Page 21 - Social Impact

RURAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES BY IIMB medicine service and resilience to handle the recent pandemic.
UNDER THE UBA INITIATIVE: PROF. GOPAL NAIK There is a general lack of awareness about the Government
health insurance scheme.

Introduction: The schools need to be strengthened to improve overall learn-
IIMB is participating in an initiative called the ‘Unnat Bharat ing outcome. School infrastructure is a pressing issue in many
Abhiyan’ (UBA) of the Government India, and has adopted five schools across the GPs (refer Picture 1). There are 56 schools in
gram panchayats (GPs) in Tumkur district, Karnataka, as men- the five GPs out of which six are private schools. Government
tioned below. The initiative is led by Prof. Gopal Naik, Jal Jeevan schools, in general, lack the required number of adequately
Mission Chair in Utility Development & Water Economics and trained teachers, extracurricular activities, and infrastructure
faculty from the Economics & Social Sciences area. such as availability of science and computer labs, internet facil-
ity, uninterrupted electricity, proper building, drinking water,
For an in depth understanding of the prevailing conditions toilet facilities, etc.
across the adopted gram panchayats, a baseline survey of 550
randomly selected respondents has been conducted in the year The GPs in Madhugiri taluk suffer from drinking water
2020 covering few sectors such as, Agriculture, Healthcare, Ed- problem due to the poor availability of ground water. The local
ucation, Drinking Water and Employment. Figure 1 shows the governments of the taluks have installed public water filter
location of the adopted taluks. facilities, but their usage is very low probably due to their poor
maintenance (refer Picture 2). Water quality is a serious prob-
Key highlights of baseline survey: lem as the fluoride content in water is high.
Most of the households are dependent on agriculture for their
livelihood. Yield gaps are common across crops produced in While there is potential for entrepreneurial activity particu-
the area, such as, coconut, finger millet, groundnut, areca nut, larly in value addition of agricultural crops (refer Picture 3),
vegetables and corn. Providing proper information on crop not many have been taken up. Unemployment problem is high
planning, best practices, value addition and marketing is needed among the youth in the region due to poor skill set.
FACULTY AND RESEARCH in all the GPs.
There are many challenges in the Primary Health Centres locat-
ed in these GPs, such as availability of medicines, doctors, tele-
The very talented and versatile faculty of IIMB include outstanding scholars,
highly-regarded teachers, impactful consultants, award-winning case writers,
and renowned corporate and policy advisers, who bring a lot of passion, energy Dasarighatta Gram Panchayat
and dynamism to their roles.

IIM Bangalore has a vibrant faculty body that builds global leaders. They
generate knowledge through cutting-edge research in all functional areas of Tiptur Taluk Hunaseghatta Gram Panchayat
management that benefit public and private sector companies, and government
and society in general. The knowledge that they generate appears in leading
academic journals across the world and they receive awards from highly
respected professional bodies for their academic accomplishments and Nanavinakere Gram Panchayat
contributions. They continue to nurture and shape the minds and careers of all
those who pass through the gates of this premier institution.

IIMB faculty participate in, and influence, policymaking at the national and Tumkur District
international levels as members of critical committees. They are also involved
in managing important initiatives with significant social impact. Their thought
leadership articles and podcasts they lead also revolve around topics with social
impact, which became more pronounced with the onset of Covid.

Over the years, IIMB has built an extensive body of knowledge in several D V Halli Gram Panchayat
areas, including corporate social responsibility, entrepreneurship, financial
risk management, healthcare, innovation management, and more, and has
contributed to policy formation and developmental processes at the grassroots. Madhugiri Taluk

The following section, featuring some unique courses offered, areas impacted
and awards won, will throw light on the work done by our faculty with significant Chinakavajra Gram Panchayat
social impact.

Faculty and Research | 19