This op-ed was submitted by Suresh Pramar, and is a user post. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of TC-I, but we feel that it is important to cultivate opinions from all sides. India like the rest of the world has not escaped the impacts of the current downturn. The sudden rush in [...]

This week has had no shortage of announcements of accepting nominations for some competitions and the unveiling of winners from others. Today, IndiaPRwire reports that the Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation, Schwab Foundation, and UNDP has picked finalists for the 2008 Social Entrepreneurship of the Year Award. The Award recognizes individuals who offer the most [...]

Madura Micro Finance has received an investment by Unitus Equity Fund to ramp up their offerings to women self help groups (SHGs) in rural India. Madura Micro Finance will use UEF’s funding to increase its management bandwidth and institutional capacity as well as continue to expand its customer base, which is comprised primarily of women.  [...]

Recently, traditional income generating activities, specifically those associated with self help groups (SHGs), have gained acclaim as effective tools for poverty alleviation. The assumption is that if, for example, Sunita, a woman from an agricultural community in Gujarat, learns how to make papad, she will then have the skills necessary to sustain a productive livelihood, [...]

Headlines: Government to Establish National Action Plan on Climate Change The government is preparing a “National Action Plan” to deal with issues of climate change including measures to mitigate the impact on foodgrains production, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.   Tamil Nadu Budget Focuses on Farmers, Women The Tamil Nadu [...]

Are the women who participate in Self Help Groups (SHGs) more socially, politically, and economically empowered than their counterparts?  How is “empowerment” defined or measured?  Can “empowerment” be attributed strictly to the savings and credit aspect of microfinance, or do more holistic, awareness-based initiatives (ie through SHGs) have a significant role to play as well?  [...]

MISSION AND BACKGROUND: ThinkChange India’s goal is to be your primary source of information on social innovation and social entrepreneurship in India. Our blog lies on the presumption that the social circumstances facing India are unique in nature, and thus the approaches that will be most effective will also be unique. For that reason we focus [...]