This cover story in Down To Earth online charts the growth trajectory of India’s microfinance institutions and consists of a special report on the microfinance institutions in Andhra Pradesh who grew rich by lending insured loans to the rural poor.

The microfinance sector in India is in deep crisis.

From the US to China, South Africa to India, governments and citizens are engaged in an active debate about how best to protect people from catastrophic health care costs while ensuring access to health care of adequate quality.

Even as the government makes huge investments in science and technology, research publications produced by Indian institutions are not easily available or accessible, thus undermining the visibility and ranking of these institutions. The adoption of an open access policy can close the gap between research outcomes and their dissemination.

This is a  special report in Down To Earth on how the 13the Finance Commission puts three times more money in the hands of local governments to spend—at their own will.



While the global financial crisis appears to have had little impact on the flow of funds to South Asia’s power sector, the sector still needs up to $150 billion in additional investments to meet its growing electricity demand by 2015 says this report by World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP).

This document outlines the benefits of green growth and the importance of developing the right policies to support a transition towards the low carbon economy. It assesses the financing needs of green growth in developing countries and illustrates why climate finance needs to be framed in the wider context of growth and development finance.

This report outlines the core argument of Share the Road, a campaign that works to help re-balance the current state of road investments across all modes.

Using the experience of five countries in Asia (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam), this report considers whether funding for climate change is being managed in the most effective manner, based on the long history of lessons learnt from
development assistance over the last 60 years. The report suggests

This report has been prepared by Friends of the Earth as part of its campaign for a fair, strong and binding international agreement
to tackle climate change.

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