NGOs play an important role in rural development by filling gaps left by governments and helping communities through activities like literacy programs, healthcare, marketing local products, and advocacy. They work at the grassroots level on specific issues and projects, but sometimes lack coordination, transparency, and long-term funding. Effective NGOs collaborate with governments and local institutions to advance community interests through community involvement, tailored development programs, and holding stakeholders accountable.

1. Role of NGOs in Rural
Development
87th Foundation Course for Central Civil
Services, IES, ISS, and IFS Officer Trainees
Dr. MCR HRD Institute of AP
2nd November 2012
Dr. N. Sai Bhaskar Reddy,
CEO, GEO http://e-geo.org

3. Civil Society
"the arena, outside of
the family, the
state, and the market
where people
associate to advance
common interests."

4. SPIRIT – KNOW - ACT
SPIRIT
ACT KNOW

5. GOVERNMENT / PUBLIC
CONTRACTORS / PRIVATE
CSOs

6. CS - Representation
the associations of citizens (outside their families, friends and businesses) entered
into voluntarily to advance their interests, ideas and ideologies. The term does not
include profit-making activity (the private sector) or governing (the public sector).
Civil societies are often populated by organizations:
 Registered charities,
 development non-governmental organizations,
 community groups,
 women's organizations,
 faith-based, religious and spiritual organizations,
 professional associations,
 trade unions,
 self-help groups,
 social movements,
 business associations,
 coalitions and
 advocacy groups.
 trade unions,
 indigenous people’s organizations,
 academeic

7. In the History
 During the second half of the 19th
century, nationalist consciousness
spread across India and self-help
emerged as the primary focus of
sociopolitical movements.
 Numerous organizations were
established during this period, including
the Friend-in-Need Society
(1858), Prathana Samaj (1864), Satya
Shodhan Samaj (1873), Arya Samaj
(1875), the National Council for
Women in India (1875), and the Indian
National Conference (1887).

8. Defining Non-Governmental
Organisations
How do you describe an NGO? One survey found 48
different terms and acronyms. Here is a sample:
BINGOs Big International NGOs IPOs Indigenous Peoples Organizations
BONGOs Business Organized NGOs GROs Grassroots Organizations
CBOs Community Based Organizations GSCOs Global Social Change
CSOs Civil Society Organizations Organizations
ENGOs Environmental NGOs NPOs Nonprofit Organizations
GONGOs Government Organized NGOs VOs Voluntary Organizations
In short, there is no agreed terminology for describing the NGO
sector.
In some ways, it is easier to describe what NGOs are not, rather
than what they are. It is generally agreed that NGOs are not:
 part of government, or
 organized primarily for private profit.

9. NGOs
By definition, it is an organization that is
not directly related to government. The
World Health Organization first made the
term NGO popular back in 1945. There
are more than 50,000 international
INGO’s. Other types of NGO’s are
International business (BINGO) and
environmental ENGO. In the United
States there are over 2 million NGO’s
and estimated 400,000 in Russia and 1-2
million in India. There is a marked
increase in the numbers of NGO

10. NGOs / Voluntary Service
Though the term NGO became popular in
India only in the 1980s, the voluntary
sector has an older tradition.
Since independence from the British in
1947, the voluntary sector had a lot of
respect in the minds of people -
first, because the father of the nation
Mahatma Gandhi was an active
participant; and second because India
has always had the tradition of honouring
those who have made some sacrifice to
help others.

11. Voluntary Organizations -
Gandhiji
In independent India, the initial role played by
the voluntary organizations started by Gandhi
and his disciples was to fill in the gaps left by
the government in the development process.
The volunteers organized handloom
weavers in villages to form cooperatives
through which they could market their
products directly in the cities, and thus get a
better price. Similar cooperatives were later
set up in areas like marketing of dairy
products and fish. In almost all these
cases, the volunteers helped in other areas of
development - running literacy classes for
adults at night, for example.

12. Traditional
Traditional development NGOs, who
went into a village or a group of
villages and ran literacy
programmes, crËches for children and
clinics, encouraged farmers to
experiment with new crops and
livestock breeds that would bring
more money, helped the weavers and
other village artisans market their
products and so on

13. Research / Advocacy / Legal
The second group of NGOs were those
who researched a particular subject in
depth, and then lobbied with the
government or with industry or
petitioned the courts for improvements
in the lives of the citizens, as far as
that particular subject was concerned.
Eg: CSE

14. Activists
In the third group were those
volunteers who saw themselves
more as activists than other
NGOs did. They petitioned the
bureaucrats, they alerted the
media whenever they found
something wrong and so on. Eg:
NBA

15. NGOs, civil society, or major
groups?
“Major Groups” is a ◦ women
term that was ◦ children and youth
introduced in ◦ indigenous people
Agenda 21, agreed ◦ NGOs
by governments at ◦ Local authorities
the Rio Earth ◦ Workers and trade
Summit. It describes unions
nine sectors of ◦ business and industry
society identified as ◦ the scientific and
having a significant technical community
role in sustainable ◦ farmers
development:

16. Stakeholders: Yet another
term!
Stakeholders:
Those who have an interest in a
particular decision, either as
individuals or representatives
of a group. This includes
people who influence a
decision, or can influence it, as
well as those affected by it.

17. Advantages of NGOs
 Less pressure from change in politics
 Small scale projects
◦ More community involvement
◦ Can be individually tailored to meet
specific community needs
◦ Higher “success” rate
◦ Less bureaucratic
 A more “human” face

18. Disadvantages of NGOs
 Constant funding difficulties
 Possible lack of legitimacy
 Difficult to regulate
◦ Can lack transparency and accountability
 Can be ineffective due to lack of
coordination

19. Development Organization
Inter-relationship
NGOs
Specifi
c
Project
/ Issue
Institutions /
Government
Financial
Agency
Institutions

20. NGOs in Intergovernmental
Processes
4 important functions:
 Setting agendas
 Negotiating outcomes
 Conferring legitimacy
 Implementing solutions

21. NGOs in India
The PRIA survey reveals that
26.5% of NGOs are engaged in
religious activities
21.3% work in the area of community
and/or social service.
About one in five NGOs works in
education
7.9% are active in the fields of sports
and culture.
6.6% work in the health sector.

22. “Look to the Future. Accept the Challenges.
Society fails if the citizen is not engaged.
“Setting an agenda for change is not a
burden. It’s a responsibility. And an
opportunity to change for good”

23. Ref: http://www..............