Events
- Inauguration Ceremony
- Professionalizing NGOs for Integrating MDGs into Development Programmes
- Eradicating Poverty and Hunger through Tankfed Irrigation
- Research and Development on MDGs
- Financial Inclusion Techniques
- Microfinance towards Poverty Reduction
- Perspective Plan for Skill-Building of People Institutions
- Business Facilitator/Business Correspondent for Financial Inclusion
- Poverty Reduction
- Agricultural Commodities Marketing Problems and Solutions for Sustainable Livelihoods
- Economic Empowerment of Older People
- Sustainable Livelihood Strategies through Promotion of Medicinal Plants
Inauguration Ceremony
The inauguration started with a prayer composed and sung by Thiru. Vengaiyan and team. Mr. M.P. Vasimalai, Executive Director, DHAN Foundation, explained the history of the Madurai Symposium: in the olden days, scholars from different parts of the country came to Madurai to share their literary knowledge. DHAN Foundation is merely following the earlier pattern: the event is not an effort of DHAN, but a platform for organisations and stakeholders to share their experiences.
This is the fourth symposium, and its theme is “Advancing Development towards Millennium Development Goals” with the main focus on reducing poverty and eradicating hunger by 2015 through various interventions. Mr. Vasimalai emphasised the need for localising the MDGs.
Ms. A. Umarani, Director, Tata-Dhan Academy, shared that the MDGs are fixed by developing and developed countries in the UNO. State and central governments worldwide, along with NGOs, bankers, and research institutions, have all taken efforts towards reducing the poverty and hunger, problems which affect one-third of the world’s population.
Mr. B.T. Bangera, Chairman, DHAN Foundation and Managing Director, HiTech Arai Ltd., emphasised the need for reducing poverty and eradicating hunger. He stated that “What has been taken from the community should reach back to the community without blaming the government or its policies.” He added that “If highways from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Mumbai to Kolkata are possible, why not eradication of poverty and hunger?”
Mr. Pitchai, Project Officer, DRDA, Madurai, described the development work done for the community within the limits of the government and its guidelines, as well as some of the problems encountered in implementing village level programmes. This Symposium is a platform to develop solutions to overcome these problems.
Ms. I.S. Parveen Sulthana, Tamil Lecturer, JBAS College, expressed that the economic development among the poor community should always start with their awareness of economic and social aspects. “Asking questions is education and learning. Even though our country is a resource-rich one, the community should ask why poverty still exists.” The importance of the role of women in economic development of the community should be acknowledged, and we should remember that “political and economic awareness can be only possible through self help groups.”
Advancing Microfinance towards Poverty Reduction
Today the Thamukkam Ground was seen divided into several small seminar halls to host groups of people ranging from 20 to 80 for many events. But, for the convention on “Advancing Microfinance towards Poverty Reduction,” the only option was Sankaradas Auditorium where 900 women leaders from SHG Federations promoted by Kalanjiam Foundation were accommodated as participants; the numbers themselves tell the scale of poverty in India. The event started with the introduction about the convention by Mrs. V. K. Padmavathy who also described the growth of the Kalanjiam movement and the development of organisations like INFOS. She mentioned that it was the right time for service diversification like health, education, livelihood, and woman development to enhance the role of people institutions.
Dr. I. S. Parveen Sulthana praised SHGs and NGOs for improving the standard of living and helping reduce poverty. She said that money did not matter to come out of poverty; what is needed is sincerity in daily life, adjustment, cooperation, contribution, honesty, self-discipline and self-regulation. She emphasised on awareness and said we have to be alert, observant and analytical if we are to effectively use opportunities when they become available. Prof. S. Subramaniam stressed on the transformation of financial institutions into development institutions. The focus must be on financial inclusion because SHGs cannot live on their own; they need external support, infrastructure, and new technologies from different stakeholders and other development partners.
It was resolved that people institutions should integrate MDGs in their short and long term goals and that member families need awareness about MDGs. Financial institutions should be transformed into development institutions, and newly promoted federations should establish development goals upon formation.
Agricultural Commodities Marketing Problems and Solutions for Sustainable Livelihoods
The seminar on agricultural commodities marketing shed light on the problems faced by farmers with relation to the marketing of their products. It started with the speakers highlighting the farmers’ plight in India duirng the agricultural season. A large portion of the audience was the Tamil Nadu farming community, who collectively shared their problems pertaining to harvesting, product transportation, infrastucture, middlemen, and marketing.
One problem faced by most farmers is exploitation by middlemen. Additionally farmers are not aware of, or cannot afford, new farming technology. Furthermore, since they are not able to understand the functioning of markets they get only a minimal rate for their produce. Several agricultural professionals also participated including Mr. T. Dhanablan, Kalanjium Thozhilagam Ltd, Mr. G.N. Murthy, ITC Ltd., and Mr. Vinod Bhat, Cavin Kare Ltd. These professionals proposed ideas and methods to help farmers get better yield and better prices for their produce.
Some of the many recommendations included promotion of village level commodity production groups, showcasing knowledge on precision farming, and linking groups with ICT based programmes.
