-CNN-IBN Kerala: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme had helped women improve their social and economic status, according to a study by a university. The study by the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) showed that 97.3% of workers under the scheme are women. Conducted as part of a project on Impact Assessment Study of MGNREG scheme in Alappuzha District, the study was funded by Kerala State Institute of Rural...

-The Indian Express The prime minister's Jan Dhan Yojana (JDY) is, in many ways, an improvement over previous financial-inclusion schemes. And with an aggressive target to cover 15 crore households with basic banking services, including an overdraft facility, debit card as well as accident and life insurance cover, it is the most ambitious attempt yet. However, to achieve its promise, the JDY needs to focus on implementation. As suggested by the...

-The Business Standard   The Jan Dhan Yojana has a lot of gaps to fill The NDAs financial inclusion programme, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, targets poor households unlike similar schemes of the UPA, which focussed on villages. The scheme targets rural and urban unbanked households. That said, the scheme too has its own share of flaws. Misplaced enthusiasm A chat with poor casual workers after the launch of the Yojana gave the impression that...

-The Business Standard Financial inclusion must be set up to pay for itself The Jan Dhan Yojana, a scheme for financial inclusion announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech, intends to take banking services to the 40 per cent of India that does not have bank accounts. This task is daunting. A good portion of those no-frills accounts that have already been opened have only minimal activity -...

-The Hindu Business Line A new approach to financial inclusion using post offices The Government is making intensive efforts to extend access to financial resources such as savings accounts, credit and insurance services to unbanked sections of our society, and the knowledge and freedom to leverage them to one's benefit. The Budget has already mentioned that the Government considers financial inclusion as an important thrust area and the Prime Minister is expected...