The Hindu Business Line : Rural biz hubs: 50 MoUs inked with district level bodies

Rural link
The first set of RBHs covers activities such as plantation of jatropha, fruit processing and seed production among others.
Initially these hubs to be established across select districts in Uttaranchal, UP, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Haryana.

New Delhi , Dec. 25

ITC Ltd, Jindal Frozen Foods, Neemrana Group and DI Oils Pvt Ltd, besides organisations such as Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) and National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), are among a host of firms that have come forward to establish rural business hubs (RBH), a concept being promoted by the Centre primarily to connect rural producers and rural markets to national and international markets with the help of business houses.

Being developed as an answer to China's successful `Town and Village Enterprises' scheme, the hubs would aim at promoting agriculture and allied activities as growth engines for rural development and rural non-farming enterprises so that rural employment is generated, a Government official involved in the exercise said.

The Centre has facilitated the signing of 50 such MoUs between India Inc and district-level institutions - mainly gram panchayats, and farm producers' associations - for the establishment of these hubs across select districts in Uttaranchal, UP, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Haryana in the first round.

The first set of RBHs covers activities such as plantation of jatropha, fruit processing, seed production, organic food preparation, dairying, handicrafts and handlooms, brick-making and electricity generation through bio-mass.

In terms of overall structure, the promoting partners of the hubs have the option of getting incorporated as a formal company under the Companies Act or get registered as a partnership firm.

Panchayati-level institutions are essentially being roped in to play the governance role, while the technology and resources are to be mobilised by the respective business houses partnering them.

The financing of these hubs is being envisaged as a self-sustaining business proposition on the public-private-panchayat-partnership principle and support is also envisaged from specialised institutions such as Nabard and KVIC.

The firms being encouraged as partners for the ventures include members of industry, Central and State supported agencies and large Cooperatives, which have the potential to help produce or refine goods from locally available resources and based on local skills to enable them to reach larger markets.

While ITC has signed MoUs for partnering 11 fruit processing hubs in Uttaranchal, DI Oils is setting up three Jatropha plantation and bio-diesel hubs in Haryana. SEWA is setting up a handicrafts and handloom products hub in Uttar Pradesh. NIFT is setting up a RBH dealing in artwork and design of garments.

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