Yusuf Meherally Centre

The Yusuf Meherally Centre offers the DBRT, a comprehensive multi-skill training program covering agriculture, engineering, energy, environmental studies, food processing, and more. It includes courses in engineering (fabrication, construction, carpentry, drawing, costing), energy and the environment (electrical, motor rewinding, surveying, solar, biogas), home and health (sewing, food processing, rural lab), and agriculture and animal husbandry (polyhouse, poultry, goat farming, dairy nursery techniques).

As part of environmental conservation efforts, it has introduced students to the art of composting, specifically Vermiculture and Compost production. Composting is a natural process where organic materials are broken down into simpler organic and inorganic components. This process requires four key elements: organic matter, moisture, oxygen, and beneficial bacteria. Organic matter comprises plant materials and certain animal manures. By breaking these materials into smaller pieces through shredding, chopping, or mowing, they accelerate the composting process, increasing surface area for more efficient decomposition. The resulting compost can be utilized in municipal composting facilities or local community composting initiatives, contributing to sustainable waste management and soil enrichment.

Yusuf Meherally Centre champions the integration of rural development into mainstream initiatives, with a particular emphasis on promoting non-farm employment opportunities in rural India through the Khadi Gramodyog Andolan. Launched on January 30, 2005, in Rajkot, this movement has conducted various exhibition-cum-sales events and established a dedicated committee to oversee its operations. The Centre actively compiles data on village industries across states, cataloguing their products and collaborating with institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai to enhance technologies. It also focuses on raising awareness through literature, seminars, and exhibitions, and engaging the support of various stakeholders, including college students, trade unions, and environmentalists.

It boasts a nationwide presence, with its headquarters situated in Karnala, just 18km from Panvel, Navi Mumbai. The organisation effectively manages a 20-bed hospital at Tara, serving the healthcare needs of the surrounding Raigad district. A team of proficient doctors from various locations, including Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, provide specialized and routine medical services, encompassing eye cataract surgeries, general surgeries, dentistry, physiotherapy, and more. Currently facing challenges due to a Government road widening project, it remains committed to enhancing hospital facilities for uninterrupted service delivery.