Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Narendrapur, Kolkata

Started in 1943 in North Kolkata and later shifted to Narendrapur, this ashrama runs many institutions.

Activities:

1. A residential autonomous degree college offering graduate and postgraduate courses in arts and science subjects. It has four research wings, one NCC and two NSS units.
2. A residential higher secondary school. Considered by the Government of India as a model school, its secondary section has both English and Bengali as media of instruction, whereas the higher secondary section has English alone. It has two Boys’ Scout units, one bratachari unit and a band unit.
3. A non-residential primary school and a kindergarten section.
4. Blind Boys’ Academy: (i) a residential higher secondary school, which offers general education as well as training in computer operations, music and crafts, has blind boys, all of whom receive substantial financial assistance, (ii) a library with 49,030 Braille volumes, audio books, and 14 periodicals and newspapers, (iii) Regional Braille Press which publishes books and calendars. The press meets the needs of the eastern and north-eastern states, (iv) Teachers’ Training Institute which offers B.Ed. in Special Education (Visual Impairment), (v) Industrial Training Institute (ITI) offering training in two trades, viz. metal cutting attendant and computer operations and programming assistant, (vi) vocational training in preparation of spices, mushroom cultivation, agriculture and animal husbandry, (vii) a workshop for training in production of cane sticks, leaf plates, candles, etc, and (viii) a clinic to help children with low vision.
5. A department of technical and vocational education which has the following units: (a) an Industrial Training Institute, (b) a vocational training centre in electrical and automobile trades, (c) short-term courses in electrical winding and automobile mechanic, (d) an institute offering courses in shorthand, typewriting, spoken English, and computer operations.
6. A central library with 74,606 books and 63 journals and newspapers.
7. Lokasiksha Parishad (an institute for social welfare and integrated rural development), which conducted the following activities through 255 rural youth organisations, 3 project offices and 23 cluster organizations spread in 13 districts of West Bengal:
   • Educational activities: (a) two study centres of State Open School (one for secondary students and the other for higher secondary students), (b) an institutional library with 26,372 books and 314 periodicals and newspapers, (c) a publication unit publishing journals, newsletters and audio CDs, (d) publication of the Bengali monthly Samaj Siksha (63rd year) and books (total number of titles: 213), (e) preaching at different places, (f) study circles, (g) centres conducting values education programmes.
   • Women and child development activities: (a) chalaman vahini (mobile unit) for conducting workshops, seminars, and programmes for development of character, personality and culture, (b) 133 centres of Early Childhood Care and Development spread over 10 districts, (c) pre-primary education, immunization, supplementary nutritious food, etc were provided to 869 children under Child Sponsorship Programme, (d) Integrated Child Development
     Services (ICDS) project with education, immunization, family welfare and healthcare services in municipal wards of North Kolkata through 125 anganwadi centres. ICDS also trains supervisors, anganwadi workers and helpers, and (e) two units of Gadadhar Abhyudaya Prakalpa.
   • Animal resource development programme: Youths are trained in dairy and poultry management, and cattle growers were provided veterinary clinic services and technical guidance.
   • Vocational training: (a) Training programmes in various trades to enable rural youths to be self-employed, (b) Jan Shikshan Sansthan provides training in 18 trades in rural areas, (c) youths are trained in 15 vocational agricultural courses and farmers are trained in modern agricultural practices under Green College Programme, and (d) formation of self-help groups that mobilize local resources for income generation.
   • Programmes for health, hygiene and environmental awareness: (a) provides health education and preventive and curative healthcare aid, (b) building low-cost toilets in villages and toilet blocks in schools, (c) demonstration of solid and liquid waste management methods in gram panchayat areas, (d) promotes  community-managed water quality monitoring and surveillance system in gram panchayat areas, (e) trains village masons in constructing toilets, (f) undertake projects for saving conventional energy, mainly in nonelectrified areas through solar systems and biogas plants, (g) joint forest management, early childhood education centres and promotion of tribal art and culture, (h) cultivation-promotion programmes among tribal people, (i) wasteland development projects, and (j) projects like Resource Support Agency Training Programme, promotion of farmers’ production, training programme on agro-allied activities and other economic development activities.
8. Agriculture Training Centre (ATC) and State Agricultural Management and Extension Training Institute (SAMETI) conducts the following activities: (i) 6-month pre-service and inservice residential training of Krishi Prayukti Sahayaks, (ii) medium and short-term HRD programmes for extension
   functionaries, and special programmes for farmers and officers, (iii) postgraduate diploma course in Agricultural Extension Management, (iv) one-year diploma course in Agricultural Extension Service for the input dealers, (v) Agri-clinic and Agri-business course, (vi) training under National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm and (vii) other extension activities.
9. Faculty centres under RKMVERI (deemed university):
   • Integrated Rural Development and Management (IRDM) Faculty Centre offers M.Sc. and Ph.D. programmes in (i) Agricultural Biotechnology, (ii) Agriculture and Rural Development, (iii) Genetics and Plant breeding, and (iv) Environment and Disaster Management.
   • A Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), named Sasya Shyamala Krishi Vigyan Kendra, is located at Arapanch village in South 24 Parganas district. It is aimed to develop the socio-economic condition of the farming community by transfer of technology in the fields of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry and aquaculture. The KVK conducted various training programmes, and extension activities.
10. A Medicinal Plant Research and Extension Centre, with three medicinal plant gardens covering 3 acres, undertook research, training and demonstration activities.
11. Vivekananda Social Welfare Centre, meant mainly for the underprivileged living in the slums of Rambagan in northern Kolkata, conducts the following activities: (i) two charitable dispensaries, (ii) a vocational training centre, and (iii) a child welfare scheme for slum children.
12. A book bank and educational aid facilities for farmers’ children.
13. A Quality Testing Laboratory for quality assessment of herbal drugs, especially ayurveda, siddha and unani drugs.
14. A museum named Environment and Man.
15. A dispensary with allopathy, homeopathy and ayurveda sections, a panchakarma unit and a ksharsutra unit.
16. A mobile medical unit.
17. Two units of Gadadhar Abhyudaya Prakalpa for underprivileged children.
18. Welfare Work: Providing scholarships to needy students and pecuniary help to poor people of the locality. Besides these, clothes, and blankets are also distributed to the distressed.
19. Religious activities: Celebration of Kali Puja, Saraswati Puja, Viswakarma Puja, Shivaratri, Christmas Eve and celebration of the birthdays of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda.