Knowledge Products of Microfinance – a Synthesis of Consolidated Replies

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Knowledge Products of Microfinance – a Synthesis of Consolidated Replies Knowledge ProductsKnowledge of Microfinance Knowledge Products of Facilitating Agencies Many thanks to all who contributed to this synthesis! for Microfi nance Community of Practice If you have further information on any of the topics in the synthesis, please Microfinance send it to Solution Exchange for the Microfi nance Community in India at [email protected] A Synthesis of Consolidated Replies Disclaimer: In posting messages or incorporating these messages into synthesised responses, the UN accepts no responsibility for their veracity or authenticity. Members intending to use or transmit the information contained in these messages should be aware that they are relying on their own judgment. Copyrighted under Creative Commons License “Attribution-NonCommercial- ShareAlike 2.5”. Re-users of this material must cite as their source Solution Exchange as well as the item’s recommender, if relevant, and must share any derivative work with the Solution Exchange Community. Solution Exchange is a UN initiative for development practitioners in India. For more information please visit www.solutionexchange-un.net.in A Synthesis of Consolidated Replies An Initiative of United Nations Country Team in India The offi ce of the UN Resident Coordinator 55, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi - 110 003, India Tel.: (91 11) 2462 8877; Fax: (91 11) 2462 7612 E-mail: [email protected]. Website: www.un.org.in This synthesis of the Consolidated Replies is sponsored by: United Nations Development Programme 55, Lodhi Estate New Delhi - 110003 Solution Exchange An Initiative of the United Nations in India Poverty The United Nations in India, has since 2005, supported a knowledge-sharing initiative to help improve Microfi nance Community development effectiveness in support of India’s Five Year Plans and the Millennium Development Goals. This initiative branded as ‘Solution Exchange’ develops ‘Communities of Practice’ for sharing knowledge and Vision of Microfi nance Community experience among practitioners from the government, NGOs, private sector, academia, activists, etc. The UN serves as a catalyst and plays a facilitative role, offering a free, impartial space where all development The Microfi nance Community works to reduce poverty through microfi nance professionals are welcome to participate. initiatives and innovations leading to enhance fi nancial inclusion; helping to develop appropriate technical, organisational, operational and policy environment to achieve Solution Exchange is focussed on practitioners, and brings out tacit experiential knowledge sitting in the MDGs relating to the eradication of Extreme Poverty & Hunger and targets set out in heads of practitioners, for the use of others through sharing. This leads to enhanced knowledge capture, Eleventh Five Year Plan. storage, and use. Solution Exchange seeks to empower practitioners by offering them “knowledge on demand” based on solutions from their peers. It has led to enhanced capacities of individuals and institutions, Focus Areas infl uence on programme implementation, infl uence on policies, and has made changes in knowledge and Creating an enabling policy and operational environment for promoting fi nancial attitude of practitioners. Today there are thirteen functional Communities of Practice. inclusion Enhancing the ‘depth’ of microfi nance by addressing disadvantaged groups and Active Communities of Practice and their Facilitating Agencies ‘breadth’ of microfi nance in terms of reaching out to remote and disadvantaged areas. Decentralization – UNDP Work & Employment –ILO; UNDP Microfi nance for specifi c sub-sectors, cluster, for sustainable Livelihoods Strengthening range of microfi nance products and services Water – UNICEF; UNDP Microfi nance – UNDP, ILO Promoting Innovative products and diversifi cation of Financial Services Identifi cation, propagation and use of innovative MF delivery mechanisms Food & Nutrition Security – FAO ICT for Development – UNESCO; Facilitating in development of organisational structures UNDP Focus on grassroots level microfi nance operation issues Promoting new technologies, systems and tools for fi nancial inclusion, management Gender – UNIFEM; UNICEF Disaster Management – UNDP of MF Projects Maternal & Child Health – WHO; UNFPA; Climate Change – UNDP For further information about the Microfi nance Community UNICEF Karnataka