Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, in Government of India strives to promote resilient rural India through Higher Education interventions. MGNCRE designs, develops and promotes curriculum inputs for higher education programmes offered by Universities and Autonomous Institutions in India. The higher educational streams of focus for MGNCRE include: Rural Studies, Rural Development, Rural Management, Social Work and Education. The curriculum inputs are both theoretical and practical field-related relevant to rural India. MGNCRE Established In 1995 with the objectives of • To study rural society and rural economy through higher educational institutions in order to address the development needs and challenges through participatory mechanisms and appropriate technological responses basing on local resources. • To work with higher educational institutions covering Natural and Social Sciences, Management Sciences and Engineering for developing curricula addressing challenges of rural communities for finding appropriate technology options to promote a just and equitable economic and social development . • To adopt interdisciplinary approach and work with faculty members and Post Doctoral Fellows, through workshops for addressing challenges of the rural communities in finding appropriate social and economic responses as per the local and global opportunities in livelihoods. • To develop a pool of researchers and academics across the disciplines interested in and working for rural communities leveraging academic inputs for higher education. • To enable studies on issues and impediments in human resource development initiatives of the Government of India focused on rural India, studying failure and success stories and fine tuning the programmes and their implementation through curriculum interventions in higher education. • To network with educational institutions of higher learning, local governments, development agencies, gram sabhas and Industry in order to develop synergic convergence of human resources which are socially and economically just and inclusive for the vulnerable sections of rural India. SWACHHTA – MGNCRE PROJECT FOR HEALTH AND HYGIENIC PRACTICES IN THE LEARNING ENVIROMENT Gandhiji saw Swachhta as a means of spreading dignity of labour and equality in the communities. “Swachhta has been recognised and accorded top priority by the government of India. Hygiene and hygienic practices in life are critical for health not only to improve a living environment but also to elevate our thinking to a more pure and healthy state. A huge population base and varying education and awareness levels do not promote a secure hygienic environment and hence this is a major challenge. Lack of hygiene in habits negatively impacts the country's progress to global benchmarks in all spheres and also impacts the working population. This creates unhealthy mind- sets in the people. A clean or Swachh mind is generated from a Swachh environment. Teachers and students of the education system need to play the lead role in making the masses aware of the quintessential need for hygiene. The Department of Higher Education decided to embark on the mission through the standard operating procedure on Swachhta for its Institutions setting forth practices that must be implemented at all higher educational institutions. All Institutions need to simultaneously follow the parameters of the campus hygiene laid out in the material so that the minds of the students flower in a clean and pure campus atmosphere. Along with education, swachhta is also a precious lesson that can be learnt in education Institutions as it defines students’ personalities” MGNCRE was deputed to work on creation of various tools to help HEIs to inculcate a sense of Swachhta in our students. The key goals of Swachhta Action Plan are: • To institutionalize cleanliness or Swachhta as an integral part of the functioning of educational institutions. • To set the tone and pace for Swachhta movement in the country with the huge outreach and knowledge base of HEIs. • To galvanise HEIs into introspection and appraisal of their campus cleanliness and to stimulate corrective action to achieve higher benchmarks. • To transform HEIs into models of environmental consistency, conforming to various factors of ecological balance in their daily functioning. • To educate the awareness of Good Health & Well Being, Clean Water & Sanitation and Affordable & Clean Energy among the students community through Higher Educational Institutions.