I have decided to speak on ‘Women’s Empowerment through Local Governance in South Asia’, a s

Decentralization is the key to the speedy, effective and participatory process of delivery of public services to the needy through development programmes of the Panch

Formal financial institutions (FFIs) in a developing economy often fail to meet the loan requirements of the poor. It is frequently stated that the poor are non bankable. Given this, several models and structures have emerged for making them bankable.

Drawing on empirical data from four gram panchayats in Orissa, the paper examines the ‘representation’ of elected representatives—more particularly those of disadvantaged categories—by exploring their participation in the governance process, responsiveness towards the interest o