Vadodara/ Anand: It is a game that budding rural managers of the Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) have been playing since mid-1980s to understand the impact of dairy cooperatives on farmers’ lives.
This game was conceived as part of a study conducted by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), post Operation Flood-II.
Now, IRMA has introduced a digital version of this management simulation game – ‘Naranpur Express’.
After a successful beta test, IRMA’s director Dr Umakant Dash launched its digital version in presence of IRMA’s professor emeritus Tushaar Shah, mentor of the original game.
IRMA’s IT team led by professor Harekrishna Misra developed and commissioned the digital version with in-house resources.Shah had introduced the game’s physical version by using wooden models of farmers’ families and assets.
Since its inception, nearly every batch of IRMA’s post graduate diploma in management (PGDM) and fellowship programme in management has played it.
Initially, the game was introduced to the curricula of PGDM as part of ‘managerial economics’ course.
Later, it became part of institute’s overall mandate.
The game aims to simulate an environment for the participants to empathize with farmers’ households.
The participants get exposed to various challenges related to crop production, livestock production, households, markets, government policies and climatic conditions that farmers face.
The game’s objective is to encourage the participants to know the net worth of the households allotted to them.