Amid the heat and dust over high interest rates charged by microfinance institutions and reports of coercive recovery methods by some lenders in Andhra Pradesh, MFIs in eastern India are trying to strike a more cordial note with borrowers by lowering interest rates. At least three MFIs based out of Kolkata are on the verge of slashing lending rates by nearly 500 basis points to 19.1% per annum, on reducing balance...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Total Matching Records found : 2481
'After elections, netas treat us like dogs if we ask them for work' by Sandeep Mishra
Neither celebrity nor politician, Sita Murmu, is extraordinary because she is the great survivor of that `other India'. She is not a beneficiary of the job guarantee scheme MGNREGA and doesn't have a BPL card. In her 60s, she lives in a Bhubaneswar slum and describes herself as a tribal widow without any land, regular income or schooling but "surviving —that itself is enough". Railing at the false promises of...
More »Informal literacy scheme takes off
Total primary education programme for school dropouts in 15-50 age group Education and Cultural Affairs Minister M.A. Baby on Sunday launched a new informal literacy programme which he claimed would gather momentum to become a mass movement in line with the highly successful ‘literacy movement' of the past. The initiative, ‘Athulyam', is a total primary education programme which has a series of linked schemes that aim to re-educate primary school dropouts. The first...
More »India elected on UN Women's board, Iran's bid fails
India has been elected to the board of a new UN agency to promote equality for women but Iran failed to win a seat due to strong opposition from the US and human rights groups. UN Women is the amalgamation of different United Nations bodies focused on women. It was created this year to look exclusively at gender equality and empowerment of women. The 41-member executive board also includes the US and...
More »Panel eye on grain storage
The Centre today informed the Supreme Court it has set up a 10-member committee to monitor creation of foodgrain storage capacity and prudently manage stocks but sidestepped the matter of releasing more to the public distribution system (PDS). The committee will be headed by the secretary, food and public distribution. The court has repeatedly asked for more grain for ration shops so that it reaches the poor. The government has been resisting,...
More »
