The  Gandhigram Rural Institute (GRI), founded by two dedicated disciples and contemporaries of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. G. Ramachandran and Dr. T. S. Soundaram Ramachandran, has as its foundation Mahatma Gandhi’s revolutionary philosophy of Nai Talim, which effectively bridges the cognitive and practical dimensions, and focuses on the holistic development of learners, with an emphasis on skill development through value-based education, rooted in indigenous cultures and traditions. Since its establishment in 1956, GRI has been unstintingly contributing to higher education and has successfully pioneered rural higher education.GRI is administered by the Ministry of Education, Government of India and fully funded through UGC, New Delhi. The three-dimensional approach to education namely teaching, research and extension has become a highly celebrated model, earning global and nationwide appreciation. Started in a small way the Institute has evolved into a reasonably large educational complex comprising of 8 Schools, 12 Departments and 16 centers offering 129 academic programmes. The Institute designs its academic programmes in tune with the demands of society and industry by providing learner-centric, transparent teaching and evaluation methods. Through action-oriented research, the Institute contributes substantially to the research domains and concentrates on solving the rural issues at micro levels.

        The Gandhigram Rural Institute has a rich experience in developing and transferring rural-based technologies to the rural communities through capacity-building training and hands-on training to ICDS workers, Balwadi Teachers, NGOs, SHGs, Farm women, SC/ST people, panchayat leaders and village youth on various aspects from skill development to income generation. Few of the technologies transferred to SHGs and farm women are Oyster/ Milky mushroom cultivation, Vermi- based products (Vermicompost, vermi-wash and other products), Low-cost water test kit to analyze the microbial load in drinking water, Azolla cultivation and its value-added product development, Ornamental plant nursery establishment and ornamental fish farming for revenue development, Water defluorination technique, low-cost housing and building materials, solar and renewable energy devices, value-added food products and many more through funds tapped from UGC, NABARD, DST, DST-CAPART, DST-SEEED, TNSCST,TWAD and RGNIYD etc