rIDDleD SpEEcH

Fighting Poverty with Microfinance

2007-09-21T19:42:00.000+05:30

Grinding poverty remains the reality for one fifth of the world’s people.
1.3 billion people subsist on less than one dollar a day.
Nearly thirty thousand children under the age of five die each day from poverty-related causes; and poverty is the root cause of so many other human tragedies: malnutrition; lack of health care; environmental devastation; the spread of HIV-AIDS.

You know, the change in our pockets is what some people can comfortably survive on.

The struggle against global poverty can seem daunting – even overwhelming; but Microfinance offers the most powerful anti-poverty strategy ever developed and a new hope for the millions of poor. It is leading a movement that has already helped millions break through to a better life. This answer to poverty did not come from an Ivy league college or a Washington think tank.
It came from Bangladesh.

The ‘Grameen’ phenomenon…
In 1976, Muhammad Yunus, a young economics professor, encountered a group of women who appeared to be running profitable cottage industries; yet, they and their children were starving. Village loan sharks charged them so much interest that the women could barely scratch out a living. Mohammad Yunus lent $27 from his own pocket to these women. The women flourished and Grameen Bank was born. Grameen Bank has grown into a powerful force for social change. It has lent more than 5.7 billion dollars, and now serves more than six million borrowers; 95% of which are women. The bank boasts of a repayment rate of over 98%; thanks to its focus on women borrowers. Women have been found to fight poverty better and have a better sense of social responsibility.
Today the Grameen Bank has over 12 business ventures associated with it. One of them even sponsors the Bangladesh cricket team!!! Some of GB’s ventures include Grameen Phone, Grameen Telecom, Grameen Software Limited, Grameen Motsho (Fisheries), Grameen Shakti (Energy) to name a few.

What is Microfinance?
Microfinance is the practice of providing financial services, esp. micro-credit, micro-savings or micro-insurance to poor people.
Micro-credit is the extension of very small loans (micro-loans) to the unemployed, to poor entrepreneurs and to others living in poverty who are not considered bankable. These individuals lack collateral, steady employment and a verifiable credit history and therefore cannot meet even the most minimal qualifications to gain access to traditional credit.
‘Solidarity lending’ is the most important building block of microfinance. Solidarity lending takes place through ‘solidarity groups’. Each borrower must belong to a five-member group, the group is not required to give any guarantee for a loan to its member. Repayment responsibility solely rests on the individual borrower, while the group and the centre oversee that everyone behaves in a responsible way and none gets into repayment problem. There is no form of joint liability, i.e. group members are not responsible to pay on behalf of a defaulting member
Solidarity lending also lowers the costs to the financial institution related to managing and collecting loans, and eliminates the need for collateral.
Any institution which helps in setting up microfinance facilities is called a Microfinance Institution (MFI).

Of the 50 million families or so that Grameen Bank has served, over 50% of them are reported to have emerged out of the clutches of poverty.
Microfinance plays a major role in the development of many African, Asian, and Latin American nations. Its impact is substantial enough to have warranted acknowledgment by the United Nations who declared 2005-The international year of microfinance.

The Indian Perspective..
In the late ‘60s and thro the ‘70s and into the ‘80s Congress government’s Garibi hatao slogan was the main propaganda with which they held the seat of power. ‘Congress toh hatgaya lekin Garibi nahi hata’.
Microfinance has been present in India in one form or another since the 1970s and is now widely accepted as an effective poverty alleviation strategy. India has supported social banking for a long time in the form of Self-Help Group (SHG) model with banks lending to groups of poor men/women without collateral. These groups build up and rotate savings amongst themselves, open bank accounts and take responsibility for lending and recovering money financed by banks.

The new generation microfinance was relatively slow in coming to India.
Commercial banks in India have been involved in providing finance to the poor especially in rural India, but they turned out to be loss making ventures due to low repayment rates, inability to provide loans without collateral. The banks were also not cost-effective enough to run in the rural areas. SHG-based microfinance nurtured and aided by NGOs, has become an important alternative to traditional lending without incurring a fortune in operating and monitoring costs.

