As part of the global phenomenon of trade liberalization, Nepal embarked on market-oriented trade reforms in the mid-1980s. These efforts intensified in the early 1990s after the restoration of a democratic system. Nepal's accession to the WTO in 2004 and commitment to comply with many conditions related to restructuring tariff rates and opening the economy in general and the services sector in particular further augmented that process.

The proposed legislation for regulation of the for-profit microfinance sector has a number of problems. It makes the Reserve Bank of India the sole regulator of the sector when this is the domain of the states rather than the central bank. The proposal will permit a back-door entry for the MFIs to collect savings which is not a healthy idea. Any proposal should be drawn on the experience of the states and the for-profit MFIs should be regulated as moneylenders.

When the Delhi government sought to reach out to the intended beneficiaries, it found it needed a 'mission convergence' to ensure better delivery of services. The gender resource centres (GRCs) brought together all 49 welfare entitlements of nine participating departments to the people who needed them the most-the urban poor. Also, the 40-odd forms were reduced to a single common application form.

This article examines the National Sample Survey Organisation unit record data pertaining to debt and investment (59th round) and highlights inequality in access to credit by certain segments of society. In particular, it shows that weaker sections such as female-headed households have a much lower access than their male counterpart even when they are involved in similar economic activities and consequently face significantly higher rates of interest.