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“Gift-a-Pension” Initiative Helps Maids, Drivers, Cooks Save for Their Retirement in India
This September, A Mary, 47, got something she never thought she ever could — not a car or a home but a pension. A house help and a mother of two whose husband is a driver, Delhi-based Mary always viewed a pension as something only the affluent could afford — until her employer Kurt Strasser, a senior sector specialist at German development bank KfW, brought it within her reach.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
- Region
- South Asia
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India ‘Too Reliant’ on Chinese Drug Imports, Worries Delhi
There's loud chatter in Mandarin, Hindi and English - all thrown in a heady mix of business, big numbers, and of course money converted in at least two currencies.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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In healthcare starved Assam, Dholmara health centre sets example of super-effective functioning
The primary health centre (PHC) in Dholmara village in Kokrajhar is run by Dr Atawor Rehman, who doesn't have an MBBS degree, yet is known for being among the best in the district on the scale of management and service delivery.
- Categories
- Environment, Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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India’s Orissa Halts ‘Bicycle Pump Sterilisation Surgery’
An Indian state has halted mass sterilisations at health camps after a doctor was found using a bicycle pump to inflate women's abdomens.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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OPINION: Modi’s Financial Inclusion Scheme Is Not As Inclusive As You Might Have Thought
The government’s ambitious financial inclusion programme is about to get bigger. Last week, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced that the target for new bank accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana had been revised from 7.5 crore to 10 crore by January 26, 2015.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Only 48% of Indian Adults Have Access to Bank Accounts
Only 48 per cent of Indian adults have bank accounts and nearly half of them lie dormant, says a report. According to a nation-wide survey on financial behaviour, India has the highest account dormancy rate even more than countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Banks in India Charging 22% to 26% on Microloans to Poor Borrowers
When it comes to lending to the poor, it is not just the micro finance institutions that charge high interest rates, but even bulgebracket banks such as Axis Bank to YES Bank charge as much as 22% to 26% a year.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- microfinance
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MNCs Deprive India Of Vital Drugs Despite Getting Monopoly Rights
Some multinational companies (MNCs) have been delaying the launch of life-saving drugs in India years after getting monopoly rights, while cheaper generic versions of exorbitantly-priced medicines are going off the shelves under the product patenting law.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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