Perspective Plan on Skill Building for People’s Institutions
The session started with a prayer song by Kalanjiam members, and a welcome address by Mrs. Nageswari.
The key speakers included Ms. S. Gayathri, Amudha Shanthi, and N. Shanthi Maduresan. The discussions focused on the importance of technical education, particularly for the next generation. DHAN Foundation, through DPA, LIFE Programme and Training has been providing technical education to provide better employment opportunities to its graduates. Technical education also helps differently abled people in obtaining better jobs. It was stressed that it is important to consider the need of communities before recommending business opportunities for them. Every federation should document the technical education given to the members and the outcome in their annual reports.
Sub group discussions were held after lunch to determine different responsibilities for leaders and staff.
Professionalizing NGOs for Integrating MDGs
The workshop was organised by CHRD, DHAN Foundation. Mrs. M. Umarani, Programme Leader, DHAN Foundation explained the objective and purpose of the session. This was followed by an introduction by Chief Guest, Mr. Srinivasan (Chief Executive, Rural Service Extension Trust), who shared RSET’s experiences, including operational challenges and reduced efficiency as a result of certain government policies.
Mr. Ramkumar (Programme Leader, DHAN Foundation) shared DHAN’s approach in establishing a synergic relationship between NGOs and MDGs. He suggested ways through which a relationship can be built between these two and how they can change the picture of developing countries. He also briefed about the challenges and barriers in bringing professionalism in this sector. The speech was followed by experience sharing session of the participants who broke into groups to discuss on how to localise MDGs and how to contextualise MDGs with NGOs.
The points which emerged from the discussion included NGOs working on the basis of people’s needs, integrating a strong value system as a component of professionalism, and the importance of training to facilitate achieving MDGs. Some of the action plans included raising community awareness of MDGs, making government schemes more focused on MDGs, and monitoring progammes to ensure proper implementation.
Business Facilitators/ Business Correspondents for Financial Inclusion
Shri. S. Meenakshisundaram, Channel Management Advisor, SBI, welcomed the participants and gave the overview of the conference. Shri. M. Santhanam, Team Leader, DHAN Foundation introduced the concept of financial inclusion and explained the Business Facilitators/Business Correspondents model. This speech was followed by the Chief Guest Mr. G. Ramanujam, Regional Manager, SBI, who explained that financial inclusion “aims to extend hassle free savings and loan facilities and other banking services at an affordable cost to the underprivileged and unbanked population”. The business facilitator and business correspondent models are alternative channels to address financial inclusion.
Mr. Devasenapathy, Regional Manager-II, SBI, explained the importance of the conference for learning about new models. Mr. R. Ramanujam, AGM, SBI, explained the different technology adopted at SBI including smart cards, kiosk banking, and mobile banking. He added that out of these, kiosk banking requires low investment and offers easy access.
Mr. M. Kalyanasundaram, CEO, INAFI-India, summarised that these models help to bring banking services to the doorsteps of the excluded segments of the population. The afternoon session started with Smt. V.K. Padmavathy, CEO, Kalanjiam Foundation, who explained that financial inclusion has already been in process. She stressed that banks should treat group accounts as member accounts.
Tank Fed Agriculture, Poverty Alleviation, and Food Security
Mr. A. Gururnathan, DHAN Vayalagam (Tank) Foundation, shared the purpose and objective of the seminar and described the present status of agriculture and tank irrigation in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka. Mr. M.S. Shanmugham shared the experience of Tamil Nadu tank fed agriculture. Mr. H.G. Raghvendra and Mr. H.R. Harishbabu shared their experience on tank fed agriculture in Karnataka. Several farmers also shared their experiences.
During the discussions, it was explained that the productivity of tank fed agriculture can be enhanced by establishing soil-testing units by the government, supplying quality seeds and fertilizers through farmer associations, intensifying the use of organic farming, and promoting micro irrigation systems in tank fed areas.
In order to make technology reach the farmers it is important to implement development activities through people participation, display agricultural information board in villages, and disseminate information through village resource centres, community radio and plant clinics. Farmers need support (from the government and other agencies) with respect to appropriate market infrastructure and direct marketing systems, introducing comprehensive insurance schemes for tank fed agriculture, and fixing a reasonable minimum support price.
Economic Empowerment of Older People
The inaugural address to “Economic Empowerment of Older People” conducted by Help Age India, was given by Mr. B.T. Bangera. The programme was chaired by Prof. Janet Shankar, and was co-ordinated with the help of Mr. Shivkumar and Mr.S. Raja.
The first session included paper presentations which focused on the changes happening in the Indian society and the increase in the cost of living; these have ultimately resulted in neglect and isolation of the elderly. Aged people need healthcare, nutrition, housing, self-employment, and access to their rights and other basic entitlements.
The second session was a debate for Madurai-area college students on “Value Education Programme on Age Care”. A few stated that “poor people cannot give or provide physical or social support to the elderly.” Others pointed out that “family gives the love required in the old age.” The debate was concluded by the judge, Mr. Guhasheelarupan, M.A., M.Phil., M.ED., B.L., Ph.D., who stated that culture, custom, and knowledge comes from the elders.
