Taking a serious note on the suicides due to the purported harassment or embarrassment caused by the collection agents of Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs), Minister for Rural Development, IKP, Pensions, NREGP and Self-Help Groups, Vatti Vasanth Kumar stated that the government was contemplating making an Act to streamline the operations of MFIs in AP. Talking to media persons in the New Delhi, the minister said that the government would frame rules and...

The controversy sparked by suicides and harassment of the rural poor by micro finance institutions has the Self-Employed women's Association (Sewa) founder and Ramon Magsaysay award winner Ela Bhatt worried. Ahmedabad-based Bhatt, who set up Sewa in 1972 and is considered a pioneer in the field of micro credit in India, called the big boys of the micro finance industry for an informal chat on Monday. However, she is learnt to...

Poverty and exploitation forced some tribal women in eastern Uttar Pradesh to turn to Naxals, who proved to be no different. Leading a pathetic life after being sexually exploited and abandoned by the extremists, eight tribal women have now sought CM Mayawati's intervention to help in their rehabilitation. Hailing from the Naxal-affected Kaimur range, which includes Robertsganj, Mirzapur, Sonebhadra and Chandauli, these women had joined the banned outfits between 2000-2005. Most...

India  has highest prevalence of underweight children under five and the level of hunger there is "alarming" as the country ranks 67, out of 84 countries, on the Global Hunger Index, a new study has found. About 40 per cent of under-five children in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, and Yemen were underweight, while Afghanistan, Angola, Chad, and Somalia have the highest under -five mortality rate - 20 per cent or more, a...

India dropped two ranks to 67th among 84 developing countries in the International Food Policy Research Institute's annual " Global Hunger Index" for 2010. Even Sudan, North Korea and Pakistan rank higher than India. While the report, released on Monday, shows that the proportion of undernourished in India is decreasing, the worsening ranking indicates that other developing countries have done better in tackling hunger. India is home to 42% of the...