RESEARCHCommunity radio: a community media module for empowerment of rural women ARPITA SHARMA AND S.K. KASHYAP This study was conducted with the aim of developing a needs-based community radio module for women empowerment. A sample of 1000 respondents was selected through census method in Jawaharnagar, Shantipuri, and Gokulnagar villages of Rudrapur Block in Udham Singh Nagar District of Uttarakhand. Findings indicated that rural women wanted information on the following topics through community radio programing: methods of purifying water, weaning food, immunization, HIV/AIDS, and government programs. Participatory community radio programs were developed on these issues, and then their effectiveness were assessed through knowledge testing. Findings from the test were used to develop eight modules for community radio: (1) Rapport building, (2) General information and need assessment (3) Prioritization of needs (4) Development of knowledge test (5) Design and develop CR program on women empowerment (6) Recording and editing of CR program (7) Broadcasting community radio program (8) Post-knowledge test.

Entrepreneurship can positively impact human resource market by creating employment and economic opportunity, something that is of urgent need. Agriculture sector has immense untapped potential and huge busi-ness prospects for young entrepreneurs. Thus, to have an insight into these issues present study was undertaken to find out the socioeconomic, personal and psychological characteristics of undergraduate students along with their entrepreneurial intention. The study was conducted at College of Agriculture, G.B.P.U.A. and T. Pantnagar. Fifty five students from each, third year and final year of B.Sc. Agriculture were selected as respondents through simple random sampling technique using chit method. Analytical research design was used for the present study. Detailed pre-tested questionnaire was administered to 110 respondents for collection of data. Findings of the study revealed that majority of the respondents (60.91 %) belonged to middle age group and were female (55.55 %), belonged to general caste (60.91 %) and had received their basic education in English (72.73 %). Regarding the entrepreneurial intention of undergraduate students of agriculture, it was found that majority of the respondents (59.09 %) had mod-erate level of entrepreneurial intention, while 23.64 % of the respondents had low entrepreneurial intention and only 17.27 % students had high entrepreneurial intention. The findings of this study may help all stakeholders (policy makers, researchers, private institutions, entrepreneurship educators and youth development practitioners) who are concerned with developing youth entrepreneurship in the country.

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Uttarakhand state has an immense opportunity for agriculture-based livelihood options yet the out-migration has not reduced. One reason behind may be the lack of awareness among youth hence, a study was conducted to compile the possible agricultural occupation for the area and identify the level of awareness among the youth about these livelihood options. The young people of the study were found to have low level of awareness for majority of the ventures particularly for those not being practiced traditionally in the area. This paper discusses the relationship between profile characteristics of youth and their level of awareness. The data was collected through multistage sampling and analyzed using SPSS software. The results revealed that majority of the respondents were young, females, educated up to higher secondary level, and belonged to medium size family. Majority of the respondents belonged to farming background, were students and unmarried. All of them owned television and majority of them owned mobile phones. They had medium level of mass media exposure, information seeking behaviour and cosmopoliteness and low level of extension agency contact. Among the socio-economic, personal, communication characteristics; age, extension agency contact and information seeking behaviour had a significant positive correlation with awareness about selected livelihood options related to agriculture in hills of Uttarakhand. A communication strategy can be formulated to facilitate contact of extension agencies with youth and more number of need-based trainings should be initiated for youth.

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