Posted on July 11, 2009 by Raj Melville
In the past decade, much progress has been made in India and people have been justifiably proud of the improving economic situation. While most observers point to the top line numbers that show the number of people living below the “poverty line” has been consistently decreasing, by focusing on just these aseptic numbers, they fail to understand and capture the continuing anguish in the rural countryside.
Filed under: BOP, India, Poverty, Rural Consumer, Rural Development, Rural Education, Sanitation, Schools, bottom of the pyramid, water and sanitation | Tagged: Agricultural Development, BOP, George Foundation, India, Poverty, Rural Development, Rural Education, Shanti Bhavan, Social Impact, World Bank | Leave a Comment »
Posted on June 24, 2009 by Raj Melville
Couple of months ago we had the privilege to host Mr. N. Srinivasan in Boston. Mr. Srinivasan is the author of the ‘Microfinance in India: State of the Sector Report 2008’, was Chief General Manager of India’s National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) where he served for 25 years. Here are excerpts from an interview and Mr Srinivasan’s open letter to the Indian Government.
Filed under: Investment, Micro-enterprises, Social Ecosystem, micro-finance, microfinance, sustainable development | Tagged: India, micro-finance, microcredit, microfinance, NABARD, savings, sustainable development, yunus | Leave a Comment »
Posted on June 16, 2009 by Raj Melville
For the first time TIECON EAST – TiE Boston’s annual conference on entrepreneurship and innovation – had a dedicated track on Social Enterprise. The three panels for the track were all well attended. Here are some excerpts from an article I wrote for Lokvani about the sessions.
Filed under: Agricultural Development, Conference, Food, Health, India, Information Technology, Investment, Micro-enterprises, Rural Development, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, environment, international development, micro-finance, microfinance, mobile technology, social Innovation, sustainability | Tagged: Agricultural Development, Boston, Conference, Food Supply, Health, India, Information Technology, internet, micro-finance, microcredit, mobile technology, Rural Development, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, Social Impact, sustainability, sustainable development, Sustainable ventures, TIECON | Leave a Comment »
Posted on June 9, 2009 by Raj Melville
Bala Vishwanath, an IIT and IIM alum, saw an opportunity to multiply the social impact of every dollar, quit his job and worked to setup www.UnitedProsperity.org United Prosperity helps provide loan guarantees that enable poor entrepreneurs to borrow from Microfinance Institutions to build their enterprises in developing countries.
Filed under: India, Micro-enterprises, Philanthropy, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, bottom of the pyramid, international development, micro-finance, microfinance, social Innovation, sustainable development | Tagged: India, Kiva, micro-finance, microcredit, microfinance, Philanthropy, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, Social Impact, social Innovation, Social Investment, sustainable development, United Prosperity, yunus | 1 Comment »
Posted on May 15, 2009 by Raj Melville
I recently visited India and was smack in the middle of the Indian elections. Wrote a short piece with my observations. Here is the entire piece from the original site www.Lokvani.com
Filed under: India, Politics | Tagged: India, Politics | 2 Comments »
Posted on May 6, 2009 by Raj Melville
I have been in India for the past week and one of the trends I have noticed is the increased focus on the rural market. Perhaps it is the ongoing elections or maybe the global recession, but companies across the board seem to have a renewed emphasis on targeting the rural consumer. Here are a few key facts that seem to stand out.
Filed under: Agricultural Development, BOP, India, Investment, Poverty, Rural Consumer, Rural Development, bottom of the pyramid, micro-finance, microfinance, mobile technology, sustainable development | Tagged: BOP, Coca Cola, eJeevika, GE, India, micro-finance, mobile technology, Poverty, rural BPO, Rural Consumer, Rural Development, Social Impact, sustainable development, Wall Street Journal, WIPRO | 3 Comments »
Posted on November 17, 2008 by Raj Melville
I have spent the last month visiting India. As always, it is an exciting and interesting experience. I have not been able to post regularly while traveling. I hope to resume in a week’s time after I return.
Filed under: Social Ecosystem | Tagged: India | 1 Comment »
Posted on September 30, 2008 by Raj Melville
I wrote an article recently on how Indian Americans can take a step towards increasing charitable giving. Equally applicable even if you are not an Indian American 
I have reproduced the entire article below.
Filed under: India, Philanthropy, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, creative capitalism, social Innovation, venture philanthropy | Tagged: Ashoka, charitable giving, charity, India, Indian Americans, NGO, non-profit, philanthropists, Philanthropy, volunteerism | Leave a Comment »
Posted on September 6, 2008 by Raj Melville
Last Week’s Time magazine had an article written by Jeffery Sachs titled “Safety in Numbers” that highlights programs that are recruiting community workers to provide basic health services in rural communities. By investing in basic health care training of community workers, these programs provide a safety net for thousands of poor people who would otherwise be unattended.
Filed under: BOP, Health, India, Poverty, Rural Development, Rural Health, Social Ecosystem | Tagged: Anbumani Ramadoss, BOP, Health, Health Insurance, healthcare, India, Information Technology, Jeffery Sachs, Poverty, Rural Development, Rural Health, Satyam, Time Magazine | Leave a Comment »
Posted on August 28, 2008 by Raj Melville
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, “India’s Poor Get Health Care in a Card”, outlines a program being launched in India to provide affordable healthcare to the masses. The key component of the program, which is targeted at those earning less than $100 per year, is the use of a secure smart card to store the beneficiary’s personal data and fingerprints.
Filed under: BOP, Information Technology, Politics, Poverty, Rural Development, Social Ecosystem, international development, social Innovation | Tagged: Health, Rural Development, BOP, India, Poverty, Wall Street Journal, Information Technology, ICICI, Health Insurance, National Health Insurance Program, smart card, hospital | Leave a Comment »
