Development of women and children in rural areas (DWCRA) . Are we in the right course?
Rajakutty, S.
Journal of Rural Development Hyderabad 16(1): 85-112
1997
Document Number: 256776
A brief review is presented of the Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA), sub-scheme of the Integrated Rural Development Plan introduced in 1983 in India. Data are presented from case studies of projects in both Tamil Nadu, and the Andaman Islands. Although well conceived, its implementation has been poor, and its objectives have been weakened. Assistance to womens groups has been found to be relatively more productive and the repayment performance of loans are also better. But these advantages have not been adequately made use of to bring about a qualitative change. Lack of project staff orientation, inadequate staffing, poor follow-up, target chasing, and insufficient linkages are noted as being reasons for the sizeable number of inactive and defunct groups.