IGNOU MARD Project Hard Copy (MRDP 1): Printed Sets and Binding Guide

IGNOU MARD Project Hard Copy: What You Get and Who It Suits

This category holds printed, bound reference sets for the IGNOU MARD project, MRDP 1 (also written MRDP-001), the 12-credit dissertation of IGNOU’s MA Rural Development programme. Each set is a synopsis and dissertation model you can read on paper, mark up and carry to supervisor meetings while you build your own study. It is reference material, never a dissertation to submit.

A printed set suits students who plan their fieldwork away from a screen, who want to show a supervisor how a chapter or an interview schedule is usually laid out, or who simply study better with a pen in hand. Shri Chakradhar Publication has served IGNOU distance learners since 2010 and prints its material at its own press in New Delhi, and printed sets are posted to your address. If you only need the file, the IGNOU MARD project soft copy category carries PDF sets along with the topic, synopsis and fieldwork guidance for MRDP 1.

The rest of this page deals with the physical side of your own MARD dissertation: how the MRDP-001 Project Work Handbook asks you to print and bind it, what must be bound inside it, where the finished copy goes and what it costs to have it evaluated.

MARD Project Soft Copy (PDF)All Project Hard Copies

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Where Does the MRDP 1 Dissertation Go: By Post, By Hand or Upload?

The MRDP-001 handbook says one bound copy of the MARD dissertation goes to the Registrar, SR&E Division, IGNOU, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi 110068, either by registered post or delivered by hand. That division now works as the Student Evaluation Division (SED). In recent Term-End cycles IGNOU has also opened an online portal for project reports, so check which route the notice for your cycle allows.

The two routes need different preparation. A posted copy is the bound volume itself. An uploaded copy is a scan of that same volume, and IGNOU’s online instructions for project reports are strict about completeness: incomplete submissions are not evaluated and are removed from the portal after the last date, so the student has to upload again for the next session, and reports sent by email are not considered. The portal instructions also ask for the approved proposal proforma in original, the synopsis and the originality certificate signed by student and guide, together with the guide’s bio-data, wherever applicable. The MARD proforma (Annexure IV of the handbook) has no bio-data section, which is exactly the kind of item that “wherever applicable” covers; if the portal form for your cycle insists on it, ask your Study Centre before you upload.

Whichever route applies, the handbook’s rule on copies still holds: prepare two bound copies, one for IGNOU and one for yourself. The copy you send is not returned.

The Binder’s Instruction Sheet for an MRDP 1 Dissertation

The MRDP-001 handbook fixes a short list of printing and binding rules: double spacing, 12-point type, A-4 paper, page numbers, a proper hard cover (preferably light rose, the official colour of SOCE), and no loose or spiral binding. Hand the sheet below to your print shop so the volume is right the first time.

Everything in the left column comes from the handbook’s checklist. The right column is practical advice from our own press work, marked as such, for points the handbook leaves open.

Which Pages Need Original Signatures Before Binding?

Three items in the MARD dissertation carry signatures and should be originals, not photocopies: the approved proposal proforma signed by your guide, your declaration of originality, and your supervisor’s certificate. The handbook asks that the original approved proposal be attached before the copies are bound, so collect every signature first and bind last.

The proforma (Annexure IV) records the guide’s name, address and signature, your details and enrolment number, the study centre, the project title and an Approved mark with a date. The declaration (Annexure V) states that the dissertation is your own work, has not been submitted to IGNOU or any other institution, and lifts no chapter from earlier work. The supervisor’s certificate (Annexure VI) confirms that the work was done under their guidance and is genuine and original. The first page must carry your name, enrolment number, full address and the supervisor’s name. Because the approved proposal is bound into the volume, the title printed on the cover should match the title on the approved proforma.

For the second copy you keep, a clear photocopy of the signed pages is enough; the original set belongs in the copy that goes to IGNOU. If you upload instead of posting, scan the volume that holds the original signatures.

The Rs 500 Evaluation Fee, Timing and the Wait for Results

MRDP 1 is a 12-credit project, so it falls in IGNOU’s higher project evaluation fee band of Rs 500, paid along with the Term-End Examination form. The handbook says evaluation takes about four to six months, carried out by a pool of experts drawn from across the country, and the submitted report is not returned to you.