The program ended with a session on “District Level Coordination Meeting for the Senior Citizens Association” to sensitise people about Help Age India’s work for helping the elderly. About twenty members from different senior citizen forums agreed to join hands with Help Age India to eradicate poverty for the elderly.
Sustainable Livelihood Strategies through Promotion of Medicinal Plants
Dr. V. Balamurugan, Cluster Development Executive, delivered the welcome and introductory address. Sr. P. Saravanan, KVK, Gandhigram Rural University, spoke about the “Present Scenario of Medicinal Plants.” Traditional Tamil and home remedy practices were also emphasised. Topics included the collection, cultivation, and marketing of medicinal plants, and schemes available in medicinal plant boards.
Sri John Britto, CCD, spoke about a group system called Kalasams. The groups organised into clusters, trained members in growing medicinal plants, and created a business among Kalasams by collecting medicinal plants.
Sri. Murugan, Kalanjiam Foundation, talked about accounting system and plant processing methods. Ms. R. S. Vimal Priy, young professtional of CAPART, spoke about “Schemes and Opportunities Available in Medicinal Plants Board,” covering the roles and responsibilites of National Medicinal Plants Board, State Medicinal Plants Board, schemes and other benificial activities by the state and central ministries. Ms.Manjula, Project Coordinator, FORD Foundation Project, Gandhigram, led the vote of thanks.
Financial Inclusion and Information and Communication Technology
A large part of the Indian population still doesn’t have access to banking services. The solution to this problem is financial inclusion: providing more people with access to savings, credit and insurance. As opening banks in all villages is not feasible, information and communication technology can be helpful in ensuring financial inclusion of villagers.
The discussion session was started by Shri M. Kalyana Sundram, CEO, INAFI-India, who opined that ‘access’ and ‘affordability’ were the main hurdles for ICT in financial inclusion. Shri L. B. Rai, SBI, presented on the efforts taken by SBI for financial inclusion including smart cards and kiosk banking. Shri Chalpathy Rao, Coromandel Infotech, described the variuos challenges in implementing technological solutions.
Shri Pushparaj, HDFC Bank, detailed the services provided by HDFC in rural India including pin-based cards for SHGs and mobile banking. Mr. Srinivas, Zero Mass Foundation, explained the importance of using the POS terminal in mobile phones and benefits of contactless smart cards. Mr. B. Muthukumarasamy, DHAN Foundation, explained and demonstrated the kiosk banking used in DHAN Foundation. Mr. Lawrence, Cethor Technology, described the use of SMS technology for banking. Dr. Jegathish, a researcher, described SMS solutions for farmers trading.
The vote of thanks was delivered by Mr. Senaramar, DHAN Foundation.
Research and Development with Special Reference to MDGs
The workshop was jointly organised by the Tata-Dhan Academy (TDA) and Centre for Research, DHAN Foundation. Twenty five paper presenters from different colleges in Madurai shared their papers. The participants were divided into two discussion and presentation groups. The panel members for the presentations were Dr. Jena, Mr. Mahanthesh, Mr. Janakiraman, and Mr. Madhan Kumar from TDA; Dr. Roopa Ravikumar from Lady Doak College; Dr. Mutturaja from American College; Dr. Deendayal from Madura College; and Ms. Amy Mowl from IFMR, Chennai.
Some of the problems presented and discussed included socio-financial and marketing problems of women entrepreneurship, prevalence and intensity of health problems including malaria and anaemia, indigenous savings and credit practices, and the prevalence of poverty and financial exclusion among rural artisans. Dr. Jena told that “it is best to experience research.” Dr. Mutturaja emphasised on the importance of empirical research.
Dr. Deendayal emphasized on objectives, methodology, and tools for analysis. Dr. Roopa stressed that studies should be based on quantitative and qualitative indicators, and Ms. Mowl shared that research contributes to MDGs in evaluating interventions and in discovering complementary interventions. It was suggested that TDA and the Centre for Research should facilitate young researchers for their research.
Poverty Reduction
The seminar on poverty reduction focused on addressing poverty reduction through Government policies, food and nutritional security, and technology transfer. Prof. Selvaraj opined that since the overall poverty in India has reduced in the last 20 years, the aim to eradicate poverty and hunger is attainable by 2015. He cautioned that the poverty reduction so far is largely regional; it does not show the true picture of India’s poverty. He explained that although agricultural growth is crucial for India’s economic growth, public investment has declined from 14% in the 6th five-year plan to less than 5% in the 9th five-year plan. Dr. Thilagavathi discussed the extension of public investment in land-quality-index and non-farm activities, followed by a discussion on the role of SHGs and microfinance in poverty reduction and women empowerment by Dr. Anjugam. Dr. Varadharaju described the importance and impact of food processing units on reducing urban and rural poverty. Dr. Viswanathan discussed the benefits of value additon in agricultural products to poor farmers. Dr. Amudha discussed the economic impact of the quality of food intake of poor. Dr. Kalaiselvan described how to use various tools (for example, SMS and community radio) used to share agricultural information with farmers.