Centre for Self-Employment and Rural Enterprises (CSERE)
GENESIS
Recognizing the importance of “Micro Enterprise Approach” in generating self employment opportunities and generating income to low income groups such as women, Scheduled Caste/Tribes (SC/ST) , minorities and other under privileged in rural areas, the Centre for Self Employment and Rural Enterprises (CSERE) was created at NIRD during 2005 by renaming the erstwhile Centre for Rural Industries and Employment (CRIE). It aims at achieving the following objectives
OBJECTIVES
To carry out research studies on Micro Enterprises so as to help the policy making authorities and programme designing agencies
To sensitize the R D functionaries about the importance of micro enterprise development as a core element of poverty alleviation strategies.
To enhance the  skill and knowledge level of the RD functionaries  in identification and promotion of micro-enterprises.
ACTIVITIES
Following are the thrust areas of micro enterprise development around which the activities of the Centre are organised:
Swarn Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY)
  # Micro credit
# Self Help Groups (SHG)
# Marketing of SHG product
Rural Micro Enterprises:
  # Non Farm Enterprises
# Horticulture and Agro enterprises
# Livestock enterprises
# Natural Resources based enterprises
TRAINING
Keeping in view the crucial factors limiting the effective management of the SGSY and to meet the growing demands of various agencies concerned with implementation of this programme, the following training programmes  were offered  by the Centre.
o Management of Micro Enterprises promoted under SGSY

o Innovative strategies for marketing SGSY products

o Micro enterprise development and poverty reduction for PD’s, DRDA.

o Credit support under SGSY

o Self employment opportunities in rural areas

o Appraisal of SGSY products

o Planning and management of livestock enterprises under SGSY

o Management of Natural Resources based enterprises under SGSY

o Planning and Management of Horticulture and Agro Enterprises.
RESEARCH
In order to provide policy support for gaining greater insights into the impediments in effective implementation of micro-enterprise development under programmes such as SGSY a Nation wide study and a few micro level studies were undertaken covering various management dimensions. The results of these studies are shared with Ministry of Rural Development functionaries, DRDA’s, SIRD’s and commercial Banks and organisations like NABARD. Following are important research projects of the Centre .
o Nation wide study on SGSY

o Nation wide SHG Database

o Management of Micro enterprises under SGSY

o Micro-credit for Micro-enterprises

o Building the capacity of SHGs for micro-enterprise development (Tamil Nadu).
CONSULTANCY
The Centre provides services on consultancy basis in the form of specific training/research on demand from National and International Organisations. The Centre has been organizing regular four week International Training Programmes on Promotion of Rural Industries/Micro Enterprises in Developing Economies for the last two decades. So far, about six hundred candidates from 55 countries participated in these programmes. Our collaborators and consultancy clientele included Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Uganda Commercial Bank, SIDBI, National Productivity Council, Asian Productivity Council, Ministry of Rural Development, NGOs, Bankers, besides various State Government Departments.