With the concerted efforts of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), insights gained by NGOs, the increasing enthusiasm of bankers and politicians and emerging successes in repayment and social impacts, this national movement now encompasses 1.4 million such groups (over 20 million members).

Some of the active MFI’s in India are:
Activists for Social Alternatives (ASA) Tamil Nadu
CASHPOR Financial and Technical Services Uttar Pradesh
Grameen Koota Karnataka
SHARE Microfin and Swyam Krishi Sangam(SKS) Microfinance Andhra Pradesh

Social empowerment and development through Microfinance
On 13 October 2006, the Nobel Committee awarded Grameen Bank and founder Muhammad Yunus the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, "for their efforts to create economic and social development”. The fact that GB and Muhammad Yunus weren’t awarded a Nobel prize for economics but for peace shows just how much of an impact MF can have on the social development.

The MFIs due their extensive reach are best suited for exploring how microfinance can be a platform for multiple socio-economic empowerment strategies. Initiatives which are aimed at providing the basic necessities like say for example a telephone line or internet facilities to the poor in the rural areas offer opportunities for development of the backward regions as well as offer a profitable venture for the poor.
The Grameen bank has an innovative venture where in beggars are given small loans and are encouraged to use the loans to generate income by selling low-priced items. These loans are absolutely interest free and the bank even insures the beggar!

The Future…
There is no doubt that the huge market for microfinance cannot be ignored by the commercial banks and are developing profitable microfinance ventures. Another initiative is to merge MFI’s into the capital market and considering the buoyant market scenario that developing economies are enjoying, the future in anything but bleak for Microfinanace.

For more information visit
www.grameenfoundation.org
www.microfinancegateway.org/section/faq
http://www.sksindia.com/
http://www.grameen-info.org/bank/

Suicide??

2007-03-03T20:34:00.000+05:30

R.E.M. - Mad World

All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places - worn out
faces
Bright and early for their daily races
Going
nowhere - going nowhere
And their tears are filling up
their glasses
No expression - no expression
Hide my
head I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow - no tomorrow

And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of
sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best
I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
'Cos I find it hard to take
When people run in
It's a very, very Mad World

Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy
Birthday - Happy Birthday
Made to feel the way that every
child should
Sit and listen - sit and listen
Went to
school and I was very nervous
No one knew me - no one knew
me
Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson
Look
right through me - look right through me

BUS...... AB AUR NAHI !!!

2006-10-09T01:31:00.000+05:30

I had to be at the office by 11 am, my first formal interview, for my summer training.
I left home early by 9 am as I had to go by bus. During my one and a half hour journey, (i'll be taking you through the train of thoughts that sprung up in my head), i learnt a lot about human behaviour and a few tips for people who would be travelling in crowded buses. It did take my mind off the interview but I certainly wouldn't say I was relaxed; how could you when all you can see are jasmine flowers hanging on sweaty necks and all you can smell is a complex mix of talcum, hair oil and sweat and that too for an hour or so.
I wait for my bus and wait and wait... I soon realize that more fighter jets have passed above me that any buses (believe me this is true..and...NO!!!!!!!! I don't live in Israel but there is an airforce station nearby). Then one bus comes ambling along, shrouded in its own smoke tilted by 15 deg to its left carrying its normal load of 80 people and more importantly it was my bus. luckily there was another bus coming up behind it which I couln't see because of the smoke from the previous bus. As usual (like our FFO class) nobody gets down from the bus, people only get in, I managed to find a place (not to sit...) to keep my feet. I pay the fat female conductor 7 rupees for my ticket. I really appreciate the APSRTC 's initiative to ensure equality for women, but it really doesn't make practical sense to employ women as conductors. I do agree that there are fat men conductors too but women conductors would be wider...
These buses could be used as cheap replacements for training astronauts and F1 drivers... the G-forces that a passenger (esp a standee) experiences are phenomenal, it feels as though the bus body is attached to the chassis with glue or something. No wonder Indians are storming the moto-racing scene. A few generations of bus travelling Indians and we'll be ruling the roost in F1!!

