Abstract

In the early 1980s, the Government of India launched the Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) program under the Integrated Rural Development Program. Though the DWCRA program was not very successful in the rest of the country, it was successful in Andhra Pradesh. The case gives an overview of the DWCRA program in Andhra Pradesh, and its impact on the lives of rural women there. It also discusses the role played by the government in the success of the DWCRA program in the state and explores the role of the corporates in rural development programs.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand the importance of microfinance as an instrument for poverty alleviation in rural areas.

Keywords

DWCRA, Empowering Women, Integrated Rural Development Program, Self Help Groups, NGOs, NABARD, Non-Farm Sector, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Project Shakti, Microfinance, Poverty Alleviation, Andhra Pradesh, SwarnaJayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana