Poorest Areas Civil Society Program
Encyclopedia
The Poorest Areas Civil Society (PACS) program (which ran from 2001–2008) was designed to help millions of people living in some of India’s poorest districts. Its goal was to cut the poverty rate in India in half by the year 2015. Through a network of 665 civil society
organizations, it covered almost 20,000 villages in 94 districts in 6 Indian states
. PACS received over $25 million funding from the UK’s Department for Internal Development (DFID). In addition to raising public awareness about the plight of poor Indians, PACS distributed food and ration cards to impoverished families, helped to set up a variety of social welfare programs (such as pension programs for retirees and widows, programs to help the disabled, scholarship programs, etc.) and gave additional funding to existing infrastructure programs so that water, electrical and sanitation systems could be improved in urban area
s and could be constructed in rural areas that had been without these services before. PACS was also involved in fostering women’s rights
in India–particularly in sending more little girls to school, encouraging more women to vote and educating the population about family planning
options. Additionally, a drought and disaster relief
fund was created to assist rural farmers. Finally, PACS encouraged more poor people to participate in the political process (through voting, through community action programs, etc.) in the hopes of giving them the tools that they will need to help themselves in the future
Civil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
organizations, it covered almost 20,000 villages in 94 districts in 6 Indian states
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...
. PACS received over $25 million funding from the UK’s Department for Internal Development (DFID). In addition to raising public awareness about the plight of poor Indians, PACS distributed food and ration cards to impoverished families, helped to set up a variety of social welfare programs (such as pension programs for retirees and widows, programs to help the disabled, scholarship programs, etc.) and gave additional funding to existing infrastructure programs so that water, electrical and sanitation systems could be improved in urban area
Urban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
s and could be constructed in rural areas that had been without these services before. PACS was also involved in fostering women’s rights
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
in India–particularly in sending more little girls to school, encouraging more women to vote and educating the population about family planning
Family planning
Family planning is the planning of when to have children, and the use of birth control and other techniques to implement such plans. Other techniques commonly used include sexuality education, prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections, pre-conception counseling and...
options. Additionally, a drought and disaster relief
Emergency management
Emergency management is the generic name of an interdisciplinary field dealing with the strategic organizational management processes used to protect critical assets of an organization from hazard risks that can cause events like disasters or catastrophes and to ensure the continuance of the...
fund was created to assist rural farmers. Finally, PACS encouraged more poor people to participate in the political process (through voting, through community action programs, etc.) in the hopes of giving them the tools that they will need to help themselves in the future