Community - UNICEF Visit: http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/en/index.php and click on the AIDS – UNAIDS Microfi nance Community link. Contact: [email protected] Or Education – UNESCO; UNICEF Resource Team Navin Anand Monika Khanna Resource Person and Moderator Research Associate These Communities of Practice (CoP) are people who share similar concerns and interests, through electronic 55, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi 110003, 55, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi, 110003, e-mail groups and face-to-face interactions, with the common objective of problem-solving. The initiative India India has been in operation since 2005, and has grown dramatically over its three years of existence. At present Tel.: 91-11-24628877, Ext. 373 Tel.: 91-11-24628877, Ext. 327 it has thirteen Communities of Practice, with a membership base of nearly 14,000 members and 24,000 Fax: 91-11-24627612 Fax: 91-11-24627612 subscriptions (a member may be subscribed to multiple Communities). [email protected] [email protected] *Please visit www.solutionexchange-un.net.in to get a better idea of Solution Exchange Knowledge Products of Microfinance A Synthesis of Consolidated Replies Peer Reviewers External Reviewers Mr. Harish Chotani and Mr. Brij Mohan Internal Reviewers Prema Gera (Head, Poverty Unit, UNDP India) and Pankaj Shrivastav (M & E Analyst, UNDP, India) Compilation, Synthesis Papers and Overview Dr. Navin Anand (Resource Person) and Monika Khanna (Research Associate) Microfinance Community of Practice, Solution Exchange, United Nations Editing Peter Westman Design, layout and printing New Concept Information Systems Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi Foreword Solution Exchange is a knowledge sharing initiative The synthesis papers present an overview of the of the United Nations in India, targeted at helping discussions held within the Community on these development practitioners to move towards attaining themes. More importantly, they also identify the national and Millennium Development Goals. The strategically crucial issues that need to be taken up Microfinance Community of Solution Exchange brings for discussion in the coming year. together persons working on financial services for meeting basic needs, enhancing investment in For practitioners of microfinance this volume is a income generating and asset-building activities, and reference book for trouble shooting and problem addressing risks for the poor. Since its inception in solving on day-to-day problems faced by them in October 2006, it has emerged as a neutral platform implementing microfinance at grassroots. For others, to connect grassroots workers, Micro Finance it should be useful for guiding future work on various Institutions, banks, private sector and government innovative issues (e.g. ‘Health Mutuals’, Microfinance agencies, and has issued about 50 knowledge products in disaster affected areas, Micro health insurance, in the form of Consolidated Replies (CRs) to queries. Housing microfinance for the poor, etc.). The document The incorporation of suggestions by the microfinance will be of special interest to agencies working on community into Reserve Bank of India guidelines on financial inclusion of the most disadvantaged groups mobile banking payments is an illustration of the in India, such as UNDP and ILO. The volume also lists catalytic policy role that the microfinance community agencies and experts working on various topics within has started playing in the country. Microfinance, who may be available as a common pool resource to guide formulation of new projects and to The Advisory Group for the community (called the design ongoing projects. “Resource Group”) appreciated these stand-alone CRs the community has brought out in the past two years. UNDP is open to partner organisations in different However, they expressed an urgent need for synthesising states translating this document into regional these CRs around common themes, and issuing the languages and disseminating it to a wider audience. synthesis as separate value added knowledge products. The current volume is the first of such attempts. In I look forward to this publication being used widely addition to containing all CRs issued so far by the to work towards achieving financial and economic Microfinance Community, it also contains a synthesis of inclusion of the poorest and the disadvantaged the CRs around the following themes: sections in the country. • Microfinance Products, Services and Delivery Mechanism Best Wishes, • Microfinance