Hyderabad: A new scheme catering to the needs of retired soldiers and women personnel working in different departments at the Ministry of Defense, to enhance their agricultural entrepreneurial skills will be launched soon. The project has been developed by MANAGE (National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management) in Hyderabad, and it has been approved by the Union Ministry of Defense. It is also known as the 'Jai Jawan Kisan' project.
Nearly 60,000 employees, across the country, retire from the Department of Defense every year, and they are in the age group of 34 to 48 at the time of superannuation. Most of them in the lookout for re-employment and 90 percent of them belong to rural areas. According to a survey, more than 80 percent of them have rural background. But most of them don't know how to grow crops that's why they avoid joining farming sector. Hence, the MANAGE has developed a module so that retired defense personnel can be provided training in agriculture sector so that they could be gainfully employed.
The training for the first batch of 30 ex-servicemen will begin in early July. The scheme is aimed at providing training to least four teams in the first year. Defense personnel's entry into the agriculture sector is also expected to bring some sort of discipline in the farming sector. "If retired soldiers are successful not only in the cultivation of crops but also in marketing value-added products, branding, as well as selling them, then it will pave the way for better income for farmers. We have already designed the scheme keeping in mind that some people across the country are cultivating following discipline and making a profit," said Dr Chandrasekhara, Director General, MANAGE.
