it can then be replicated in other places.

The institute would also work to revive and energise Deoria's local and traditional industries under the Uttar Pradesh government’s flagship one-district-one-product (ODOP) scheme. It would help promote and market the products of indigenous industries both offline and online.

IIM-Indore would also hold customised management development programmes (MDP) for the officers of Deoria district administration for capacity building and efficient discharge of duties.

According to the institute, this is the first initiative of its kind, in which a premier B-school had signed a pact with a local district offering administrative, management and skills interventions for developing a particular place as a model entity for replication.