IIM-Ahmedabad’s International Food, Agribusiness and Rural Management Summit - Amaethon 2016 to be held in January next year is organising a visit for the IIM-A community to the model village of Punsari in Sabarkantha, Gujarat on August 9.
Around 50 MBA students, faculty and research scholars from IIM-A will visit the village that has earned for itself a place in the global map as an example to learn from. Punsari, about 90 km from Ahmedabad, has utilised government schemes so effectively that it has become a self-sustained village with better than urban facilities. Some astonishing features include full Wi-Fi connectivity; RO purified water for the village; zero per cent drop-out rates in schools; air-conditioned classrooms; a dedicated public-transport system; solar-powered street lighting system, 24-hour electricity etc.
The group will study these facilities and processes and understand the challenges faced by the village leadership and how they overcame those. A special interaction with the Best Gram Sabha award winner Sarpanch Himanshu Patel will be held. A short documentary about the visit and the village shall also be prepared by the team.
Apart from this, as a tribute to APJ Abdul Kalam, who was a strong proponent of urban amenities in rural areas, the IIM-A group will be interacting with the children (in village) and distributing Gujarati copies of his famous book, Wings of Fire.