for Livelihoods and its Sub sectors • Microfinance for Inclusion Deirdre Boyd • Microfinance Technologies, Tools, Processes and Country Director Systems United Nations Development Programme • Enabling Policy and Institutional Environment New Delhi, India for Microfinance Foreword iii Acknowledgements The ‘Knowledge Products of Microfinance - A Synthesis of Consolidated Replies’ is a joint product of Solution Exchange, United Nations and United Nations Development Programme, India. The preparation of this synthesis document owes a great deal to all the contributors of 50 Knowledge Products incorporated in this document. These contributors are from almost all the states of India and from a variety of organisations
Recommended publications
  • Enhancing Care for Urban Poor Living with Chronic Conditions: Role of Local Health Systems
    Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Department of Public Health Enhancing care for urban poor living with chronic conditions: role of local health systems Upendra Bhojani Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Health Sciences Promoters: Prof. Stefaan De Henauw (promoter) Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium Prof. Patrick Kolsteren (co-promoter) Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium Dr. N Devadasan (co-promoter) Institute of Public Health, Bangalore, India ISBN: 9789078344445 Legal Deposit Number: D/2016/4531/2 Appeared in the series Monographs of the Department of Public Health, Ghent University Photos including on the cover are by Bhargav Shandilya ! " Chair Prof. Koen Van Herck Department of Public Health, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium Members Prof. Sara Willems Department of Family Medicine and Primary Health Care, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium Prof. Lucas Van Bortel Clinical Pharmacology Research Unit, Heymans Institute of Pharmacology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium Prof. Bruno Lapauw Department of Endocrinology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium Prof. Jean Macq Faculty of Public Health, Dean, Institut de recherche santé et société, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium Prof. C A K Yesudian Retired as Dean, School of Health System Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India $ PREFACE My decision to embark on a PhD journey has a lot to do with the Institute of Public Health (IPH), a not-for-profit organization based in Bangalore, engaged in public health research, training and advocacy. After working as a dentist at a teaching–hospital in western India, I decided to go for a Master in Public Health at the Deakin University (Australia) in 2005.
    [Show full text]
  • How Much Do Old Age and Widow's Pensions Help the Poor in India?
    ESCAP SOUTH AND SOUTH-WEST ASIA OFFICE HOW MUCH DO SMALL OLD AGE PENSIONS AND WIDOWS’ PENSIONS HELP THE POOR IN INDIA? An ex-post evaluation of the National Social Assistance Programme and implications for its planned reform Christopher Garroway September 2013 DEVELOPMENT PAPERS 1306 PAPERS DEVELOPMENT South and South-West Asia O!ce How much do small old age pensions and widow’s pensions help the poor in India? An ex-post evaluation of the National Social Assistance Programme and implications for its planned reform Christopher Garroway1 ABSTRACT The National Social Assistance Programme consists of five social assistance transfers, which form the core of India’s fledgling minimum social protection floor. These transfers have been scaled up over the last decade and further steps will soon be taken towards their universalization with exclusion criteria. This paper provides a rigorous evaluation of two of the NSAP schemes, the old age pension and the widow’s pension. Using the 2005 Indian Human Development Survey data’s detailed information on household income and consumption expenditure, the paper measures the impact of the two pensions on household’s incomes, consumption and poverty status, using the propensity score matching estimator. The pensions are found to vary in their effectiveness given the wide diversity of recipients across income quintiles, spatial location, and social group. The widow’s pension is shown to reduce poverty among recipients by about 2.7 percentage points. Government attempts to target the pensions to poor households have been ineffective, and steps towards universalization may in fact improve the pensions’ effectiveness. 1 The author is an economist with the United Nations ESCAP South and South-West Asia Office in New Delhi, India.
