-Live Mint Cabinet clears proposal to give loans at 7% interest rate, and 4% if SHGs  repay loans within the stipulated period The federal cabinet has cleared a proposal to give loans to women self-help groups (SHGs) at 7% interest rate, cheaper than the existing 11.5-14%, bringing the cost of loans on a par with those given to farmers. SHGs that repay loans within the stipulated period will be eligible for loans at...

-The Hindu Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh made it clear on Friday that two of his ambitious projects - Umeed for empowerment of women and Himayat for capacity building and employment of youth - would be soon extended to all 143 rural development blocks in Jammu and Kashmir. Buoyed by massive response in the four blocks, two each in Kashmir and Jammu divisions, Mr. Ramesh is now planning dovetailing of the...

-The Hindu   "If we are going to be serious about supporting women's SHGs, then we need a development finance institution" Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's proposal to establish a bank exclusively for women - which he described as the highlight of this year's budget - may have garnered applause from across party lines in Parliament and could be set up as early as October; but that hasn't stopped his Cabinet colleague and Rural...

-PTI Government is all set to make its public housing programme for rural poor more accountable at panchayat level with new draft guidelines suggesting "proactive" disclosure of details of beneficiaries and making social audit of the scheme a must. The draft guidelines issued by the Rural Development Ministry say that the implementation of Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) should be informed to the local people through wall paintings or notice boards at the...

-The Hindu Kerala’s Kudumbashree network and the rural employment guarantee scheme have converged to provide a unique model of empowerment An incredible story of empowerment has been unfolding in the wake of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) programme in the State of Kerala. This is the story of how a socially engineered convergence of the scheme with panchayati raj institutions and the State sponsored community network of poor...