As part of its ongoing 40^th anniversary celebrations, IDRC’s New Delhi office hosted a public lecture by Julio A. Berdegué, a renowned social scientist on “Dynamics of Rural Change in Latin America” on April 13, 2010 at the India International Centre, New Delhi.  Dr Berdegué is the Executive Director of Rimisp - Latin American Center for Rural Development, Santiago, Chile. According to Berdegué, rural transformation in India has set in motion important economic and social changes. The country now faces important challenges to manage the trade-offs and synergies between economic growth, poverty reduction, and income inequality. Latin America had to deal with this issue for many years and its experience can be of interest to those in India concerned with change in rural societies.