India on path to achieve MDGs...

Eradicate poverty and hunger, universal primary education, women

empowerment, gender equality, combat deadly diseases such as Malaria, HIV
Aids etc. are some beads of the eight millennium development goals
formulated under a consortium of 192 UN member countries, due to be
achieved by 2015.

Eye catching reforms are taking place in India such as Right to

information Act, which is a key to reveal the most talked corruption scams
coming up on every day. Right to Education Act 2009 is going to be a
remarkable achievement if universal education to educate every child up to
the age of 14 years irrespective of his/her economic and social status.
Mid-day meal program is a part of this initiative to lure the poor
improvised children for daily meal in exchange of free education.

‘Rashtriya Swasthiya Bhima Yojana’ scheme is one the noble social

initiatives to help economically disadvantaged section of the society by
awarding free health card, and funding their medical treatment up to
Rs.30,000/year.

Women empowerment is already on its way to cross the English Channel. The
women empowerment bill, which is recently passed in the Lok Sabha and
Rajya Sabha of India, provides women reservation in the parliament and
panchayats to raise participation of women and make them come forward as a
role model for the helpless rural women who get limited to their kitchen.
Government of India is planning to fabricate 'Food Security Bill' to
ensure that no one in India will sleep with empty stomach.

Government has taken various auspicious steps to promote Microfinance at

rural and urban levels via SHG-Linkage programs and awarding SEWA Bank for
its remarkable journey of success to women empowerment. Not only
government finance to SHG (Self Help Group) but also promoted it. Many
faces, which are happy now is a part of a community benefited by
microfinance or microcredit in one or another way.

Another flagship program of government I have failed to highlight is NREGA

which is now called MNREGA, an employment guarantee program empowering
poor to spend few bucks which is hard earned from their sweat.

- Dushyant Sethiya

Author of ‘Microfinance: A Helping Hand’