Then the complex mix of smells I was referring to earlier triggered this chemical reaction in my head which I commonly call irritation. I start pondering about India's burgeoning population and where it is coming from (I do know the answer but...;) , then I realize the reasons as to why this is happening and then finally end up taking the resolution not to marry. During the course of my next hour or so I make the following deductions which could be tips or you could just use them as jokes....

The only thing that could be worse that being a victim to pickpocketing is being beaten up for pickpocketing yourself!!! Be alert!! Make sure you don't get thrashed for pickpocketing by GOOD SAMARITANS; while removing your own wallet from your own pocket!!! It could happen in a crowded bus... nobody knows whose hand is whose....

On a bus apart from sharing everyone's concern for the environment (??????) ... you also end up sharing their sweat.

At any point of time (in wet states) there will ATLEAST be one drunk person on the bus. Make sure you dont have to share your sweat with him esp. if your on your way to the office.

IF!!!!! (by god's grace) you find a seat, be ready to double up as a (in)voluntary luggage rack for people standing next to you.

Be ready to face irascible bus conductors (male/female) whose stress levels are say a 100 times greater that a FW class CAT aspirant the day before the exam. I mean there is so much fuss about stress in today's corporate world. I'm sure the conductors are better equipped to handle even greater levels of stress. I spent only an hour on that bus the conductor spends the whole day!!!

Don't bother getting into a crowded bus if you are too particular about getting down with your ironed shirt still ironed.

Don't crib about not getting a seat to sit on; look out (if you can!!!) of the windows near the foot board there, will be (half a dozen or so) people with just their nails inside the bus!!

There are no rush hours; only non-rush hours and ->crush<- hours.

This I call the central dogma for the existence of a crowded bus..

No. of people boarding the bus is ALWAYS GREATER than the no. of people getting down.

I heard the conductor call out Panjagutta and I broke out of my train of thoughts.. I guess I ran out of time rather than out of thoughts. But I certainly was more relaxed than when I got onto the bus. It might have been the interview scare or my thoughts itself or just because I was some how more enlightened about travelling in a crowded bus.

I returned with a seat and my summer internship.

Laughter quota of QUOTA laughter

2006-06-01T22:52:00.000+05:30

After all those escapades guess i have escaped blogging long enough...

I was wondering what my 'comeback' blog would be about. It had to be on reservation.
In spite of incessant protests from medicos all over the country the government( surprisingly or not so surprisingly; even the opposition) seems to have almost ignored them. And we always thought democracy ensures equality... (some might say it does). Anyway this is not yet another debate on the boiling issue that has kept the media persons (apart from the students themselves) quite busy.

Well, doctors might have the perfect medicines to heal all the diseases in the world but for all those afflicted and hurt by the reservation/quota issue nothing could be better than the only real panacea..... laughter. I received these cheeky remarks on the HRD minister in an email.

A not so Cycleable Escapade........

2006-03-21T22:13:00.000+05:30

Place: Suhali beach
How far: 22 km
How to get there: motorcycle, phat-phatiya (upto Mora Gaon)