    [Show full text]
  • Final Thesis
    ADDRESSING INFORMATION ASYMMETRY IN THE SOCIAL CONTRACT: AN ARCHIVAL-DIPLOMATIC APPROACH TO OPEN GOVERNMENT DATA CURATION James Lowry A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Information Studies UCL London, UK 2019 1 Declaration of Originality I, James Lowry, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Signed: James Lowry PhD candidate 2 Dedicated to William and Elaine Lowry 3 ABSTRACT This thesis shows that the concepts and practices developed in the field of record-keeping can be applied to the curation of open government data to strengthen the trustworthiness of that data. It begins by situating open government data in the context of the social contract, which operates through the exchange of information. The thesis develops the notions of the ‘record-as-command’ and ‘data-as-command’ to explain the dialogical but asymmetrical information relationship between the individual and the state, which is modelled as a principal-agent problem. Using concepts from information economics, the study argues that open government data is the latest monitoring mechanism in a long history of government secrecy and openness. This establishes the significance of the curation of open government data beyond technical questions. The thesis then considers how trustworthiness has figured in thinking about record-keeping, identifying three core record-keeping controls; 1) metadata used to document 2) custodianship in 3) auditable systems. To show how these three broad controls have been put into practice, the study examines two examples of record-keeping guidance, one for paper records and one for hybrid records, which demonstrates the application of the three core controls across time and media.
    [Show full text]
  • Employee Pensions in India
    Employee pensions in India Current practices, challenges and prospects December 2015 KPMG.com/in © 2015 KPMG, an Indian Registered Partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. Table of contents Introduction An overview of employer pension plans in India Comparative analysis of EPF, NPS and SAF Factors impacting growth of employee pensions in India An international perspective on pension practices Survey results – KPMG in India’s Employer pension plans survey, 2015 Industry voices Conclusion © 2015 KPMG, an Indian Registered Partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. © 2015 KPMG, an Indian Registered Partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved. Introduction The increasing life expectancy coupled with the gradual disappearance of the extended family system, makes it imperative for India to design a robust pension system to avoid impoverishment in old-age and accompanying social distress. The current scenario in India is marked by low and insufficient pension coverage. Timely and smart policy interventions, when a majority of the Indian population is still young, can help avert an impending pension crisis. It is important for all the key stakeholders such as the government, regulators, employees and employers to engage in a focused and constructive discussion to explore new ways to broaden and deepen pension coverage in India.
    [Show full text]
  • The Chronic Poverty Report 2004–05
    Discript Postscript CRC Stage: Final page Date: 14/04/04 File: {CPR}3B2FILES/THIRD/3P10E-01.3D.3D Folio: 1 Black plate (1,1) The Chronic Poverty Report 2004–05 Chronic Poverty Research Centre Discript Postscript CRC Stage: Final page Date: 14/04/04 File: {CPR}3B2FILES/THIRD/3P10E-01.3D.3D Folio: 2 Black plate (2,1) Acknowledgements The Chronic Poverty Report 2004–05 is the outcome of research, analysis, Picture credits engagement, listening and thinking by the Chronic Poverty Research Cen- Front cover photos tre (CPRC) partners listed below. Top left: Uganda. Grandfather and orphaned child. CPRC would like to thank the many people living in chronic poverty who Giacomo Pirozzi/Panos have shared their experience and knowledge with us. This has informed Top right: Nepal. Woman carrying firewood, fodder and child. Steve McCurry/Magnum our understanding of chronic poverty and what should be done about it. Bottom left: Bangladesh. Living on the railway The report was written by Ursula Grant, David Hulme, Karen Moore and tracks. Stuart Franklin/Magnum Andrew Shepherd with advice and contributions from all CPRC partners: Bottom right: Ethiopia. Desperate farmer with Phil Amis, Armando Barrientos, Bob Baulch, Kate Bird, Sarah Bracking, handful of immature wheat. David Dahmen/Panos Chapter One Jonathan Goodhand, Tony German, Mark Gorman, Amanda Heslop, Sam Ethiopia, farmer with wheat: David Dahmen/Panos Hickey, Aasha Kapur Mehta, Uma Kothari, David Lawson, Charles Lwanga Bangladesh – Dacca railway tracks: Stuart Franklin/ Ntale, Rachel Marcus, Dorothy McCormick, Andy McKay, Diana Mitlin, Magnum Photos John Okidi, Judith Randel, Binayak Sen, Amita Shah, Cobus de Swardt, Nepal – carrying firewood and a child: Steve Andries du Toit and Rebecca Yeo.
