It happens with me and I am sure it happens with most of you. In our country whenever and whichever place we go, destitution is all pervasive in various forms. It manifest itself in the form of small children begging on the road, in the form of underpaid labour working roadside in hideous conditions, in the form of long qui in PDS outlets and government hospitals, in the form of old and senior citizens making physical labour for subsistence and many more.
Every time ‘we’ the common man see this picture, feel like doing something for these people but are helpless. So to satiate our feeling of doing something for these people we give money to beggars, donate money to temples, but on an all this all goes waste as it does not contribute towards improving lives of these people.
But this is all problem which everyone talks about, where is the solution, the solution in which we common man can contribute. Let’s try and find some ways in which we can do something or the government can do something to help common citizens contribute towards uplifting the quality of majority of our populace.
We Indians are very generous in terms of giving money to beggars, this is because they are all around us and giving money to them is an easy & convenient way to satisfy our soul. But the money thus donated goes waste making the people dependent on such generosity. There is a solution to it, let us open donation counters in all banks and government offices, the money received through which will go to prime minster relief or development fund. People visit such places on daily routine and would definitely find this a convenient way to donate money (because this way we will know that our money is going in the right hands and will be used for the right purpose). This way money can be clubbed and directed towards various existing & new flagship programmes for poverty reduction.
One underlying reality and a source of great advantage is that despite of being poor and earning quite less a day, poor in India want to and actually save money, but do not find proper means to do that. Banking facilities lack in network to distant places and where they exist, they do not have properly devised schemes to mobilise small savings of poor people. This asks for a unique solution; let us create a mobile infrastructure in all such places. The kiosks or other shops will be provided with a mobile phone with specially formulated e-banking facility; the owner of the shop will accept small deposits in cash (Rs 20, Rs 50 or any amount) and will recharge the customer’s account immediately( same way as we get our mobile phones recharged).The shop owner will get a commission in exchange. This will encourage poor people to save and mobilize their money for investment.
Other way is the one, seeds of which have already been planted but needs to be nourished with more dedication and attention, i.e. Micro Finance. This simple methodology of financing poor and needy people with small amounts of money holds scenario changing capability. All it calls for is that government to encourage banks and other institutions to provide micro finance to poor people, so that they are empowered to come out of poverty on their own.
The theme is that government just need to take steps which facilitates and provide direction, PEOPLE of our country holds the muscle to write and change their own destiny :)
Keep it up Udit!! Hope to see this blog always enriched with interesting posts!!
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