Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 12 Jun: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) on Friday convened its first Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) meeting for the financial year 2026-27, alongside a specialised workshop dedicated to bridging skill gaps and boosting local livelihoods in rural parts of Uttarakhand.
Committed to empowering rural youth and driving sustainable community development, NABARD’s Uttarakhand Regional Office hosted the twin events at its premises located in IT Park, Dehradun. The workshop, centred around the theme “Bridging skill gaps to local livelihoods in rural Uttarakhand: District-level strategies for enterprise promotion and reduced outmigration”, aimed to chart actionable blueprints for regional prosperity.
The proceedings were inaugurated by Pankaj Yadav, Chief General Manager (CGM) of NABARD. The high-level convergence saw active participation from prominent regional experts and stakeholders, including Dr Prabhakar C Bebni, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of DDU-GKY. Key representatives from the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC), Uttarakhand State Rural Livelihood Mission (UKSRLM), Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), Khadi and Village Industries Board (KVIB), the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Horticulture, Uttarakhand Gramin Bank, Uttarakhand State Cooperative Bank (UKSTCB), the Department of Rural Development, and various prominent Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) were also in attendance.
Dr Sanjeev Roy, Director of KVIC, joined the deliberations virtually.
Delivering a keynote address, Dr Prabhakar C Bebni provided comprehensive, district-specific strategic guidance on optimising skills among rural youth to stem economic migration. He highly commended NABARD’s proactive and transformative interventions in Uttarakhand, specifically highlighting its customised Skill Development Training, Micro-Enterprise Development Programmes (MEDPs), Livelihood and Enterprise Development Programmes (LEDPs), and robust market-linkage initiatives.
During the technical and advisory sessions, experts underscored the critical need for inter-departmental synergy and synchronized workflows. They shared valuable recommendations on how coordinated institutional mechanisms can foster entrepreneurship, curb distress migration, ensure error-free policy execution, deliver end-to-end integrated services to grassroots beneficiaries, and bolster the socio-economic fabric of rural communities. The forum strongly emphasized the convergence of diverse government schemes and departmental resources to systematically eliminate livelihood obstacles.
Reaffirming its foundational mission, NABARD reiterated its resolve to empower rural communities by upgrading youth skillsets, scaling up targeted training, and expanding sustainable employment avenues. Through these concerted endeavors, NABARD aims to secure steady livelihoods for the youth, reverse outward migration, and catalyse holistic rural prosperity across Uttarakhand.
