HIRD Director Dr. Virender Singh Chauhan emphasizes on giving women equal participation in decision-making.
Women working in the fields or managing agriculture should be equally empowered and involved in the decision-making process. Women are the backbone of the rural economy, and therefore, empowering them is the need of the hour. Dr. Virender Singh Chauhan, Director of the Haryana Institute of Rural Development (HIRD), expressed these views while addressing a group of trainees from Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh at the Extension Education Institute, Nilokheri. The theme of this program was “Participation of Women in Rural Development”.
Girish Saini
Feb 25, 2026 11:18
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Nilokheri, February 25, 2026: Women working in the fields or managing agriculture should be equally empowered and involved in the decision-making process. Women are the backbone of the rural economy, and therefore, empowering them is the need of the hour. Dr. Virender Singh Chauhan, Director of the Haryana Institute of Rural Development (HIRD), expressed these views while addressing a group of trainees from Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh at the Extension Education Institute, Nilokheri. The theme of this program was “Participation of Women in Rural Development”.
Chief Guest Dr. Virender Singh Chauhan said that women working in the fields or managing agriculture should be equally involved in the decision-making process. Emphasizing the importance of the mother tongue, he said that one's own language is the best. He made all the trainees pledge to sign their names in their mother tongue – whether Hindi or Punjabi. Taking pride in one's language is a symbol of self-respect.
HIRD Director Dr. Chauhan said that in our country, the lowest level of government operates in the village. All village development plans should be formulated in the Gram Sabha. A GPDP (Gram Panchayat Development Plan) should be prepared every year, incorporating all the village's problems and needs, to ensure planned and comprehensive development.
Addressing the youth, Dr. Chauhan said that all of you are the strength of the country. The responsibility of realizing the Prime Minister's vision of a developed India rests on the shoulders of the youth. Approximately 65 percent of the country's population lives in villages. Therefore, the true progress of the nation is possible only through the development of villages.
He said that only by embracing the mantra of "Gramodaya to Bharatodaya"; we can build a prosperous and self-reliant India. Faculty members Kamaldeep Sangwan, Sushil Mehta, Sandeep Bhardwaj, expert Neelam Chhikara, advisor from the National Institute of Rural Development Gurbinder Singh, Saurabh Arora, Mohit Sharma, and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
