Unique features of the public wage programme turn it into a magnet for women More women than men work under the national programme that guarantees employment to rural people. In the current fiscal till October, women availed of more than 50 per cent of employment created under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Their participation has been growing since the inception of the Act in 2006. This is...

Time magazine picked him as one of 100 people shaping our world. Today, he’s held responsible for bringing an exciting, inspirational business into disrepute. Oh, and his wife says he beat her and snatched their son. There could not be a more controversial torchbearer than Vikram Akula for an industry as quintessentially Indian as microfinance, the business of providing the poor with loans, as small as R5,000, secured not with...

Ms. Bhatt has helped poor women attain dignity and independence “Investing in women is one of the most powerful ways to fight poverty” Ela Bhatt, founder of the Self-Employed Women's Association, was presented with the first Global Fairness Initiative Award by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, “for her contribution to India and particularly the women of India, and to the global community.” Speaking at the awards ceremony held at the Kennedy...

India's Public Distribution System (PDS) has been in a bad shape for decades, often thought to be beyond repair. Recent experience, however, suggests otherwise. Political will, increased transparency and community participation have led to an amazing revival of the PDS in Chhattisgarh though the state has only shown contempt for people's rights in other contexts… Somehow, the PDS became a political priority in Chhattisgarh and a decision was made to turn...

Tight liquidity continues; rise in bank rates likely for such lending. The Andhra Pradesh government will take some time to reply in the high court to the petitions filed against the Andhra Pradesh Microfinance Institutions (Regulation of Money Lending) Ordinance, issued last month. The Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN), SKS Micro Finance and Spandana Sphoorty Financial have filed petitions saying the ordinance threatens to disrupt their business. The government sought an extension after...