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In Bangladesh, Floating Schools, Farms, And Health Clinics Help Stay On Top Of Rising Waters
Beyond island nations like the Maldives that are quickly getting submerged, no country is more threatened by climate change than Bangladesh. Sitting at the bottom of three huge rivers, much of its surface area is either covered with water, or barely above sea level. Many of its 154 million inhabitants are poor (about a quarter earn less than $2 a day) and Bangladeshis often live in structures unsuited to severe weather. Bangladesh, in short, is a climate disaster in the making. By 2030, rising water could make 20% of the country uninhabitable, forecasts show.
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- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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India’s MFIs shift focus to urban areas
Microfinance institutions (MFIs), which evolved as precursors of the rural thrift credit market in India, are now shifting to urban areas, with big slums in cities turning out to be cost-effective markets over small villages in far-flung locations.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- microfinance
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India telcos agree on mobile banking through SMSs
MUMBAI: Mobile companies have been persuaded by the Narendra Modi government to share a slice of their infrastructure to pave the way for basic banking services through cellphones.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- mobile finance
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Bosch forays into healthcare segment
Auto component major Bosch on Monday announced the launch of a locally developed eyecare solution in India. The company’s new eyescreening and detection system offers a combination of hardware and software and provides affordable eyecare.
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- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
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A tiffin service that serves a special ‘social story’
Her husband hasn’t spoken to her in three months, but Neetu hopes he will come around. After all, she says, working with Lunchbox 17, a tiffin delivery service in South Delhi, has completely changed her attitude. The social enterprise was launched in May by youth-run NGO Swechha and employs women from Jagdamba Camp, a slum near the organisation’s Khirki Extension offices. The initiative aims to provide employment, and eventually empowerment, to the women, and clean and tasty food to young professionals and students in the area.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Indian PM asks banks to make financial inclusion a national priority
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asked banks to make the opening of bank accounts in 70 million households this year a national priority.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Male Rickshaw Drivers Playing Key Role In Maternal Health Campaign In India
As the autorickshaws begin lining up inside the compound at 7 a.m., Vijaylakmi Sahu knows she has just 30 minutes to finish her work. Over the next half hour, Sahu works with clockwork precision. She ensures that the temperatures of the vaccines for pregnant women and children are checked before they are packed under her supervision in cold boxes. After that, three to five autorickshaws, known as the Immunization Express, head off to the villages where mothers, children and pregnant women await them.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- vaccines
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In India, 50% of microfinance institutions could convert to banks, says regulatory body CEO
About half of the Microfinance Institutions Network’s 49 members could follow in the footsteps of Kolkata-based Bandhan and convert themselves into banks in the next couple of years, according to a top official.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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