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Creating a Consumption Class Out of the Poor
The late management guru CK Prahalad told us that there is a market at the bottom of the pyramid. Indian companies discovered that with the Re1 shampoo sachet. Ratan Tata believes that there is a huge market for the bottom-of-the-line Nano. But there is something missing here: the bottom below the bottom of the economic pyramid, where the fight is for the next meal. Subsistence living means there’s no market. This is job No 1 for our anti-p...
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- South Asia
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Media Hype and the Reality of ?New? India
In a week when Delhi’s new "world-class" airport opened for business and the Indian Space Research Organisation celebrated the successful launch of five new satellites, we had a stark reminder of another India that, increasingly, many Indians feel embarrassed to talk about. A United Nations-backed study by Oxford University revealed that poverty in at least eight Indian States - Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, C...
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- South Asia
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Finance Minister to Banks: Reach out to Villages Via New Technologies
New Delhi Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today asked banks to adopt new technologies, such as mobile banking and telephony, to reach out to the rural population and make economic growth inclusive and sustainable. "... We have to use new technologies and IT to make banking services available and within reach of rural people at large through the services of business correspondents, mobile banking vans, mobile telephony services and no frill accounts, etc," Mukherj...
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- South Asia
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Rural Business Incubators: Tool for Inclusive Growth
BIPIN and Ratan, in their twenties, manage a small business that sells food-items, rice, chapathi, vegetables, nan etc, between 10 am and 3 pm every day in Mayur Vihar, in New Delhi. They make a profit of approximately Rs 2500 (US $56) per day. They have no bank account. There is no registration with the municipality. Their business has no official and legal permission. Though the food is cooked and served in un-hygienic condition, every time their roadside hotel has a waitin...
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- South Asia
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Japan’s Uniqlo Joins Grameen Bank to Help Poor in Bangladesh
Japan’s casual clothing brand Uniqlo and Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus said Tuesday they would create a textiles company in Bangladesh to help poor women gain financial independence. Fast Retailing, which owns Uniqlo, plans to invest some 100,000 dollars to set up Grameen Uniqlo Ltd in October. The new company will source materials and make garments in Bangladesh -- including women’s underwear, school uniforms and blankets.
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- South Asia
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Eco-Friendly Water Solutions for Indian Farmers
More photos and information on International Development Enterprises - India at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10366023.stm ...
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- South Asia
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Kinetic Plans Power Project for Villages
Kinetic Chairman, Arun Firodia, who saw an opportunity at bottom-of-the-pyramid long before the phrase became a catchword and launched the moped Luna, now plans to launch a project that would bring power to villages. The plan entails starting a pair of micro-electric plants at villages with a population of over 2,000. The mini wer-generation stations, one each for solar and biomass, will have a capacity of around 35-kilowatts each. "Through our family trust, we will soon be startin...
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- South Asia
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In India, for India: Medical Device Makers Plug In
(Reuters) - In a sleek glass and chrome building in Bangalore’s software hub, the more than 1,000 young researchers and engineers at GE Healthcare could hold the keys to innovations that save lives in India’s vast hinterland. The 50,000-sq. ft. R&D facility, GE Healthcare’s largest, recently launched the MACi, a portable electrocardiogram (ECG) machine that weighs less than 1 kilo and runs on a battery even in hot, dusty conditi...
- Region
- South Asia
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