Press release number IFAD/38/06

Rome, 12 October 2006 – More than one million rural women in India will have better economic, social and political opportunities to improve their lives through a US$207.8 million empowerment programme partly funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Poor women in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh will participate in the Tejaswini Rural Women’s Empowerment Programme. The programme will support strong and sustainable self-help groups, develop access to microfinance services, promote improved livelihood opportunities and strengthen participation in local governance.

The name Tejaswini means ‘a woman who is radiant’, an empowered woman, and was chosen by local participants.

IFAD will provide a US$39.5 million loan for the eight-year programme. The loan agreement was signed in Rome today by the Ambassador of India and Permanent Representative to United Nations agencies in Rome, Rajiv Dogra, and the President of IFAD, Lennart Båge.

Indian banks will contribute US$140.8 million; Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh state governments will contribute US$12.6 million; the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development will contribute US$1.5 million; and the Maharashtra Health Department will contribute US$160 000. Participants in the programme will contribute US$13.9 million. Cofinancing of US$270,000 will be provided by other international agencies.

Although India has one of the world’s fastest growing economies, growth has been uneven. Agriculture’s contribution to GDP has declined, while the contribution of the service sector has increased and many women in the programme area live in extreme poverty. In some villages, women’s roles are strictly limited to domestic and agricultural work and there is opposition to any change. The programme will address these issues and provide legal training to deal with the crises that frequently occur concerning child marriages, domestic violence and demands for dowry.

The self-help group movement has been very successful in India and some government development projects and rural banks work with the groups. Despite this, many women members are still living in poverty and the groups do not have access to bank finance on a sustainable basis. More than 74,000 self-help groups will be involved in this programme to support and enable women to organize themselves, and to network and access resources to enable them to reduce their poverty.

Groups that already exist will be strengthened and some new groups will be formed. Numerous local NGOs will provide training and support, and federations of self-help groups are expected to develop.

An important aim of the programme is to create new or improved livelihoods for women by addressing issues such as the needs of larger and more distant markets, links to these markets and ways to increase production. There will also be a focus on technology with the potential to reduce costs and improve the quality of the goods that the women produce.

With this programme, IFAD will have invested more than US$500 million to help finance 21 programmes and projects in India.

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IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries. Through low-interest loans and grants, it develops and finances projects that enable rural poor people to overcome poverty themselves. There are 188 ongoing IFAD-supported rural poverty eradication programmes and projects, totalling US$6.3billion. IFAD has invested more than US$2.9 billion in these initiatives. Cofinancing has been provided by governments, beneficiaries, multilateral and bilateral donors and other partners. At full development, these programmes will help nearly 85 million rural poor women and men to achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Since starting operations in 1978, IFAD has invested US$9.2 billion in 716 programmes and projects that have helped approximately 301 million poor rural men and women achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Governments and other financing sources in the recipient countries, including project participants, have contributed almost US$8.9 billion, and multilateral, bilateral and other donors have provided another US$7.0 billion in cofinancing.