Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA)- A Microfinance Success Story in Andhra Pradesh

Generally, many of the poverty alleviation programs initiated by the GOI were seen to lack people's involvement. Authorities from government departments visited the rural areas just before the programs were launched, and announced the details of the programs. Though the media publicized them too, the rural poor, who were the target groups of the programs, remained largely unaware of them because of the low media penetration in rural areas. Generally, the non government organizations (NGOs) which worked in the rural areas, informed them about the programs. However, it was a different story in AP. There the state government acted as a catalyst in bringing about a change in the lives of the rural women by empowering them through the DWCRA groups...

Though analysts attributed the success of DWCRA to government support, some were skeptical about the increasing clout of the government over the program. They felt that the government was using the DWCRA groups to fulfill its political aspirations. Critics alleged that DWCRA women were most often invited to speak at public meetings only to show the government in a good light. Many charged that though the state had the highest number of DWCRA groups, the performance of the groups was not up to the mark, despite the government's claims to the contrary...