Suhali Beach is located on the shores of the Arabian sea. Situated 22 kms from Ichchhanath, getting to Suhali may be quite a task if you don't have your own motorbike. The phat-phatia (8 seater Tempos) will take you upto Mora gaon which is a good 2-3 kms from the beach. The ride from Ichchhanath to Mora gaon is pretty smooth though the heavy commercial vehicles constitute most of the traffic. First you reach the city limits and take a right towards Hazira via the brigde over tapi. Another 12 km later you reach Ichhapore Surat's SEZ(Special Economic Zone) for diamonds. Take a left here which takes you towards Hazira. On the way you will encounter all the industries - ONGC, KRIBHCO, GAIL, NTPC and Reliance amongst other smaller units. The main road twists towards the left after gate-3 of the Reliance industral campus. There is though, a narrower road which continues straight on which leads you to Mora gaon. Mora gaon is about 18-19 km from Ichchhanath, it is a bustling place with lots of shops and vendors selling everything from vegetables to sarees. The suhali village is another 3 kms from here. The road to the village is twisty and snakes along for about 2 kms, when you reach a school run by Reliance in an otherwise barren territory, adjoining the compound wall of the school is a very rough and pebbled road. The road (doesn't deserve to be called one though) is narrow and is lined with 6 feet tall thorny bushes on both sides. The road is tricky and nothing but a good motorbike or a 4X4 can handle this road. This road continues for an agonising kilometer and then finally to the left you see the ocean a few hundred meters away with ships dotting the horizon. There is an empty building-probably a government building not in use next to which there is a sign board in gujarati warning people of the tides on the beach. This is the only sign that the sea shore is nearby(apart from the fact that you can it see it though). A few meters away is the beach. The cool breeze gracing your body is very refreshing and makes the rough ride worthwhile.The sound of the waves lapping onto the beach is just too inviting, but the brown sandy water will make you think twice before having a bath though. The beach is long and perfect for long walks along the water line or you can enjoy the breeze by sitting on one of the many rocks that dot the beach. The beach is untouched and hence very clean. The perfect time to visit the beach would be after sunrise (6-7 'o' clock) when it isn't too sunny and the tide is receeding. The tide receeds as the day progresses and reclaims the beach as the night beckons. So considering the tides it is advised not to venture too deep into the water and there are many cases of people losing their lives on this very beach. Keep that in mind, but that apart the beach offers a perfect recluse away from the hassles and worries of day to day life. It is advised to bring your own refreshments and water if at all you need them and DON'T LITTER the beach. The only signs of humans on the beach are the fishing nets, which are set during the day (during low tide) and then retrieved the next day. As the day progresses the breeze dies down and the waves are nowhere to be seen, the hot sun also makes the beach an uncomfortable place after 9 am.
The return as usual is always shorter and would take about an hour or so, on motorbike.
Suhali beach provides the perfect escape from a hectic week and a refreshing welcome to next week…..

Happy escaping guys………………

Cycling Escapades....

2006-02-02T20:52:00.000+05:30

Place: Dumas
How far: 10 km
How to get there: cycle, phat-phatiya

After a hectic week of classes and internals there is nothing quite like a getaway or an adventure. Dumas offers just that and more for the occasional long distance cyclist. Make sure u have a full tube of air and a bottle of water (though refreshments are available at the beach). Dumas is situated 11 km from surat on SH no.6. The road is smooth and very comfortable for cycling, the ride to dumas takes about 45 min by cycle. The highway ride starts a little after Valentine. From then on there is nothing but you, your machine(guess a girlfriend wouldn't do much harm either) and smooth tarmac. You will encounter the surat airport about halfway through your journey. Soon after the airport you can either cut right to go to the dumas village or else take the straight road to the sea side. There is no beach as such on the sea side but you can take a camel or a horse ride to the water which is a few hundred meters away. There are other places along the bank where the water can be reached easily and are much better than the unkempt and smelly seaside. The spots can be found away from the road going along the shore and are accessible from the village also. The dumas village is not all that rural but is more like a town. You can find many old villas which have decayed with time and whose gates are the only reminder of theirmagnificience. Most villas are of the pre independence era. Another typical sight is that of lady villagers carrying steel water pots precariously balanced on their heads. There is also a Jain derasar(temple) which was built around 75 years ago. It is also home to a saint, Nandini and her disciples. The temple has a peaceful and tranquil milieu. A few minutes here and all your worries seem to fade away into the silence.The postoffice and police chowki in dumas are reminiscent of Mohan babu's Rampur (swades.. does it ring a bell?). You can treat yourself to some refreshing coconut water and some hot corn pods; that would be enough to keep you from getting exhausted for the ride back. On the way back things seem to move past you much slower. And there is plenty of time to reflect on a few hours well psent in a quite unforgettable manner. no matter how exhausted your body might get on the way back, i guarantee you your mind would surely be fresher when you return.

