Welcome to REEDS NEWS September 2010. The festival season has just begun and let this season bring peace, prosperity and happiness in the society!

There are just five years left until the 2015 deadline by which world leaders have pledged to achieve the Millennium Development Goals - MDGs, in order to eradicate extreme poverty. The UN Summit on the MDGs took place from September 20-22, to review progress on the MDGs has adopted a global action plan to achieve the Goals by the targeted date. Assessment of the MDGs at midpoint presents a mixed picture, one of both significant progress and formidable challenges. Let us expect the world leaders to implement policies and plans that serve the needs of their people, particularly the poorest and most vulnerable and do hope the targets achieved.

Why poverty eradication as a goal still remains so elusive? Why the growth in the economy or the whole slew of government's policies, programs, reforms and measures does not lead to a significant progress in poverty alleviation? From the point of rural scenario, if village is considered as an economic unit, it has a pool of resources - human and natural. Out of this wealth is created that translates into products and services. It is, therefore, essential to understand how wealth is created and its logical flow of this wealth to the end-user is what determines who stays poor and who benefits, may be, we can identify ways to reduce the extent of impoverishment!

Given the fact that problems of rural development in India are complex and widespread, isolated initiatives may not be able to bring about large-scale social change. Let’s deliberate, share our ideas, knowledge and resources a bit and cooperate to fight poverty to help people help themselves and support improved economic well-being. Let the initiatives be transformed into innovations.

With best wishes on the occasion of the forthcoming festival of Dussehra which symbolizes the victory of good over evil.

Ravi K Reddy, October 15, 2010

Vinod Khosla, cofounder of Sun Microsystems and a billionaire venture capitalist, personally gained to the tune of Rs.500 crore from the SKS Microfinance’s recent listing - about 37 times what he invested in the firm 4 years ago.

Khosla, according to a recent report in The New York Times, plans to plow back this gain into other ventures that focus on the poor in India, Africa and elsewhere by providing services like health, energy and education, aimed at fighting poverty.

Hope Khosla’s action shall stimulate other rich as well to support social models aiming at people at the ‘bottom of the pyramid to solve of social problems not as charity but as investment in businesses making social impact leading towards an inclusive development. The future of social change certainly depends on how we engage business in becoming part of the solution.

• The richest 20 percent of world population accounts for three-quarters of world income while the poorest 40 % accounts just 5 %.
  - Human Development Report 2007
• The richest 20% of the world accounted for 77 % of total private consumption in 2005 while the poorest 20% just less than 2%.
  - World Bank Development Indicators 2008
• The world’s billionaires — just 497 people were worth $3.5 trillion, about 7% of world GDP.
• In 1998, global priorities in spending on Cigarettes in Europe were $ 50 billion while the requirement towards Basic education for all; Water and sanitation for all; Reproductive health for all women; and Basic health and nutrition were hardly about $ 40 billion.
  - United Nations Human Development Report 1998

Here is an update on SKILLS2010 International Conference.

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