The rural poor in Andhra Pradesh, a State showcased as a model for SHG-bank linkage, are caught in the vortex of microfinance. WITHIN a decade of their coming into operation, microfinance institutions (MFIs) have dealt a serious blow to the economy and the well-being of thousands of families in rural Andhra Pradesh. Harassment by their collection agents has allegedly driven at least 60 borrowers to death, and the number is...

In India, commercial banks, both public and private, are required to direct a large chunk of their net credit to designated “priority sectors” seen as having a positive impact on India’s economy, and wider society – to ensure funds flow into areas the government deems important, but might otherwise be neglected. These sectors – designated by the Reserve Bank of India – currently include broad areas of agriculture, small scale industries,...

After 47 days of their sit-in, government agrees to pay prevailing minimum wage From a black Diwali to a colourful Id! For hundreds of labourers who sat on dharna from October 2 near the Statue Circle here to press their demand for minimum wages under the MNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme), it was celebration time on Wednesday. After 47 days of sit-in protest, which was preceded by a...

Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh announced in Sariska on Wednesday Rs.30 crore for shifting villages from the Sariska Tiger Reserve. On a visit to the reserve after the death of CP1, one of the five tigers released there as part of the re-introduction of tigers, Mr. Ramesh expressed his concern over the incident but gave the go-ahead to his team there for the continuation of...

Gujarat government has calculated that the state's farmers suffered losses to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore last year as a result of export restrictions imposed by the Government of India on raw cotton. "Thanks to the restrictions, Gujarat's farmers, who exported most of the raw cotton being produced in the state, were forced to sell the commodity to the yarn mills of south India at a price which is...