5 reasons to pursue a career in development sector

NEW DELHI: A career in the development sector provides individuals an opportunity to create a meaningful impact and contribute to sustainable development in the country. Offering valuable insights, broadening perspectives and fostering cultural sensitivity, there are programmes including SBI Youth for India, that aim to bridge the gap between the urban perception and the rural reality.

Unlike traditional academic settings, these programmes, as per Sanjay Prakash, managing director and CEO, SBI Foundation, offer hands-on experience allowing young aspirants to apply their wisdom to real-world challenges. This practical immersion enhances their understanding of development complexities and equips them with the skills to design and implement effective solutions, the managing director and CEO added.

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Highlighting five compelling reasons to pursue a profession in the development sector, the managing director and CEO has shared experiences of youth who have applied for the Youth for India programme over the years.

Engage and enable communities in the remotest locations

The development sector allows one to drive community empowerment and self-sustainability in most unique ways. Some impactful initiatives like himalayan blooms in Khetikhan, Uttarakhand, improved livelihoods through women empowerment, education and agriculture. Over 50 women were empowered to use their knitting skills to create different products and sell them through online and offline modes to generate alternate livelihood in the region.

Another success story is "Thejus," a stitching unit in Wayanad, Kerala initiated as a project by Youth for India Fellows, empowering tribal women of Paniya through skills training and entrepreneurship. These initiatives exemplify the transformative power of development projects.

Promote rural development at the grassroots

Enable development movement at the grassroot level through immersive exercises where you not just learn but also implement, to develop successful use cases. One gets to solve real problems with support of local authorities, local populace and other stakeholders like NGOs working at grassroot, enabling the development of low-cost and sustainable models of development.

Initiatives like Aadiwasi Janjagruti in Maharashtra exemplify the power of hyper-local journalism, empowering local youth to address information gaps and promote accountability. Recognised by prestigious organisations, their work has impacted over 12,000 lives across 200+ villages.

One can contribute to improving infrastructure, healthcare, education and agriculture, effectively addressing key challenges and enhancing the quality of life for rural communities. Through dedicated efforts, the youth can bring about a positive change and empower marginalised populations.

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Work on sustainable ideas

Development sector provides opportunities to address pressing issues like water scarcity, alternate energy and many such areas, through sustainable solutions. The Sikkim Polypond project exemplifies this by harnessing rainwater through polythene-lined ponds, benefiting agriculture, households, and livestock. The project aims to encourage community involvement, offer affordable solutions and ensure community ownership.

Through various sustainable interventions, the youth can contribute to environment conservation and resource management, creating sustainable practices that benefit communities in the long run.

Redesign unique solutions

Paving way with innovative solutions in development sector, is like painting an open canvas. The Youth can deploy strategies that work for the welfare of the natives of the place. One can make use of the available resources and known technological advancements to curate unique solutions to improve the existing systems and processes in the region.

Through meaningful interventions one can facilitate the use of technology in day-to-day activities of the community, like training the masses on digital payment gateways, computer training, online banking, digital literacy like basic email communication, or mobile application usage, etc.

In one such case in Orissa a YFI alumni taught GIS Mapping to farmers for mapping new water sources for farming and irrigation. This empowered the farmers with the technical know-how to plan their agricultural needs better.

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Social entrepreneurship and livelihood generation

A career in development sector often involves working on social entrepreneurship initiatives and livelihood generation programs. A structured program like SBI YFI with in-built rural sensitisation and immersion program with due mentoring and capacity building, provides the freedom to explore and experiment with potential solutions to developmental roadblocks. These in turn spur innovation and accelerate ideation at every step of the process enabling social entrepreneurship and livelihood generation.