    [Show full text]
  • Poverty Target Programs for the Elderly in India
    Background Paper for the Chronic Poverty Report 2008-09 Poverty Target Programs for The Elderly In India With Special Reference to National Old Age Pension Scheme, 1995 Anand Kumar Navneet Anand February 2006 Poverty target Programs For The Elderly in India Table of Contents 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 4 2. Background .............................................................................................................. 6 3. India: A Changing Society....................................................................................... 8 3.1. The Demographic Shift. Disadvantage: Elderly............................................... 10 4. Poverty In India ...................................................................................................... 13 4.1. Challenge of Chronic Poverty Among Elderly ................................................. 16 5. Care For Elderly: Post Independence Prescriptions .......................................... 18 6. Welfare State, Poverty and The Elderly ............................................................... 20 6.1. Conceptualisation of the Welfare State ........................................................... 20 6.2. Social Security in the Initial Years ................................................................... 22 6.3. The Era of Liberalisation ................................................................................. 28 7. National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS)
    [Show full text]
  • Delhi Government Performance: 2015-2019
    Delhi Government Performance: 2015-2019 January 2020 Dialogue & Development Commission of Delhi 1 Education Healthcare Water Electricity Transport Environment Governance Social Security Women’s Safety Budget and Revenues Dialogue & Development Commission of Delhi 2 EDUCATION|SUMMARY An Incredible turn-around story 2015 2019 • Decades of neglect had left Delhi • Modernizing Infrastructure: Fixing acute government school infrastructure in deep shortage of classrooms, building schools of disrepair – with students and teachers having excellence with world class facilities to spend their day in inhumane conditions • Teacher Training: Capacity building of teaching staff and principals • Severe shortage of rooms and teachers • Accountability & Transparency: Making school • Morale & motivation of teachers and administration accountable and admissions principals at an all time low transparent • Improving Learning outcomes through • Poor learning and literacy levels amongst interventions such as Chunauti, Mission students, with 3 out of 4 students in Class 6 Buniyaad, the acclaimed Happiness Curriculum, unable to even read their textbooks and Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum. Dialogue & Development Commission of Delhi 3 EDUCATION|KEY FACTORS The Key Factors WORLD-CLASS INFRASTRUCTURE TEACHERS & PARENTS CLASSROOM PRACTICES Increasing the budget investment Investing heavily in teacher Focused Remediation programs to in Education to 26% (the highest training at global centres of improve numeracy & literacy and a among all Indian States) and eminence (Finland, Cambridge, 40% improvement in Spoken English almost doubling the classrooms Singapore). proficiency at the lowest level. (24k to 45k) to ensure that students in Delhi Government Strengthening the School Innovative Curricula (Happiness and Management Committees to Entrepreneurship Mindset) that schools have access to world st class infrastructure. improve parental involvement.
