Union Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh has said that ensuring economic empowerment in villages is the need of the hour. Inaugurating a 2-day national workshop on the Centre's Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojna in Bhopal today, Mr Singh said that the Centre's RURBAN mission will bring a radical change in the rural economy. <br/><br/>He said, besides providing with the basic necessities, ways to prosper economically should be made available in villages. Our correspondent reports that Union ministers Thawarchand Gehlot and Sudarshan Bhagat, and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also addressed the workshop.