Executive Summary : | K.R. Mangalam University, India's fastest-growing higher education institute, aims to transform young lives through innovative pedagogy, global collaborations, and world-class infrastructure. The university offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programs, and promotes co-curricular activities. KRMU and The Pranab Mukherjee Foundation have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on a Smartgram Development Model project in Rural Haryana. Haryana has a low literacy rate of 76.64, higher than the national average of 74.04, with male literacy at 85.4 and female education at 66.8. The state faces challenges in running and managing small businesses, nutritional deficiency among rural women and children, and earning livelihoods due to lack of knowledge about sustainable handicrafts manufacturing. To address these issues, the proposed implementation strategy includes training the community for e-commerce platforms, registering products online, drying dehydration of fruits and vegetables, enhancing livelihood opportunities through skill development training and entrepreneurship programs, and implementing a RO Reverse Osmosis Plant for 3000 LPH. Technology use in products like Phulkari embroidery, agarbatti incense stick machines, and handmade bags is also being explored. These initiatives aim to promote sustainable handicrafts manufacturing, enhance livelihood opportunities, and encourage the consumption of nutritional food. |