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Esther Duflo Bribes India’s Poor to Health
Rajasthan is India’s desert state, an often inhospitable place where per capita income averages around $1.77 per day. Poverty like that--understanding it and imagining ways to fix it--is what Esther Duflo lives for. Since 2003, her Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (named for a wealthy Saudi donor), or J-PAL, has conducted 240 randomized, controlled trials of specific ways to help the poor. She tests poverty solutions the way medical researchers test new drugs, which can violate the p...
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- solar
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Half of Microcredit Goes to Well-off People: Study
Although the microfinance concept was developed to assist marginal people to address poverty, around 50 percent of micro credit goes to the well-off, reports UNB. "A lot of microcredit is wasted on the well-off; there is yet another problem that many of the poorer households do not benefit from it," said Prof SR Osmani, teacher of Development Economics at the University of Ulster, UK and a visiting fellow of Institute of Microfinance in Dhaka. Referring to the findings o...
- Region
- South Asia
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India Taps Communication Tools to Transform Villages
Several Indian companies are relying on a host of communication technologies to bridge the digital divide by offering sustainable solutions for rural India. Some 70 percent of India’s population, or nearly 750 million people, live in villages but contribute just 30 percent of country’s GDP. This is likely why rural consumers have long been ignored by marketers. However, this is gradually changing, especially since the rural share of consumer goods today is...
- Region
- South Asia
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Mobile Phone Technology for Development in Bangladesh
Tahmima Anam, a Bangladeshi writer in India to promote her latest book, said in a recent interview that Dhaka is a city bursting at the seams but with a surprisingly tangible energy of possibility. This energy-often driven by an overwhelming necessity to act quickly in a country of extreme poverty-has ignited innovation in many areas, development included. Bangladesh’...
- Region
- South Asia
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Microfinance Meets Micro Healthcare
In an attempt to provide affordable micro health program to the underserved sections of the society, Mysore (Karnataka, India) based healthcare consultancy and service provider Suddanand Healthcare has developed a symbiotic relationship with microfinance institutions in Karnataka. Utilizing the existing customer base infrastructure of MFIs in the state, Suddanand Healthcare program is ensuring higher efficiency, standardization of charges, greater awareness and penetration of health car...
- Region
- South Asia
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Five Most Innovative Social Entrepreneurs
Bangalore: It is still a matter of discussion, whether entrepreneurship is born or inbuilt; however, there are many who have succeeded to create a niche for themselves in the business world by doing something out of the league. These are the social entrepreneurs who thought of bringing in certain reform in the society rather than just enjoying the pleasant sound of coins. Bindeshwar Pathak An Indian sociologist, Bindeshwar Pathak is the found...
- Region
- South Asia
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Beggars Can Be Choosers
A successful micro finance business model for the poorest of the poor is creating waves in rural Bengal. At 7.30 AM, Bikash Dey Sarkar, an employee of Bandhan Microfinance, is out at work, surrounded by close to 150-odd villagers, watching him scribble a map on the mud floor of a makeshift community centre. Sarkar is not a cartographer but is on an assignment to create a data bank of ultra low net worth individuals in far flung villages. He draws a map of houses, landmarks and roa...
- Region
- South Asia
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How One Woman May Bring Safe Water to Millions
When Cynthia Koenig, from New York, realized that one in six people lack reliable access to water she wanted to do something about it. Her solution was a 25-gallon drum that can be pushed or pulled and takes away much of the burden of carrying water on the head, which is the traditional method women use in many parts of the world. Koenig considers herself a social entrepreneur, a new breed of entrepreneur who has innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems ...
- Region
- South Asia
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