Some people ask what’s in a name; I say Al(l)’s in a name………

2006-01-21T20:54:00.000+05:30

I have been a resident of Gujarat for the past 2 years now and 6 years before that. Anybody who has been here for as long as I have been or for an even lesser duration will agree that Gujaratis are the most carefree amongst Indians. This is evident from their cuisine and obvious during festivals. Its no holds barred when it comes to funtime amongst gujjus. They are lovely people.

Now that I have secured my position on my stand about gujaratis, i will start the actual blog now.

As everyone must be knowing sardarji names have been a big time favourite amongst jokes, Now they have serious competition. This time from Gujju girls. Anybody who has been here for as long as I have been would probably notice that generally most gujju girl names end with an 'al' just like all madrasi names with 'an' (ramanathan, narayanan etc) and sardarji names with '-inder singh' (do I need to mention?). So doing justice to Gujju names' claim to fame and introducing them to the world of ridicule are the following questions.................

Q What would you call a Gujju gal who is hot?

A Hotal (read hotel)

Q What would you call a Gujju gal who is in coma?

A Komal

Q What would you call a dangerous Gujju gal?

A Lethal

Q What would you call a 'phoolish' Gujju gal?

A Floral

Q What would you call a slipper(y) Gujju gal?

A Chappal

Q If the earth were a Gujju Gal, what would it have been named?

A Global

Q What would you call a mad Gujju gal?

A Mental (of course)

Disclaimer

The names mentioned above and thereof are absolutely fictional and any resemblance with real persons is completely coincidental.

Business-class education….....

2006-01-15T08:45:00.000+05:30

The familiar pacy tune of dhoom in the background, the even more familiar taste of the dal roti and sabji took me back to my hostel mess. Well I was infact dining in a mess, but this was no ordinary college mess. This was the centrally air-conditioned student mess of the Indian school of business Hyderabad.
It didn't take me long to realize that I was in a high tech world. I mean there is technology everywhere and I mean everywhere right from the windows, which can adjust light at the touch of button to the toilets, which had sensors to flush. (Yep u read it right) u won’t believe it; the mess even had a conveyor belt to transport the plates to the washing area. Well everything in this college is simply extravagant. The whole complex including the restrooms is centrally air-conditioned.
But luxury apart no effort has been spared in providing the necessary facilities for the students. The college has visiting faculty from all over the world and the executive and governing board features the best names from Indian and global corporations. The classrooms are fully equipped with computers, projectors and even cameras to record the student's presentation. The videos are then analyzed so that students can improve on their body language during presentations. But the highlight of the college is a five-storied library. The library is open from 11 am to 2 am. The college has 3 hostels which it calls student villages apart from this there is separate accommodation for executives. The campus layout is well designed with landscaped gardens. The sprawling campus is located away from the hassles of the city. The campus is situated alongside the corporate offices of software giants like Microsoft and Infosys.

It was astounding the amount of luxury that the students were enjoying at this world class Indian business school. But as expected it doesn't come cheap. The institute charges 12-13 lakh rupees for a one year MBA course (that is if you aren't opting for family accommodation which will put you back by another 2-3 lakhs). Of course the fee is (has to be) inclusive of accommodation and food. GMAT, GRE or CAT scores are considered for admission into ISB. Well, ISB surely has redefined the way Indians experience education. But do students need this much to aid in their education is a question that still rings in my mind. Somehow the ISB seems to have too much of an excess. This so-called quality education is not restricted to institutes of higher learning like the ISB. We find more and more international schools cropping up in our metros. These schools too feature some if not all the facilities mentioned above. Whether or not all these high-tech facilities will translate into better students provided me with enough food for thought. Talking about food another question props up. Does a country like India where a substantial part of the population is still poor require this so called world-class education? My point here is that world-class education need not necessary translate into better students. As much as I appreciate the ISB and other such institutions for raise the bar on quality education I would rather that it remains a standard we always strive for than it becoming the standard….

