Women Together: Incentivising Savings
Mahila Milan means “women together” and provides a decentralised vehicle for the empowerment of women via leadership roles and advocacy alongside its pivotal daily savings collection.
Savings Circles
Bishi schemes are a kind of Rotating Savings and Credit Association (ROSCA): informal and voluntary local savings clubs which has a long history in India and elsewhere in the developing world.
Coping Strategies as Food Prices Soar
Surging food prices are being widely reported in India this month. I’ve been asking female informants and neighbours at Dharavi how they are managing the pressure on household expenses.
Banking on Trust
Following up on the Reserve Bank of India announcement to allow small shops and phone kiosks, etc to handle basic services on behalf of banks – I directed questions around potential receptivity amongst Dharavi residents.
Island Life
Shankar Jadhar’s friends describe him as an “all-rounder”. The 40 year old Dharavi resident is married with 5 children and lives close to the traffic island which he has laid unofficial claim to, from where he conducts his business.
Indian Banking Widens Reach
Yesterday’s Times of India pointed to a development by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to extend its services. It has yet to be seen how this initiative will be taken up by BoP users both rurally and in urban neighbourhoods not currently not served by banks.
Dharavi: Initial Impressions
Ahead of my research in ernest of unpredictable incomes at Dharavi in Mumbai this month, I am taking this week to explore and photograph the area.
