What: Stanford-India Biodesign (SIB Fellowship) Where: New Delhi and Palo Alto, CA Application Deadline & Link: May 18th, 2012; submit application Length of Fellowship: 1-year (a second year may be granted depending on project scope) The goal of this programme, which launched in 2007, is to train the next generation of biomedical technology innovators in India. This [...]

According to a presentation by Cornell University Economics Professor Ravi Kanbur, India is only a few years away from becoming ineligible to receive funds from the World Bank’s International Development Association– the bank’s fund for the poorest countries. In essence, India’s per capita income has risen above the maximum threshold to receive money from the [...]

The term Bottom of the Pyramid is one that has garnered significant attention in recent years. C.K. Pralahad championed the term in his book, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, and numerous other publications have taken hold of it. The term aims to classify the poorest segment of the world population — those 4 [...]

In a land where roughly 70% of the population resides in rural areas and half of the nation’s population farms for a living, the importance of India’s agricultural sector cannot be overstated. Despite these massive numbers, the country’s agricultural output has been unable to keep pace with growing demands and global competition. According to the World Bank, [...]

“Necessity is the mother of Invention.” Many of us are familiar with this quote. Basically it describes how innovations we see today aimed to solve a problem or need of before. We admire the resourcefulness of the entrepreneur — the creative problem-solver — who is able to identify such a need and provide a solution [...]

MicroSave, an organization committed to expanding the reaches of financial inclusion, released a report that was bullish on the state of electronic/mobile banking (e/m) (aka branchless banking) in India. The report effectively says that fast growing mobile penetration, very cheap mobile phones, and numerous government programs’ desires to use e/m banking have culminated in a [...]

Building upon Shital’s post, another article has raised the importance of including women in the global economy. In the recently concluded World Economic Forum, there was a panel titled “Women as the Way Forward” suggesting that even big businesses have fully embraced notion of including the other 51% in the economy. This example and others [...]

It appears that the microfinance sector in India has received a mixed bag of news recently. First, the good news is that investment in the sector continues to appear robust. According to Microcapital.org, the The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation has taken an undisclosed equity stake in “BASIX Sub-K iTransactions Limited, the mobile payments unit of [...]

The National Social Entrepreneurship Forum (NSEF) (written previously about here) is conducting its 2nd annual Authors of Change initiative, which will connect and place 50 interns in premier social entrepreneurship organizations. These organizations include Naandi Foundation, Industree Crafts, Saath, Miracle Couriers, Ennovent, and Samhita Social Ventures among others. The internship, which runs two-months in length, is [...]

IFMR Centre for Development Finance and the World Resources Institute came out with a report focusing on clean energy options for the base of pyramid in India, this report is titled “Power to the people” and it is being launched in Mumbai on the 28th of September 2010 in front of a host of social sector [...]