The fee rule comes from the Common Prospectus, July 2026 and the Student Evaluation Division fee portal, which apply project evaluation fees from the January 2023 admission cycle onwards: Rs 300 for projects up to 4 credits and Rs 500 above 4 credits. Keep the fee receipt with your submission proof. The handbook sets no fixed submission calendar for MARD, so the last date that matters is the one in IGNOU’s notice for the Term-End cycle in which you want the result. With four to six months of evaluation, a dissertation submitted late in a cycle may not be graded until well into the next one; plan the binding and posting with that gap in mind.

Get a Printed MRDP 1 Set Before You Bind

Printed Set or PDF: Which MARD Format Should You Buy?

Buy the printed MARD set if you will study it away from a screen or take it to supervisor meetings; buy the PDF if you mainly need to search it, zoom into tables or read it on your phone. Neither format is meant to be submitted.

The PDF arrives immediately after payment. The printed set takes postal time, so order it early if you want it in hand before you draft the proposal or before you send the final draft to the binder. Students who are unsure often start with the PDF of a title close to their own area and move to print later. Both formats come with the same warning printed in the MRDP-001 handbook: a dissertation found to be copied, repeated or translated from another is rejected, and debarment can follow, so the survey, the data and the writing must be yours.

For the theory courses of the programme, see MARD books, MARD solved assignments and MARD guess papers. PG Diploma in Rural Development students need the PGDRD project hard copy category (MRDP 205), and online MA students the MARDOL project hard copy category.

Help Me Choose PDF or Printed

MARD Hard Copy and Submission Questions

Can the MARD dissertation be spiral bound?

No. The MRDP-001 handbook states that loose or spiral binding is not permitted and asks for a proper hard cover. Spiral binding appears in some product listings for synopsis drafts, which is a different document.

Is there a viva-voce for the MARD project?

The MRDP-001 handbook does not describe a viva for MRDP 1; it describes evaluation of the dissertation by a pool of experts. The earlier version of this page said there may be a viva, and several websites say so too, without an IGNOU source. Follow any written instruction you receive from IGNOU for your own case.

Are 30 March and 30 September the MARD synopsis deadlines?

These dates appear on many sites, including the earlier version of this page, but they are not in the MRDP-001 handbook, which gives no synopsis calendar because the synopsis is approved by your supervisor. Report dates follow IGNOU’s notice for each Term-End cycle.

Do I need an ethics committee or IRB approval for the MARD survey?

The MRDP-001 handbook does not require ethics committee approval; the approval it asks for is your supervisor’s signature on the proforma. Informed consent and confidentiality for respondents are still good practice, and the handbook’s own sample questionnaire promises respondents confidentiality.

Should the synopsis also be posted to IGNOU?

No. The handbook tells you to give the proposal only to your supervisor and not to mail it to IGNOU headquarters or the Regional Centre. It reaches IGNOU later, bound inside your dissertation.

Can I get my submitted MARD dissertation back?

No. The handbook states that the project report submitted to IGNOU will not be returned, which is why it asks you to prepare a second copy for yourself.

Sources, Review and Disclaimer

Every procedural statement on this page was checked on 25 September 2026 against the documents below. Where a document is silent, the page says so, and practical advice from our press is marked as ours.

• eGyanKosh, MRDP-001 Dissertation: the MRDP-001 Project Work Handbook (SOCE), including its report submission checklist and Annexures IV to VI, read in full.
• IGNOU online project upload instructions (June 2025 cycle page): completeness, email and document rules for uploaded reports.
• IGNOU Student Evaluation Division, project and practical fee portal.
• IGNOU Common Prospectus, July 2026: MRDP 1 credits, project evaluation fee.
• IGNOU MARD programme page (SOCE).

Written and reviewed by BK Sahni, founder of Shri Chakradhar Publication Private Limited, New Delhi, which has served IGNOU distance learners since 2010 with its own printing press and writing team. Last reviewed: 25 September 2026.

Shri Chakradhar Publication is an independent publisher and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or acting for IGNOU. Printed and PDF sets in this category are reference material for study; your MARD dissertation must be your own work, prepared under your supervisor. Submission routes and dates change from cycle to cycle, so confirm them in IGNOU’s notice for your Term-End cycle. For a made-to-order study, see our customised project service, or contact us on 9354637830 or 9958947060.