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This book presents the efforts taken by Gandhigram Rural Institute to prepare the leaders of the grassroots institutions to perform their assigned roles and responsibilities by building up the capacity of the leaders. The training experiences of Gram Panchayat Presidents, both men and women, of eight districts in Tamil Nadu have been discussed. Pre-training and post-training evaluation has also been made in order to find out the impact of the training. Their feedback about the training programme is discussed as well. Further, achievements and the problems of the Gram Panchayat leaders have been assessed with a view to evolve a strategy to create a more conducive and positive climate for the Panchayat leaders to perform their roles and discharge their responsibilities effectively. An analysis of the achievements and barriers have been recorded through a workshop. The book will help the training institutions to design their training programmes. About the Author Prof. Ganapathi Palanithurai, Coordinator in Rajiv Gandhi Chair, Gandhigram Rural Institute, presently heads the Department of Political Science and Development Administration, Gandhigram Rural University, Tamil Nadu. He is also Associated with Centre Planning Commission, State Planning Commission of Tamil Nadu, Population Foundation of India, Ford Foundation, UNICEF, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, CAPART, Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment and DANIDA (Danish-Indo Development Agency) in specific areas of activities in connection with empowerment of people. Prof. Palanithurai has to his credit twenty-nine books and seventy-five articles on three major areas, namely, legislative behaviour, ethnicity and Panchayati Raj system. He was recipient of Fellowship from Sastri Indo-Canadian Institute, New Delhi and World Academy of Art and Science, USA. He is the Chairman of the Tamil Nadu Council for Sustainable Livelihoods. He was a visiting fellow in the MiGill University, Canada in 1989. He is a member of the expert committee constituted by the Government of Tamil Nadu to monitor the training programme for local body leaders.