M.PHIL PROGRAMME IN PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

The M.Phil. Programme with specialization in Planning and Development is a 4 -semester interdisciplinary course, was launched in July 1993. The programme with a theoretical-practical thrust provides the students with a holistic understanding of socio-economic reality and the impact of technology. It also acquaints them with the various stages and levels of expertise involved in the formulation and implementation of development policies that can bring about a sustainable, stable, and desirable development. With such training which includes coursework, thesis writing and field trip, it is expected that the students coming out of this programme will be able to help steer the national, state and regional planning and developmental processes. There is a paucity of such personnel in India at present and I.I.T. Bombay is the first to start such a programme. There are about 10-12 students pursuing the M.Phil. programme every year.

Eligibility and Selection Procedure

Admission to this programme is open to those who qualify in MET/GATE/UGC-JRF/UGC-LECTURERSHIP. Master's Degree in Arts, Commerce (with 55% marks), or M.Sc., B.Tech (with 60% marks with adequate background in Social Sciences) is essential. Those appearing for the above exams may also apply. Those who are in service can apply as sponsored candidates. The selection will be based on the qualifying test and interview.

The programme aims to educate and train personnel in various aspects of Development Policy in the Indian Context. The Programme is interdisciplinary with a theoretic-practical thrust, and is not in an area offered by the universities. The students will be trained to help steer the national, state and regional plans.

Social reality and development are complex phenomenon. They can be understood in their entirety only by adopting the multidisciplinary approach. A holistic understanding of socio-economic reality and of the various stages and levels of expertise involve d in the information and implementation of development policies can bring about a sustainable, stable, and desirable development. There is a paucity of such personnel in India at present. It is in this context that the HSS Department has launched its multidisciplinary M.Phil. programme.

Information about MET

MET is a written examination (with objective and essay type questions) of 3 hours duration to assess the candidate's general reasoning abilities and awareness of important concepts and theoretical and practical perspectives on development and planning conducted by IIT Bombay.

Programme Objectives

The objectives of the programme are:

(i) To disseminate awareness and appreciation of the complexity of socio-economic interdependence and change;

(ii) To increase the understanding of alternative development styles, policies and technologies'

(iii) To provide various perspectives on micro level planning for balanced development;

(iv) To examine the role of the new economic policy in the light of the overall plan framework;

(v) To expose students to first hand experience of the issues involved in development work through field visits.

(vi) To train personnel for model building, analysis interpretation and formulation of development policies.

Programme duration

The duration of the programme is four semesters.

Semester 1: 4 courses + Seminar I

Semester 2: 3 courses + First stage of Dissertation

Semester 3: 1 course + R & D Project

Semester 4: Second and Third stages of dissertation

Teaching Method

The methods of teaching and training include lectures, case studies, quantitative analysis and the use of computers for policy-making, discussion sessions, seminars, field visits to cooperatives, mini-projects, project dissertation and regular interaction with public\private and corporations and voluntary organizations.

Employment opportunities

The placement of students who successfully complete this programme can potentially be in the National Planning Commission, State level boards, Panchayat Raj set-up, State Development Corporations, Rural Development Agencies, National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development (NABARD), Co-operatives, International Development Agencies such as OXFAM, etc. operating in India, institutes/centres for research in development, etc. On successful completion of the M.Phil. programme, students can pursue the Ph. D. programme, offered by the department, provided they fulfill other requirements laid down by the institute.