    [Show full text]
  • Celebrations for Private Circulation Only
    MARCH 2012 MARCH Pages 44 `20 Celebrations 2012 Actuarial Gala Function IV ISSUE 3 VOL. and Awards (2012 AGFA) For Private Circulation Only C O N T E N T S www.actuariesindia.org Chief Editor FROM THE CHIEF EDITOR Face TO Face WITH CONTENTS Taket, Nick 4 NICK TAKET wishes the IRDA's initiative on 31 • Vijay Balgobin – first fellow of IAI 2011 Tel: +91/22/6740-3333 product design success in promoting the life from Mauritius Email: [email protected] insurance industry • Nikhil Gupta – Meena Sidhwani Award winner 2011 • Arjun Nagal – ACET January 2012 Topper Editor IntroDuctory ADDRESS Sharma, Sunil 5 14th GCA 20th – 21st February 2012: Email: [email protected] Introductory Address by STUDents Column President, Liyaquat Khan during the 34 • IAI student Event Inaugural function on 20th February Puzzle Editor • Coaching ST4 students and a visit to India Mainekar, Shilpa by Ian Rogers Email: [email protected] Keynote ADDRESS • Coaching ST2 (Life Insurance) students 8 14th GCA Inaugural function, 20th February by Marjorie Ngwenya 2012 : Keynote Address by Manager (Library and Publishing) J. Hari Narayan, Chairperson IRDA Rautela, Binita 35 FAREWELL AND Welcome Tel: +91 22 6784 3325 Email: [email protected] REPORTAGE 11 • 2012 Actuarial Gala Function and From THE Press 37 IAA news release: IAA adopts principles of Awards (AGFA) by Avdhesh Gupta professionalism for its member associations COUNTRY REPORTERS • Plenary Sessions by Avdhesh Gupta Smith, John Laurence • Concurrent sessions on Pension, New Zealand Employee
    [Show full text]
  • AR\ Wf UVU Dvarcrezded
    #!! % RNI Regn. No. MPENG/2004/13703, Regd. No. L-2/BPLON/41/2006-2008 &!$'()* &'&' ( )&*+ ,,-./ 0 4 # ' 0 0 64 !"# $"% 63 $$%!#%& &%!&%& 45 788 ' ' 3 '9 '' %!'%&&%! 42:; 5$ <= >% '(%$ % % . &&-$ ,- + # #'(+,-'./ 0 ',1*'23- !"# $"%# &' ( ) ) ! " wastage of police resources in providing unnecessary securi- he Jammu & Kashmir ty to a large number of non- # $% TGovernment on Sunday government persons in the stripped four separatist leaders, State. including Mirwaiz Umar Reacting to the withdraw- Farooq, of their security cover al of security, the Mirwaiz-led and allied arrangements with All Parties Hurriyat Conference immediate effect. spokesperson said that the sep- The order was issued by aratist leaders never asked for the State Government three security and that they had days after a CRPF convoy was repeatedly said that the attacked in which 44 CRPF Government can withdraw it. jawans were killed in Lethpora Meanwhile, J&K BJP pres- area of Pulwama. ident Ravinder Raina wel- Union Home Minister comed the Government deci- rime Minister Narendra Rajnath Singh had said earlier sion to withdraw security cover PModi on Sunday asserted that the security provided to of the separatist leaders and that he was filled with grief and those who “receive money said he would “like them to be outrage, just like the people of from Pakistan would be arrested and jailed” outside the country, in the wake of the reviewed.” the State. terrorist attack in Pulwama According to the State “The Hurriyat people are which claimed the lives of 44 ous response from the crowd. Government order issued by the real enemies of the CRPF personnel. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish the office of Principal Secretary Kashmiris and they are the In this north Bihar town to Kumar and Deputy CM Sushil of Home Department, on ones who ruined the Valley.
    [Show full text]
  • Evaluation of Rehabilitation of Devadasi Programme, Implemented by the Karnataka State Women’S Development Corporation, Bengaluru
    Evaluation of Rehabilitation of Devadasi Programme, implemented by the Karnataka State Women’s Development Corporation, Bengaluru External Evaluation STUDY CONDUCTED FOR Karnataka Evaluation Authority AND Karnataka State Women’s Development Corporation Ltd, Government of Karnataka BY M/s Hyderabad Karnataka Centre For Advanced Learning, H. No. 10-2-152, Bank Colony, Sangameshwara Nagar March Gulbarga- 585 101 2017 GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA KARNATAKA EVALUATION AUTHORITY Final Report On Evaluation of Rehabilitation of Devadasi Program, implemented by the Karnataka State Women’s Development Corporation, Bengaluru 2016 Chief Consultant: Dr. Sudeshna Mukherjee, PhD Submitted by Hyderabad Karnataka Centre for Advanced Learning, Gulbarga State Office: HKCAL, Bangalore # 68/14, Sai Deep, 1st Floor, 2nd Main, Krishna Block Sheshadripuram, Bangalore -20 Evaluation of Rehabilitation of Devadasi Programmme Content Sl. No Particulars Page No. 1. Pre face 1 2. Executive Summery 3 3. Introduction 9 4. Log Frame/ Project theory 11 5. Progress Review 16 6. Problem Statement 17 7. Scope, objectives and Evaluation Questions 20 8. Evaluation Design 22 9. Evaluation Methodology 23 10. Data collection and Analysis 33 11. Findings and Discussions 58 12. Reflections and Conclusion 66 13. Recommendation 73 14. Appendices I List of references cited in the report 76 II Terms of Reference of the evaluation study 77 III Inception report of the study along with the data collection 91 instruments IV A more complete description of the methods and 135 methodologies used V List of individuals of groups interviewed / consulted and sited 136 visited VI Dissenting views by evaluation team member or client if any 137 VII Short biographies of the principal investigators 138 VIII Evaluation Questions and answer Matrix 147 1 Evaluation of Rehabilitation of Devadasi Programmme List of Tables Table No Particulars Page No.
