Which organization is giving financial support for the ‘Tejaswini Rural Women’s Empowerment Programme’?
- (a)IMF
- (b)IFC
- (c)IFAD
- (d)IIMA
Correct — C, IFAD (the International Fund for Agricultural Development). The Tejaswini Rural Women's Empowerment Programme in Madhya Pradesh (and Maharashtra) is financed by IFAD, a specialised agency of the United Nations that funds agriculture and rural-development projects in poorer countries. IFAD's loan supports the programme, which works by strengthening women's self-help groups (SHGs) and widening poor rural women's access to finance and livelihoods.
- (a)IMF — The International Monetary Fund lends to governments for balance-of-payments and macroeconomic stability — it does not fund grassroots rural women's SHG programmes.
- (b)IFC — The International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) finances private-sector businesses, not state-run rural women's empowerment schemes.
- (d)IIMA — The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad is a management school, not a development-finance organisation.
IFAD is a UN specialised agency (set up in 1977) dedicated to financing agriculture and reducing rural poverty in developing countries, usually through loans and grants to governments. Tejaswini is an IFAD-assisted programme delivered through women's self-help groups, giving poor rural women access to microfinance, livelihoods and their own institutions. The trap is that every option is a finance-sounding acronym — but only IFAD is a rural-development fund.
Separate the mandates: IMF handles macroeconomic stability, IFC finances private business, IFAD funds rural and agricultural development, and IIMA is an education institute. Match 'rural women's empowerment' to the rural-development funder — IFAD.
- IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development) is a UN specialised agency founded in 1977, focused on agriculture and rural poverty.
- Tejaswini operated in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra (roughly 2007-2018) and is delivered through women's self-help groups.
- IFAD provided loan financing; the balance came from the state government, NABARD, banks and the SHGs themselves.
- For contrast: IMF = macro-stability lending; IFC = private-sector finance (World Bank Group); IIMA = a management institute.
- Confusing IFAD with IFC or IMF because the acronyms all sound financial
- Assuming a domestic bank (NABARD) is the primary external funder
MPPSC pairs a scheme with its funding agency; UPSC asks whether IFAD / IFC / IMF are UN agencies or matches each to its mandate.
Consider the following organisations: I. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development II. International Finance Corporation III. International Fund for Agricultural Development IV. International Monetary Fund Which of these are agencies of the United Nations?
- (a) I and II
- (b) II and III
- (c) III and IV
- (d) I, II, III and IV
Answer(d) I, II, III and IV
Same concept — UPSC tested that IFAD (the International Fund for Agricultural Development) is a UN agency; this MP question tests IFAD as the funder of Tejaswini.
- practice — not a real PYQ
IFAD, which finances rural-development projects such as Tejaswini, is a specialised agency of:
- (a)the World Bank Group
- (b)the United Nations
- (c)the Asian Development Bank
- (d)SAARC
Answer(b) the United Nations.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Self-Help Group (SHG)-based programmes like Tejaswini primarily aim to:
- (a)provide crop insurance
- (b)improve rural women's access to finance and livelihoods
- (c)build national highways
- (d)regulate non-banking financial companies
Answer(b) improve rural women's access to finance and livelihoods.