Saturday NIGHT (a)LIVE??????????????

2006-01-10T22:05:00.000+05:30

Saturday evenings are perfect for relaxing drives with your family or friends but as most city slickers would agree with me, it is not so. There is so much traffic on city roads that even the flyovers are jammed with vehicles and I always thought flyovers were built to ease traffic congestion. India’s car market is booming at a rate that is keeping carmakers happy and the average Indian driver very very tense.

Today’s cars boast of the latest technologies, and are marketed with swanky acronyms (e-this and e-that) but one problem that carmakers can’t provide with their cars is parking space. Carmakers could guarantee you with economy, style, safety and value for money but not parking space.
Moreover big cars being status symbols in India only makes things worse. You see a big car occupies more space on road and more are the chances of it getting scratched in congested traffic. At the same time a big car is costly, which is reason enough it shouldn’t get scratched …….

I mean Honda unicorn could make you a wing rider but you can’t fly over traffic. Roads in all our metros are jammed with cars and this just brings out the worst in drivers. Even with this much of traffic the congestion could be avoided if people drove with discipline…. you might bump into bigfoot in Sumatra’s jungles but there is (and absolutely) no such thing as a disciplined auto driver in a concrete jungle. Auto drivers don’t mind using pavements (amongst other things like local language (read expletives)) to get to their destination quicker.

And then there is the music of traffic so to say the cacophony that is accompanied with traffic jams. Most times the person with the mightier horn gets his way.. people think the horn is an extension of their voice… but unfortunately horns are not addressed to anyone everyone has to bear with it.

All these maladies are common in all metros around the world but what makes Indian roads uncharacteristically congested, is that the same piece of road is shared by so many entities. There is the unruly auto, the deaf pedestrians, crazy jaywalkers, the local wildlife (read cows, dogs, buffaloes etc), the swinging cyclist, the inebriated bus and lorry drivers and the amateur SBK racers (read students). No where else on earth would you be able to find the oldest and latest in transportation technology sharing the same piece of tarmac, a Pajero and a bullock cart waiting for the green signal at a junction. It happens only in India.

Now that we know what are the various problems plaguing our roads lets find some solutions..

One solution to congested roads has always been public transport but our buses are outdated and overcrowded and to come up with another suitable mode of transport like subways would take years and will change a major portion of the ancient city landscape. Not to mention the cost of such a mega project. Another solution would be to make our cars smaller but that would just mean there would be more cars as they have to cater to the burgeoning city population.

But perhaps the best solution that came to my mind; at least for the short term till some other form of public transport is established; is to have toll booths for private vehicles using city roads. All vehicle owners do pay road tax but the amount is not proportional to our actual road usage. Somebody who owns a taxi pays the same an old man who spends most time indoors just because they own the same car. It’s not fair. And making people (esp Indians ) pay for using city roads will discourage them from private transport. Then probably we can have Indians shining rather than Indians sighing while commuting.

Ummm… why am I blogging?????????????

2006-01-08T17:07:00.001+05:30

Man has always been a social animal and expressing one’s ideas is an integral part of socializing. Mankind is where it is only because of the social nature of man. Only after the advent of human civilization has man been able to make so many advancements in science and culture. Well all discoveries and inventions are expressions of human ideas….
If we did not express our thoughts and ideas there wouldn’t be much to differentiate between chimps and us…. (I would probably be grooming some one instead of typing this blog)
There have been so many ways in which man has been expressing over the years and this being the IT age and the internet; (succeeding the print and television media as future’s medium of expression)
Blogs have emerged as the most accessible platform of expression.
Well blogs offer the best medium to express ones ideas about the various issues and happenings (mostly mishaps) around us. And I don’t ……………………………….!@#$%^&*()

Come to think of it and to cut a very very long story short…

I’m blogging (for the same reason that harry potter has become so famous) just because every other tom dick and harry is doing it…….