    [Show full text]
  • Micropensions: Helping the Poor Save for Old Age∗
    Micropensions: Helping the Poor Save for Old Age∗ Anita Mukherjeey April 21, 2014 Abstract Micropensions provide a new mechanism to smooth lifecyle income for poor workers in developing countries. Using a field experiment involving a population of below- poverty-line households in Uttar Pradesh, India, I test hypotheses about key features of the micropension: the minimum withdrawal age, government match rate, lump sum withdrawal options. Most households reported interest in the micropension, and their annual willingness to contribute (WTC) was about 30 percent of expected annual old age consumption. I find that households value the commitment features of the product: either the inability to access the assets until a particular age, or a feature that discourages early withdrawal. I also find that households responded to a government match (50 or 100 percent) by increasing their WTC by 15 percent. Most covariates, including financial literacy, predict micropension demand in the expected direction. ∗I thank Olivia S. Mitchell for helpful discussions at each step of this project. I also thank Amanda Chuan, Sarthak Gaurav, Aditi Sen and Jeremy Tobacman for helpful comments. I owe a great deal to Shahid Vaziralli and Shardul Oza at the Centre for Microfinance for conducting the fieldwork for this project. I gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Yale Savings and Payments Research Fund at Innovations for Poverty Action (sponsored by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) and funding from the Wharton Risk Center's Russell Ackoff Doctoral Fellowship. This project was also supported by Grant Number P30AG012836 from the National Institute On Aging. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute On Aging or the National Institutes of Health.
    [Show full text]
  • Challenging the Devadasi System from a Framework Of
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Texas A&amp;M Repository CHALLENGING THE DEVADASI SYSTEM FROM A FRAMEWORK OF INTERSECTIONALITY A Dissertation by MRUDULA ANNE Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Chair of Committee, Jamie Callahan Committee Members, Lisa Baumgartner Dongxiao Liu Jia Wang Head of Department, Fredrick Nafukho December 2014 Major Subject: Educational Human Resource Development Copyright 2014 Mrudula Anne ABSTRACT The practice of marrying girls to deities or priests existed historically in many cultures across South Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. In India alone, this system is known by different names like Devadasi, Mathamma, Jogini, Basavis. Through this study, I represent the unheard voices of Devadasi women from South India and use HRD concepts and principles to synthesize the findings. The field of HRD is not confined to the boundaries of an organization and can play a critical role in community development. This is the first step towards empowering the members of this system and it is hoped that the findings from this study will help inform the organizational practices of NGO’s working with this populace. This study includes a unique set of participants whose experiences have not been captured and examined using intersectionality and Bourdieu, thus contributing to literature. Data was collected through interviews with Devadasi women from South India, specifically Nizamabad, Mahabubnagar, and Tirupati. Five themes emerged from the data – dichotomy, identity, status, fear and locus of control.
    [Show full text]