Selling Tractors and Soil Testing in India
2011
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
Project Media
The Khorana Program was established by the University of Wisconsin-Madison to promote long-term linkages between the UW and India. The program honors Har Gobind Khorana, the Indian-born scientist who won the Nobel Prize in 1968 while a member of the UW Biochemistry faculty. Under the umbrella of this program the University of Wisconsin-Madison applied for and received a grant of $950,000 from the United States Agency for International Development. The grant allowed the UW to partner with Mahindra and Mahindra and the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust to promote rural development in India. In addition to the funding received by the UW, the two partners provided over three million dollars. “This represents the latest approach to development, linking university expertise with the private sector’s financial power and on-the-ground experience,” says project leader Kenneth Shapiro, former associate dean in the UW College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and professor of Agricultural and Applied Economics. “This approach is especially appropriate for India, where rapid economic growth has benefited 300 million, but 800 million, mostly rural residents, are left behind, and over 25% of children are malnourished, leading to tragically high rates of infant mortality and mental and physical stunting.”