NIRD employees protest fund crisis after budget cut

Hyderabad: The National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD) is facing turbulent times as the Union Budget 2025-26 cut off funding to the institution, potentially derailing rural development initiatives across India. Hundreds of employees and professors gathered at Dharna Chowk near Indira Park to protest the govt's decision to disengage from NIRDPR, which has been instrumental in implementing schemes like MNREGA, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), and National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM). "This decision threatens not just our livelihoods but the entire rural development framework of India," said Dr Jyothis Sathyapalan, a senior professor and head of the post-graduate programmes at NIRDPR. "Without our training programs and research initiatives, the implementation of schemes worth 1.88 lakh crore will be severely compromised." The crisis affects 221 regular and 410 contractual employees, along with 300 pensioners. The institute's role in capacity building and training rural development functionaries across 6.65 lakh villages and 2.68 lakh gram panchayats stands at risk. The protest demanded immediate restoration of funding and continuation of existing benefits, including pension schemes and pay scales.